Other Ailments for "patient"s

[cris]

Hi all. Spent allday in hospital yesterday. Susan very distressed and angry at me - she was not well. Cutting out the begining I called the emergency doctor who wrrived within 2 hours and a good examination he was concerned for kidney failure. Susan was admitted to MEW (medical emergency ward) unlike A&E you are taken straight to a ward and bed.
Susan has been reluctant to drink, and had not been to the toilet (no 1 or no 2)for 24 hours (possible hence lower tummy pain).
Anyway thorough check-up scan, x-rays, blood tests (the best blood the doctor had seen allday) we came home ok.
So some questions, if anyone can offer advice (and I know you will )
What are the signs of de-hydration ?
How can someone be encouraged to drink more ? (I have all her favourites)
How can we determine the severity of pain ? with someone who is confussed & frightened.
I did ok, after I calmed her down, and realised she did have cause for concern.

thank you everyone
cris

 

[Grannie G]

Hi cris, Not only did you `do OK` you did well.

It`s so difficult to know the level of pain someone`s experiencing when they are unable to communicate it. Also pain tolerance may be affected too.

When my husband fell, it wasn`t until the X Ray showed a broken Humerus, that we realized. Until then, he had been examined and moved about without complaining. The doctor on duty even apologized to him.

Sorry I can`t help with signs of dehydration, but I`m going to Google it now, as my husband is drinking less too. I make him drinks, but he forgets they are there, he lets them go cold and pours them away, when he thinks I`m not looking. As I write this, I`m thinking I must leave a cold drink by his chair at all times and perhaps he`ll drink that.

I hope Susan`s OK and doesn`t have Kidney problems. You don`t need that to worry about as well as everything else.

With love

 

[Skye]

Hi Cris

Well done for getting medical help organised.

Can't answer your questions, as I haven't had to deal with those problems yet. Just wanted you to know that I'm thinking of you and Susan. Hope all goes well today.

Love,

 

[Margarita]

Yes its happen to my mother dehydration , feeling dizzy , looking tried sleepy , being sick and looking more confused then normal .

Also trying to get my mother to drink is hard, so do not have any good tips. now she drink milk, I have bottle of water in fridge that I try to get her to drink a day . but she just leave it , I tell her she get more ill and will be sick if she does not drink , sometime that does the trick sometime no

 

[Grommit]

I was also worried a lot about Jeans liquid intake and changed her diet to include things like Weetabix, which soak up bucketsful of milk, soups at anytime of the day and stews at tea time (or dinner time if you live in the South of England).

 

[Kathleen]

Gently pinch a bit of skin on the top forearm between forefinger and thumb and release, if the person is dehydrated it takes a while to go back again.

Try it on yourself, your skin should go back immediately.

I was given this advice by a GP years ago when one of my children had a tummy bug.

I don't know if the skin of the very frail and elderly has the same reaction, but I should think it would.

Kathleen

 

[Grannie G]

Hi Kathleen,

There is a lot of elasticity in the skin of children, so that`s why it should spring back. If there is a fear the child may be dehydrated, it is probably a helpful test.

With older people the skin loses this elasticity. I remember years ago, being told to pinch the skin on the back of the hand to test whether or not you were ageing well. If it sprung back, you were ageing well. If it took a while to spring back, you were just ageing.

With love

 

[Gill W]

Hi,

Just thought I'd add to this one?

From my nursing days I remember signs of dehydration.

Papery skin, as has been mentioned.
Also the lower eye lid will become dry when you peek in. The eyes appear sunken in the head.
The mouth will also become very dry, and the tongue sticky. The saliva becomes thick and sticky to.
The fact that Susan hadn't been to the loo for a number 1 may also have been an indication. Reduced urine output is a sure sign of dehydration. If she had been putting anything out it would have been very dark in colour and concentrated.
Believe it or not inability to drink is also a sign of dehydration.

There are several potions around for rehydration, one good one being Di-Oralyte. Only drawback with it is it tastes quite salty, but it may be mixable with some strong squash that may mask the taste a bit

Gill
XX

 

[allylee]

Hi Cris,

pretty much everyone has summarised the signs of dehydration.
If the doctors are concerned about kidney failure(theyll know very quickly from the blood results), it isnt a good idea to give stuff like dioralyte as it contains lots of salt and potassium that is normally excreted by healthy kidneys.Its great for treating dehydration , but not if there is a possiblity of kidney failure.(Just noted that you said Susans kidneys are ok). As Gill said it also tastes awful, so it may get spat out!

Tips for upping fluid intake are , ice pops,lollies and ice cubes. These are more easily tolerated than drinks and can be given frequently throughout the day.
A good one for cleaning a furry tongue and refreshing the mouth is pineapple , juice, or cubes, whichever is preferred.Pineapple contains an enzyme that dissolves the furriness.

Hope this helps., lots of luck

Ally xx

 

[Margarita]

Thanks for that Gill

yes my mother urin is very dark in colour and concentrated

And smelly, that day centre helper thought she had a urine infection, but she did not after geting test back .

Just seen that mum drank her sugar free orange juice .

If it sprung back, you were ageing well.

thanks for that tip

Mine just done that

 

[Grannie G]

Glad your skin springs back Maggie .: Mine doesn`t

 

[Amy]

Hiya all,
We were worried about mum becoming dehydrated cos she stopped drinking tea - we now give her a glass of water at meal times and she seems to drink that far better.
Helen

 

[cris]

Thanks for all those tips everyone.
Grannie. - I pinched the skin on the back of my hand and it took 2 hours to spring back, i'm 57 am i aging well ?
Kathleen. - I'll try that on Susan when she is well watered up, to establish a base-line. If i get a blacked eye i'll let you know.
Gill. - I'll watch for those signs, her urine is very dark, I think, I say i think 'cos susan always no 1 and no 2 everytime. She cannot control 1 or the other. Says she has not (No 2) when in fact she has.
Allylee. - Yes dioralyte tastes like a salt pot. No way would Susan take that, but I would have to be desparate, and thoroughly sure it was required before I tried.
cris

 

[Kathleen]

Just pinch and duck!!

Seriously, I hope this gets sorted out very soon, it is a worry for you and not nice for poor Susan.

Kathleen