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This is really gross, but I need help!
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<blockquote data-quote="Hound dog" data-source="post: 343334" data-attributes="member: 84"><p>Experience speaking here. </p><p></p><p>First, this nurse that called....Just what she said and how she put it makes me think that 1. she's a new nurse or 2. she doesn't have much experience in the nursing home setting.<img src="/community/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/tongue.png" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":tongue:" title="tongue :tongue:" data-shortname=":tongue:" /></p><p></p><p>Like I said, experience. I worked in nursing homes since I was 16 until about 23, as well as the hospital. </p><p></p><p>This is behavior that is not abnormal with elderly women, most especially those who have mobility issues with the bowel or like your aunt, always feel as if something is "stuck" there and that she needs to go. I mean, c'mon....it's uncomfortable and if the pressure gets to a certain point, well let's be honest...you just want it out of there no matter what it takes.</p><p></p><p>The behavior shows itself in elderly women who have issues with constipation and who may have at home used stool softeners, laxatives and Fleets to resolve the issue. The problem is that with chronic long term use of such products they tend to make it worse as the body tends to become dependent on them. And that's when the digging out behavior starts.</p><p></p><p>What the nurse should have asked is if your aunt has had long term issues with constipation. Has she used products such as Metamucil, Fleets, or laxatives on a fairly regular basis in an attempt to keep her bowels regular?</p><p></p><p>Definitely unsanitary. No so ineffective necessarily. At least with some of the patients I had. </p><p></p><p>And you might want to inform her that it is a common behavior to hyper focus on the bowels for woman of your aunts generation. When they were young a spoonful of castor oil was believed to cure a lot of what ails you. And doctors preached that good regular bowel movements were critical to good health.</p><p></p><p>mother in law has the same issue. Although to my knowledge has not yet resorted to digging. Because I was adamant with staff that when she says she needs something......she is not kidding and to get her a stool softener and something stronger as needed. Now they're standing orders from her fam doctor.</p><p></p><p>Is aunt aware enough that you and or staff can explain that some of the pressure she is feeling can be due to the broken tail bone and that as long as she is going regularly there is no need for her to worry? Because I know that keeping track of that sort of thing is a big deal to staff.......just so she won't have issues with it.</p><p></p><p>I don't recall aunt's level of functioning. So the spreading it could be anything from trying to clean her hands to an attempt to get her self up to go the the bathroom. Hard to tell.<img src="/community/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/sick.png" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":sick:" title="sick :sick:" data-shortname=":sick:" /></p><p></p><p>For my patients with this issue we paid special attention to whether or not they were staying regular (at least 2-3 times a week or their own "normal") and if it had been longer then we took action either by standing orders or by contacting the dr to get something to relieve the problem. Usually that was enough to stop the behavior. Only time I recall that it didn't was when the patient had taken it to the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) type of behavior and then medications were ordered for her, but they really didn't help much. Staff just made sure we were around when she was using the bathroom to prevent it from happening. Often she was very vexed with us. lol<img src="/community/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/emoticons/faint.gif" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":faint:" title="faint :faint:" data-shortname=":faint:" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Hound dog, post: 343334, member: 84"] Experience speaking here. First, this nurse that called....Just what she said and how she put it makes me think that 1. she's a new nurse or 2. she doesn't have much experience in the nursing home setting.:raspberry-tounge: Like I said, experience. I worked in nursing homes since I was 16 until about 23, as well as the hospital. This is behavior that is not abnormal with elderly women, most especially those who have mobility issues with the bowel or like your aunt, always feel as if something is "stuck" there and that she needs to go. I mean, c'mon....it's uncomfortable and if the pressure gets to a certain point, well let's be honest...you just want it out of there no matter what it takes. The behavior shows itself in elderly women who have issues with constipation and who may have at home used stool softeners, laxatives and Fleets to resolve the issue. The problem is that with chronic long term use of such products they tend to make it worse as the body tends to become dependent on them. And that's when the digging out behavior starts. What the nurse should have asked is if your aunt has had long term issues with constipation. Has she used products such as Metamucil, Fleets, or laxatives on a fairly regular basis in an attempt to keep her bowels regular? Definitely unsanitary. No so ineffective necessarily. At least with some of the patients I had. And you might want to inform her that it is a common behavior to hyper focus on the bowels for woman of your aunts generation. When they were young a spoonful of castor oil was believed to cure a lot of what ails you. And doctors preached that good regular bowel movements were critical to good health. mother in law has the same issue. Although to my knowledge has not yet resorted to digging. Because I was adamant with staff that when she says she needs something......she is not kidding and to get her a stool softener and something stronger as needed. Now they're standing orders from her fam doctor. Is aunt aware enough that you and or staff can explain that some of the pressure she is feeling can be due to the broken tail bone and that as long as she is going regularly there is no need for her to worry? Because I know that keeping track of that sort of thing is a big deal to staff.......just so she won't have issues with it. I don't recall aunt's level of functioning. So the spreading it could be anything from trying to clean her hands to an attempt to get her self up to go the the bathroom. Hard to tell.:sick: For my patients with this issue we paid special attention to whether or not they were staying regular (at least 2-3 times a week or their own "normal") and if it had been longer then we took action either by standing orders or by contacting the dr to get something to relieve the problem. Usually that was enough to stop the behavior. Only time I recall that it didn't was when the patient had taken it to the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) type of behavior and then medications were ordered for her, but they really didn't help much. Staff just made sure we were around when she was using the bathroom to prevent it from happening. Often she was very vexed with us. lol:knockedout: [/QUOTE]
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