Nowadays, the ratio of hepatitis patients has increased rapidly. According to an authentic health survey, the disease rate has expanded approximately by 24% since 2016. However, the foremost reason of this greater than before level is still unknown and under research. Thus, the inflammation of liver is termed as hepatitis in medical terminology. Hep B and C are two dangerous forms. It is one of the diseases which is contagious by needle pricks and all sorts of body fluids.
Patients suffering from hepatitis are provided with special care in handling by nurses. A nurse is the one who indulges in all sorts of laboratory sampling work in general wards and ICU setup. It’s on their shoulders to look after those patients who suffer from such disease which can be contagious to them also after contact with body fluid, most commonly encountered with blood while taking samples or doing IV cannulas or ABGs. However, some important steps are important for doctors, nurses and paramedical staff while dealing with such patients are mentioned below:
- A nurse should always wear gloves when handling all sorts of blood sampling.
- Corner beds should be provided to them, far from other patients in the ward or special ward for hepatitis positive patients would be better.
- A nurse should guide close contacts of the patient to keep a distance from his blood.
- A proper guidance should be given to the patient himself about his disease and his sufferings which can affect others.
- A nurse should be vaccinated with the vaccine available for hepatitis B in all hospital setups.
- Pricks for glucometer should also be done with precautions.
Steps were taken after exposure with hep+ blood:
When a nurse is exposed to contaminated blood in her clinical rotations, some basic urgent steps should be taken for her prevention.
- Wash the exposed part with clean water urgently. Keep the hand or finger under water tap for some time.
- Apply antiseptic.
- Viral markers are useless if done earlier. Antibodies are found in the blood after 3 months.
- Alt and anti HCV is done after 3 months to check the nurse immune status.
Duties of nurses while dealing with critical patients:
- When thinking about hep+ patients, ascites which is considered as a complication of hepatitis comes in mind, therapeutic and diagnostic ascetic tap is an additional procedure performed by a nurse for such patients.
- It is the duty of a nurse to be gentle with the patient as they are suffering from a life-threatening condition. A caring attitude is one of the essential element of paramedical staff’s life.
- Proper diet chart should be made for them which recommend amount of restricted water intake.
- Balanced input-output charting is mandatory.
- Vitals 8 hourly should be done. A check should be kept on pulses, blood pressure, temperature and respiratory rate.
- Temperature charting would help in managing any problem in first hand.
- Foleys should be done in patients having difficulty in passing urine.
Care Process of Nursing in different Situations:
Let’s take an example of the 70-year-old male patient, lean, weak and living with his wife who herself is old and cannot look after him after admission to hospital. For such patients, a nurse can be hired for 12 hourly or a whole day to look after them.
Looking after means to have a check on all the medicines. Daily charting according to the prescription should be monitored. Diet check should be done. Patients having comorbid are more difficult to handle.
For example, while coming across a diabetic patient, a nurse should keep a record of his fasting blood sugar and random blood sugars thrice a day. And if the values are deranged, insulin should be given urgently according to the sliding scale or the regular hypoglycaemic drugs according to the prescription of a medical practitioner. These fine efforts of a nurse would be beneficial for patients and help to bring a better outcome.
Author Bio
Emma Watson is a fitness specialist working with several NGOs for the social health welfare for the betterment of the society. Furthermore, she provides precious consultancy pieces of advice and tutorials through her affiliation with essay help UK for students from worldwide.