🚀 go-pugleaf

ROBERT ANTONI HEIL wrote:

> In article <883436091.1645084677@dejanews.com>, Maria Finocchio writes

> >What are you supposed to do with those patients that are so shy they
> >just can't accept the idea of using a bedpan? Any advice?

I'm not sure what she means by 'shy.'  I have had patients who've
insisted they just *can't* use a bedpan under any circumstances.  It's
definitely a challenge.  After explaining to the patient why she/he
cannot use the bathroom, I offer the patient the choice of bedpans (full
size or fracture pan), powder the seat so she/he will be less likely to
stick to it, keep the lights low, sit the patient up as much as
possible, make sure there is a call light, paper, and a washcloth within
reach, and leave the patient alone for a while behind the closed door. 
If the patient still needs to go, but won't use the pan (and it's not a
constipation problem), I might as a last resort suggest that she/he
might as well go on the pad, as I will be cleaning her/him up anyway.  I
want to preserve their dignity, but Nature must be served.

>    If your patients are asking for the former, then how about trying a
> commode if they are fit enough to transfer, giving them the option of
> either using the commode at the bedside, or wheeling them to the (this
> is more private for the more modest patient) bathroom, plus or minus a
> transfer to the "real" toilet, as preference/condition allows? This
> isn't an option in our ICU as we have no such facilities, but I expect
> other areas always have.

We use a bedside commode if the patient is allowed out of bed, but most
folks in our ICU are either on strict bedrest or need a Hoyer lift to
get up.  
-- 
Linda

"I can't believe that we are going to let a majority of the people
decide what's best for this state."  LA State Rep J. Travis