CBD Oil and palliative care
23 November 2022As we age, we run an increasing chance of encountering health problems along the way. As people draw nearer to the end of their lives, symptoms and conditions begin to add up, which can spark feelings of anxiety, restlessness, and even despair. This state of affairs can become a heavy burden both for patients and for their caregivers and relatives. At such times, it can be a real relief to know that CBD Oil can help alleviate many of the problems encountered in palliative care settings around the world.
What is palliative care?
Palliative care commences when a patient is diagnosed with an incurable, terminal condition, ranging from cancer to Alzheimer’s, COPD, or heart failure. The duration of palliative care is impossible to determine in advance, because some patients will have only weeks to live while others may need it for months or even years. The goal in palliative care is to maximise a patient’s quality of life once recovery is no longer a realistic prospect. Palliative treatment aims to provide maximum relief for any symptoms experienced by patients, be they pain, difficulty breathing, nausea, or other discomforts. Ultimately, the goal is to make life as bearable as possible for as long as possible.
Thus special type of healthcare aims to support both patients and their loved ones get through the struggles they face. This includes emotional support in addition to any direct medical care. Palliative care can take place in hospital settings as well as at home or in a hospice.
What are the benefits of CBD Oil in palliative care?
Being involved in palliative care settings, whether for a sick relative, for work, or for your own health condition, always constitutes a heavy emotional burden. Caring for someone who has reached the end of their life can be incredibly tough. CBD Oil can be a means to relieve such palliative care in several subtle ways. Its main benefits include its relaxing and soothing properties, as well as its anti-inflammatory and analgesic capacity.
CBD (cannabidiol) is an organic compound classified as a cannabinoid, derived from hemp plants. CBD has no mind-altering, hallucinogenic, or psychoactive effects (it will not make you ‘high’) and is non-addictive. It is safe for everyday use, and its various potential applications can help ease the final stages of someone’s life, making their days more comfortable and tolerable. Below, you can read how specific properties of CBD Oil can aid palliative care for people with terminal conditions.
CBD Oil for pain
Obviously, everyone wishes for their loved ones to spend their last days in relative peace, with as little anxiety as possible. Unfortunately, however, many people in palliative care have to cope with chronic pain. In some cases, regular pain medication no longer works, as happens in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, for instance.
CBD can bring real pain relief due to its natural analgesic capacity. Studies indicate that combinations of CBD and THC (the best-known psychoactive compound in hemp plants) can be particularly effective. If patients are prescribed opioids, for example, adding cannabis compounds to treatment plans can help prevent tolerance build-up as well as ease withdrawal symptoms. These properties make CBD Oil particularly effective in palliative care where patients receive medication over extended periods, which increases risks of regular analgesics losing effectiveness. This may be prevented by combining prescription pain medication with either CBD or a multiple cannabinoid solution.
Mood and emotional problems
Having to face the finality of one’s existence can easily spark feelings of intense anxiety, depression, and stress. The use of CBD Oil supplements in palliative care can help ease and counter such emotional problems by their natural soothing and relaxing properties. A survey held among palliative care patients showed improved experiences of their quality of life after using CBD, since the oil or other supplements helped reduce feelings of stress as well as helping them sleep better.
Nausea and appetite
Pain and medicine use can negatively affect appetite of patients in palliative treatment. Although maintaining a steady diet with the right nutrients and sufficient calories is important, various terminal health conditions can make this challenging if not impossible. Hemp compounds have been used to counter such problems in cancer treatment for years, since they can help counter nausea caused either by cancer treatment or the disease itself. CBD Oil has natural anti-nausea and anti-emetic properties that can prove highly effective in palliative care.
The importance of sleep
At first glance, getting enough sleep seems relatively trivial for someone in palliative care. Still, getting a good night’s sleep can be a huge contribution to the health and wellbeing of sick people. Sleep helps the body recover, replenish its energy supply, and revitalise both in a physical and an emotional sense. Moreover, sleeping well can help reduce cardiac disease risks and slow down progress of various conditions.
Nonetheless, many people with terminal conditions tend to have poor quality of sleeping. Causes include pain and other symptoms as well as anxiety, stress, and restlessness. Fortunately, CBD Oil may prove helpful against insomnia issues, which are all too common in palliative care setting.
CBD can help reduce anxiety while bringing a sense of calm that extends to body and mind alike. One study into sleep and anxiety involved 72 subjects who received 25mg CBD before going to sleep. 79% of participants indicated experiencing less anxiety, while 66% noticed how their sleep improved. Overall, a significant share of patients reported having fewer problems sleeping after receiving CBD.
CBD Oil for the terminally ill
Perhaps the most daunting challenge in palliative care is to try and extend a patient’s life for as long as possible while making sure they are comfortable, with minimal levels of pain and optimal experience of well-being. Our premium Full Spectrum CBD Oil could help realise these goals in palliative care, in a complementary role alongside regular treatment and medication. If you are considering turning to CBD Oil or CBD Tablets to make a difference in palliative care settings, whether professionally or for a loved one, we advise discussing your options with the patient, their relatives, and medical staff involved in treatment.
How do you discuss using CBD Oil in palliative care?
Since not everyone fully understands or appreciates the potential of CBD Oil, a frank and open discussion on its merits in palliative care is generally a good idea. Elderly people in particular, who naturally constitute the largest patient group in such care settings, tend to foster negative cannabis associations that may trigger unnecessary bias and resistance. The right information can help prevent such resistance, which emphasises the importance of keeping everybody involved in palliative care up to date on the potential of CBD Oil.
In certain cases, CBD Oil may alter the effectiveness of specific types of medicine. That makes it vital to verify whether CBD Oil is a suitable option for any individual patient in palliative care. Transparency and openness in consulting medical staff is always recommended. On top of that, there is a varied range of different CBD supplements to consider. This calls for mutual consult as well, since there is always a CBD Oil supplement that best matches the preferences of the patient and the specific concerns involved in palliative care situations.
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Of course, the health and well-being of your loved one or the patient always comes first. That makes any decision on using CBD Oil in palliative care settings a matter of careful deliberation that should be made without any pressure. What’s at stake here is the final stage of someone’s life, which may improve slightly but significantly by making it more comfortable, peaceful, and bearable. Hopefully, you will be able to offer your support at such challenging times, perhaps complemented by the additional support of our high-quality CBD supplements.
