When a seriously ill person appears in the family, the whole way of life in the home changes dramatically. He is not able to serve himself and satisfy basic needs. Feels physical inferiority and a huge dependence on others.
Every day, such a person needs to be looked after, psychologically support him, to provide assistance in maintaining personal hygiene. Proper feeding of seriously ill patients is one of the most important elements in ensuring their vital functions and maintaining a comfortable state. This process is very different from eating a healthy person.
Features of care and feeding
Severe patients almost always suffer from various disorders. This is manifested:
- sleep disorder;
- malfunctioning in breathing;
- disorders of motor skills;
- immobility;
- uncontrolled allocation of waste products from the body;
- the difficulty of organizing the process of eating;
- inadequate hazard assessment.
Partial or complete lack of movement leads to the appearance of pressure sores, pneumonia and congestion in the lungs, atrophy of muscle tissue, and injuries. And improper feeding of seriously ill patients causes constipation, diarrhea, impaired urine output, leading to infection in the genitals.
In order to minimize the consequences of an abnormal state of a person and not worsen his well-being due to additional problems that have arisen, it is necessary to ensure proper care and food intake. To do this, you must adhere to certain rules:
- maintain a comfortable psychological atmosphere;
- do not disturb physical peace;
- prevent the occurrence of pressure sores;
- ventilate the room so that unpleasant odors do not cause nausea while eating;
- keep under control changes in health status;
- monitor stool and urine output;
- help maintain personal hygiene (be sure to brush your teeth);
- change bedding regularly;
- conduct accessible physiotherapy exercises;
- do light massage regularly.
Feeding a seriously ill patient in bed has its own characteristics. If a person is able to at least somehow eat himself, then this independence should be encouraged, helping him only as needed. Although the process of eating will be long, it is useful for the patient to realize that he is not completely helpless. For such patients, a special table is bought, which is put on the bed. Dishes should not slip and not break.
If a person is not able to eat himself, then artificial feeding is carried out. Most often, food enters the body through a probe. For certain indications, nutrients are administered by enema or intravenously.
Diet features
Feeding seriously ill patients should not contribute to constipation or diarrhea. Do not overeat. After all, a sedentary person is gaining weight very quickly. And every extra kilogram prevents turning and lifting the patient.
Malnutrition leads to an even greater decrease in immunity that is already weakened. The vital systems of the body begin to function even worse.
In order for the nutrition of a seriously ill person to be normal, it should:
- feed him 4-5 times a day;
- make portions small;
- conduct mandatory heat treatment of products;
- monitor the freshness of food;
- serve salty snacks to enhance appetite;
- check the temperature of dishes (they should be warm);
- choose bones from fish and meat;
- give preference to soft, light and low-fat food;
- grate vegetables and fruits.
The patient's diet should have enough protein and vitamins. Under control, you need to keep the fluid intake in the right amount - at least one and a half liters per day.
An abnormal state of a person can greatly change his preferences. Food that I liked before is disgusting. Some people stop tasting foods. Therefore, you need to be interested in the patient that he would like to eat, and respect his choice.
Forbidden
There are a number of products that are not worth giving. A seriously ill patient should not be consumed:
- lard and pork;
- ducklings and goose;
- mustard;
- canned fish and meat;
- pepper;
- alcoholic drinks.
You can not drink and feed a person by force. In case of refusal of food, you just need to moisten your lips with water and wait until the appetite appears. It is useful to make fasting days, but in case of constant unwillingness to eat, you should consult a doctor for advice.
Food sequence
In addition to observing the characteristics of the diet, the order in the delivery of food is important. Feeding seriously ill patients has its own rules:
- first served liquid dishes, then solid;
- Do not mix boiled foods with raw ones;
- First of all, you need to give foods that are digested faster (fruits, vegetables);
- then sour-milk, bakery, meat dishes are offered (the body spends one, two and a half and five hours, respectively, for their processing);
- if after eating any food a person feels discomfort, it is worth switching to specialized liquid mixtures.
Meat and dairy products or eggs should not be eaten with potatoes or bread. These products are served separately.
Feeding a seriously ill patient: algorithm
If a bedridden person is able to eat naturally, this is wonderful. However, you need to organize this process correctly.
- Tell the patient what he will do now.
- Ventilate the room.
- Bring semi-liquid food, cooled to forty degrees.
- Wash hands in a container of water and wipe them.
- Put spoons, dishes, a cup.
- Raise a seriously ill patient so that he takes a sitting position (if possible).
- Cover it with a bib.
- Feed slowly, 2/3 fill the spoon with food. With her tip, first touch the lower lip so that the patient opens his mouth.
- To facilitate swallowing, give water to drink, while supporting the head.
- After serving each serving, it is necessary to pause so that a person can chew food.
- If necessary, wipe the mouth with a napkin.
Feeding a seriously ill patient from a spoon and a drinker requires a lot of patience. You can’t get irritated, rush the patient. People in this state are mentally unstable. In a person on nerve soil, vomiting, panic attack, and involuntary urination can occur.
After completing the meal, shake the crumbs out of bed, wipe the patient’s hands and help rinse the mouth.
Nasogastric tube feeding
In especially serious cases, a person cannot eat food naturally. Then the patient is fed artificially. For this, a thin bending tube is used - a probe. It is inserted into the esophagus through the nasopharynx.
Feeding seriously ill patients through a probe is carried out only with liquid products. It can be broths, juices, milk.
At first, up to two hundred milliliters of liquid are poured at a time, and meals are taken up to six times a day. After some time, the frequency of feedings can be reduced up to three times. Portions are doubled.
Feeding a seriously ill patient (algorithm) through a nasogastric tube consists of sequential actions.
- A person needs to explain all the manipulations.
- Wash the hands.
- Bring food.
- Help take a semi-sitting position.
- Pinch the probe with a clamp.
- Draw fluid into the syringe and direct it into the hole in the tube.
- Remove the clamp.
- Slowly introduce food.
- Rinse the probe with a small amount of water (using a clean syringe) and close it with a stopper.
After the procedure, you should help a person take a comfortable position.
Compliance with the rules of feeding seriously ill patients helps to maintain their health at an optimal level. While feeding in any way, the patient should not be distracted by talking, turning on music, a TV or a very bright light.