CARING FOR A SICK PERSON AT HOME: GENERAL INFORMATION

posted by admin in General health

What to ask the doctor

Always be sure you are clear about the following questions: (1) May the patient go to the bathroom, wash or bathe, sit up in bed, read and talk? (2) What, and how much, should he eat and drink? (3) What medicines should he have, and when? (4) How often and how (by mouth, rectum, or armpit) should you take his temperature? (5) What symptoms should you watch for? If these appear, should you call the doctor? (6) Are there any treatments you should give? (7) Should any precautions be taken for the patient or the family? Write down the answers to these questions.

General suggestions

Conserve your strength. A pad and pencil will be a great help. Lists save many trips and contribute to your confidence. Plan everything ahead of time. Assemble all the things you need beforehand.

Keep records of what you have done. A daily chart should be made out to record the temperature, medicines, and treatments.

Save your back. Watch your posture. Stand close to whatever you are doing, and do not stoop, but bend from the knees.

Techniques of nursing

Some of the things you may need to do in nursing your patient should be demonstrated to you—for example, giving an injection. It is also helpful to be shown how to do such things as making a bed while the patient is in it. Perhaps you can afford to engage a private nurse for a day to break you in, or a district nurse can show you. The following procedures should be clear to you from reading the instructions and looking at the illustrations.

The patient’s room

In choosing the patient’s room, remember that you will have to go to him often, and fixing up a room on the ground floor may save you a great many trips up and down stairs. The sickroom should be near the kitchen. If there is a downstairs toilet, that may be a great help for both you and the patient.

Keep the temperature of the room as even as possible, around 72° to 76° F. in the daytime, 68° to 72° F. at night.

The sickroom should be not only clean but as free of odours as possible. If sharp-smelling antiseptics or disinfectants must be used to clean the room, their odours should be masked with a pleasant deodorant or odour-neutralizing agent.

To ventilate the room without creating a draught, open the window from the top, or place a screen or blanket over the back of a chair by the window. You can also open the window in the next room and leave the door between the rooms open. If the air is too dry, put a large, shallow pan of water on the radiator, or use a humidifier.

Bright lights and loud noises are disturbing to the sick. All windows should have blinds, shutters, or curtains to reduce the sun’s glare.

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