Caring for Severe Myasthenia Gravis: What Are the Key Aspects?

Myasthenia gravis is a severe disease that can cause muscle weakness, inability to lift heavy objects, and general fatigue in patients. Immediate hospitalization is required for treatment. During treatment, patients also need to perform relevant nursing care to alleviate their condition. Nursing methods include psychological nursing and dietary adjustment. Psychological nursing can enhance patients' confidence and prevent the prolongation of the disease, while dietary adjustment can replenish patients' strength and improve their physical resistance.

1. Psychological Nursing: Because patients with myasthenia gravis often have a long and recurrent course of the disease, they are prone to emotional lows, irritability, fear, and concerns about not being able to recover. Therefore, warm, attentive, and patient service is required to establish a good relationship with the patients.

2. Basic Nursing: Providing a quiet ward environment, ensuring adequate rest, encouraging appropriate activity (with the principle of being effortless and not causing fatigue), assisting with daily activities to avoid overexertion, helping with hygiene tasks such as washing, dressing, and maintaining oral cleanliness. Additionally, measures should be taken to prevent falls from bed, falls in general, and bedsores. It is also important to avoid enemas for patients with constipation, as this can lead to sudden death in patients with myasthenia gravis.

3. Maintaining Respiratory Tract Clearance: Encouraging patients to breathe deeply and cough, elevating the head of the bed, promptly suctioning secretions, thoroughly clearing respiratory secretions, maintaining respiratory tract patency, and providing continuous low-flow oxygen inhalation.

4. Nutritional Support: Avoiding solitary dining, focusing on nutritious, easy-to-chew soft, semi-liquid, and pasty foods. It is important to keep track of meal times and ensure balanced nutrition.

5. Medication Nursing: Medication treatment is crucial, and accurate and timely administration is the key to nursing. Failure to take medication on time or not adhering to the prescribed dosage can potentially induce crises such as myasthenic crisis and cholinergic crisis.