Skin Hydration Essay

1. describe the anatomy and physiology of the skin in relation to skin breakdown and the development of pressure sores

Pressure ulcers are areas of localised damage to the skin and underlying tissue caused by pressure. (Stechmiller et al., 2008) Pressure ulcers still one of the most significant health problem in our hospitals today, It affects on patients quality of life patient self-image and how long they will stay in hospital then the cost of patient treatment . Moore (2005) estimate that it costs a quarter of a million euro’s per annum to manage pressure ulcers in hospital and community settings across Ireland .which allows one to take immediate actions and prevent the ulcer if possible. To support pressure ulcer risk assessment several standardized pressure ulcer risk assessment scales have been introduced

Outcome 1 understand the anatomy and physiology of the skin in relation to pressure area care

After drinking water, the control and test subjects had gradual increase of urine flow, reaching a peak then decreasing again, whereas the desmopressin subject had decreased urine flow after taking the hormone, thereafter plateauing. According to the Dunnett’s t test between the urine flow of the subjects, the urine flow of the treatment subjects was significantly different to that of the control.

Skin tears and pressure ulcers are frequently seen in the elderly and care home residents are prime candidates (Stephen-Haynes

Pressure ulcers during a hospital admission are preventable. Assessment and early intervention can stop skin breakdown before it begins. Many factors regarding Mr. J’s condition placed him at a high risk regarding nursing indicators. Mild dementia, recent fall and a fractured hip all require a high level of nursing care and indicates preventative practice. Upon assessment, precautions should be in place to deter further complications. The elderly are more

A study conducted over seven years by Amir et al (2011) showed a significant decline of pressure ulcer development after three years of the study. This was partly due to strategies being implemented in regards to repositioning along with adequate nutrition, pressure ulcer prevention information leaflets were given to patients and skin assessments (Amir et al., 2011). It must also be considered that different patients will have different comorbidities and the use of a risk assessment tool is vital to assess and implementing a plan for pressure ulcer prevention according to the patient’s score (Tannen et al., 2010).

In schools around the country there are kids who are involved in sports, but lack the amount of fluids your body needs to function properly. The reason why this happens is due to dehydration. People in sports get pushed so hard and hardly ever get the chance to run to the water fountain to get a drink of water. Dehydration causes people to faint, vomit, and produces a fever because of the lack of fluids in their body.

Outcome 1: Understand the anatomy and physiology of the skin in relation to pressure area care

Skin integrity is an important concept that’s nurses assess on their patients. A key skill in nursing practice is to frequently assess the skin for possible breakdown or decreased skin integrity. Skin assessments should be conducted thoroughly once a shift and frequently reassessed for any signs of change. Skin discrepancies may be the first sign of an underlying issue. Early detection of any breakdown can help to implement interventions sooner. Unfortunately, unless there is a major skin discrepancy, skin issues can easily get overlooked, specifically in documentation and report. The focus of this paper is to research new skin integrity assessments to improve documentation effect and accuracy, resulting in decreased prevalence of skin breakdown in hospitalized patients. Topics discussed include reviewing current practices and new skin assessment techniques that decrease the prevalence of skin breakdown and pressure ulcers.

As cited by Jarvis (2012, p.203), “the skin is the sentry that guards the body from environmental stresses and adapt it to other environmental influences.” Maintaining the elderly patient’s skin integrity requires a holistic care approach. As a nurse, one of our best practices is performing a thorough skin assessment of the whole body of our patients. A detailed head-to-toe skin assessment and clear documentation can help the interdisciplinary team in generating individualize plan of care. I perform a thorough assessment by inspecting the patient’s skin color, temperature, texture, moisture, and for presence of wounds. I ensure that the information I obtained from the skin inspection is clearly documented in the patient’s chart and plan of care, and any skin changes are communicated to the physician or nurse practitioner.

Pressure injury, due to its high prevalence & probability, is nowadays seen as a patient safety issue internationally. As patient 's safety is paramount, a great importance is accorded to the issue. Even the performance of hospitals is benchmarked against the skin care quality, an attribute of quality care. This comparative essay outlines the evidence-based best practice recommendations to abate the risk of pressure injuries to patients in care. These recommendations, in essence, relate to the five research journal articles published recently.

Tissue tolerance from extrinsic and intrinsic factors are also claimed to be main factors in pressure ulcer development (Australian Wound Management Association 2001). Extrinsic factors such as moisture produced from excessive perspiration, not drying properly after showering, and urinary or faecal incontinence can increase moisture and make the skin more prone to friction (Beldon 2010). Friction and shearing from poor patient manual handling techniques can result in further pressure ulcer development issues (Benbow 2009b). Crowe and Brockbank (2009) point out that intrinsic factors such as nutrition, skin temperature, illness, oxygen delivery, skin conditions and medications all can have significant effects on the development process of pressure ulcers, and identifying people with these risk factors can be made easier with the use of a risk assessment tool.

“Drinking water is like washing out your insides. The water will cleanse the system, fill you up, decrease your caloric load and improve the function of all your tissues.” – Kevin R. Stone --

Drinking water is a necessary activity for human’s life. The aim of this research was to identify habits of international students with the hypothesis was the drinking water habits of overseas students change when they come to Australia. In order to recognize the drinking water habits of international students, the questionnaire