Importance Of Bedside Care Essay

Bedside Care Tips for People with Little to No Leg Strength

An injury to the leg or a terminal illness can cause your loved one to be bedridden for either a short or long period. When the leg muscles are damaged or injured, your loved one will find it difficult to move by himself and take care of himself.

So as one of the family members, it is your responsibility to help them in any way you can including bedside care. To assist your loved one, the following bedside care tips might help.

Position the bed for accessibility.

For a hassle-free bedside care, you should position your loved one’s bed for accessibility. It will be better if you position the bed at the center of the room wherein you can walk on both sides of the bed conveniently.

Bedsores frequently occur in bony areas and the bedridden individual may develop these roundlike wounds with pus on their skin if they don’t change their position on bed frequently.

To help you reposition your loved one, you can use drawsheets to lift him up. Using drawsheets for lifting might be tricky but your loved one’s nurse can help teach you how to use drawsheets and the right maneuver.

Keep the bedpan or urinal available.

Most often, people with little to no leg strength also experience problems in their bladder especially for terminally ill persons. To provide comfort and relief, it is best if you keep the bedpan or urinal available at the bedside. So whenever your loved one needs to take a pee, you can offer them the bedpan or urinal instead of making them go to the bathroom which can be difficult for them.

Whenever your loved one is using the bedpan or urinal, always ensure of his or her privacy. You can go outside the room and tell them to call you when they finished. Or you can provide them with drapes or close the curtains around their bed.

Caring for your loved one might be challenging especially when they have little to no leg strength. You can ask some help from your other family members so that you can take turns caring for your loved