Hygiene
Hygiene • Personal Hygiene refers to the measures that an individual takes to keep their hair, nails , skin, mouth, eyes , ears, and nose clean. • Maintenance of personal hygiene is necessary for an individual’s comfort, safety and well being. • Well people are capable of meeting their own hygienic needs, ill or physically challenged people may require assistance.
Hygiene care • While performing hygiene care ensure privacy, convey respect, foster comfort and preserve independence as much as is possible. • When providing hygiene use the time to communicate with the patient (general, counseling and teaching); • assess the skin, hair, nails, eyes, ears, teeth; assess movement of joints and limbs; & patient's ability to perform ADLs (activities of daily living).
Hygiene • Knowledge • Body image • Social practices • Socio-economic • Culture • Personal preference • Psychological / physical condition • Impact of lack of hygiene
Impact of poor hygiene • Infection • Odour • Lowered self esteem. • Patient subjected to ridicule by staff. • Patient may be alienated by other patients.
Goals of hygiene • Comfort & relaxation • Stimulation of circulation • Cleanliness (removal of dead skin & body oils) • Improved self image • Skin conditioning (improved circulation, cleanliness etc.)
Types of hygiene • Shower • Shower trolley • Bed sponge • No soap bed sponges (dermalux) • Bath • Hair care • Eye toilet • Ears and nose care • Mouth care • Mouth toilet • Peri toilet • Penile toilet • Nail and foot care
Principles of hygiene procedures Considerations • Safety • Warmth • Privacy • Promoting dignity • Encouraging independence • Other?
General guidelines • Promote safety and prevent falls • Assess psychological and physical needs • Seek consent • Meet toileting needs before procedure • Determine self-care abilities and promote independence • Determine purpose of bathing • Collect all necessary items before starting • Cleanse the skin to remove dirt, excessive oil, perspiration, transient bacteria and dead epithelial cells
General guidelines cont: • Determine the effects of frequency of bathing on condition of skin • Do not apply soap to excoriated or non-intact areas of skin • Bathe from clean to dirty • Use gentle friction to stimulate circulation and remove debris (unless contraindicated) • Provide warmth and privacy • Use good body mechanics when assisting • Not all people need daily baths
During hygiene care • Assessment of skin, nails, hair, ears, eyes • Assessment of movement • Promotion of therapeutic relationship • Education • Promotion of independence
Skin assessment Colour – • pink, cyanosed, pale, is it uniform Lesions – • present, location, size, colour Moisture – • substance, location, amount, odour Oedema – • location Texture – • soft, smooth, rough, uneven Temperature – • warm, hot, cool, cold Turgor – • degree of turgor
Respiratory assessment • Breathing during movement and at rest Cardiovascular assessment • Body temperature, colour of skin, circulation to extremities Musculo-skeletal assessment • Joint mobility, muscle strength, coordination, self-help abilities Gastrointestinal assessment • Abdominal distension, faecal incontinence, rectal bleeding Genitourinary assessment • Bladder distension, urinary incontinence, difficulty voiding
Hair Care /Anatomy of Hair • Grows upward from the root. • Lengthening fibers of keratin-filled dead cells , grouped around the semi-hollow medulla, makes up the cortex. • The bulb ( a living structure) surrounds and feeds the root, it lies in a pocket of the epidermis called the follicle.
