Basic information about Assisting the Patient with a Bedpan or Urinal

Assisting the Patient with a Bedpan or Urinal

The equipment used in assisting patient with bedpan or urinal

1. Bedpan or Urinal with cover

2. Rubber protector and cover

3. Toilet Paper

4. Douche Pitcher with warm water (un-sterile)

5. Basin of warm water

6. Soap

7. Hand Towel (bath towel may also be used)

Procedure in assisting patient with Bedpan or Urinal

1. Prepare all equipment and bring to bedside and them place bedpan or chair.

2. Provide privacy to the patient.

3. Fold diagonally upper flap of top sheet near you.  Ask the patient to flex the legs.  Lift the buttocks slightly and simultaneously slip the rubber protector and cover under the buttocks.

4. Remove bedpan cover, Fold and tuck under mattress at the foot of the bed then place bedpan along side of patient. The patient is placed in a comfortable position to facilitate elimination.

5. Help patient lift under the lower lumbar region.  With the free hand slip bedpan under buttocks.  Make sure the patient the patient is comfortable and is in such a position where she will be able to void and/or defecate, without wetting herself or the bed.

6. Place call bell within patient’s reach with instructions to call when through. Weak patients are not left alone when on the bedpan.

7. Assist patient to clean herself. This is done to insure thorough cleaning of patient.

8. Assists patient to lift herself as you remove the bedpan, rubber protector and cover.  Place bedpan on chair and cover with bedpan cover immediately. Assisting will avoid too much strain on the part of the patient.  Covering the bedpan will eliminate embarrassment.

9. Assist patient to wash her hands and then make her comfortable. Washing of the hands is a good health habit.

10. Take all used equipment to the utility room.

11. Observe contents of bedpan before emptying into the aeroflush. Accurate observation is of utmost importance and helpful in the diagnostic of the patient’s illness.

12. Take back equipment to the bedside. All equipment is kept in the table for neatness and facility for next use.

Important Points to Remember in Giving and Removing Bedpan

1. Insure privacy so that tension is relieved and patient’s sphincters are relaxed.

2. Bedpan should be warmed to help the patient to relax.

3. Bedpan should never be left on the floor and should be emptied and cleaned immediately.

Procedure in Giving Bedpan to the Patient

1. Warm the bedpan in the utility room by pouring warm inside and rotating the water around the sides of the bedpan.

2. Cover the bedpan and bring to the patient’s bedside.  Screen the patient.

3. Place the bedpan on the chair at the side of the bed.

4. Hang cover on the foot of the bed or over the back of the chair.

5. Turn back the top sheet without exposing the patient.

6. Flex the patient’s knees and see that the gown or pajama is out of the way.

7. With the other hand, slide the bedpan under the buttocks.

8. Place one hand under the buttocks and help the patient raise his buttocks.

9. Unless contraindicated, raise the patient to the backrest position.  Put the patient in a favorable position for elimination by either elevating head of bed or by placing a small pillow rolled towel under the lumbar region.

10. Place the toilet paper and the call light within easy reach of the patient.

11. Leave the room or unit unless the patient is too weak to be left alone.

Procedure in Removing Bedpan from the Patient

1. Give the toilet paper to the patient.  If the patient is too ill, the nurse is responsible for cleaning the patient.

2. Flex the patient’s knees.  With one hand, raise the buttocks of the patient and remove the bedpan with the other hand.

3. Place the bedpan cover at once and place on the chair.

4. Straighten the top sheet and adjust the back and knee rest.

5. Wash the patient’s hands with soap and water.  Rinse and dry with hand towel.

6. Carry the covered bedpan to the utility room.

7. Empty contents into toilet bowl.  Rinse thoroughly in cold water with bedpan brush. Scald with hot water afterwards.

8. Place in rack to drain.

9. Wash your hands thoroughly.

Procedure with the Bedpan if the Patient does not need Assistance

1. Cover the urinal with a urinal cover and take to the bedside.

2. Place the urinal on the other side of the bed without removing the cover.  If the patient does not need assistance, leave the unit.

3. Be sure that the light is within easy reach.

4. Return to bedside when the patient turns on the signal light.

5. Take the covered urinal to the utility room.

6. Measure urine if an output order is required.

7. Empty and rinse the urinal.  Wash and return to its proper place.

Procedure with the Bedpan if the Patient needs Assistance

1. Fold back the top sheet and bring down the pajamas taking care not to expose the patient.

2. Separate the legs slightly so that the urinal can be placed between them.

3. With one hand holding the urinal, raise the penis the other hand and direct it to the opening of the urinal.

4. After the patient has finished, slowly remove the urinal by withdrawing it from the patient’s legs.

5. Cover with urinal cover and place on the chair. Make the patient comfortable.

6. Measure the urine if an output record is required.

7. Empty the urinal, rinse and place it in the proper place.

Basic information about Anatomy and Physiology of Body Movement

Anatomy and Physiology of Body Movement

The knowledge of anatomy and physiology is an essential basis for healthful living.  It is equally essential in understanding the pathological state of the body.  Before one can bring sick individuals back to normal anatomically, and physically, this subject is very important.  Anatomy and Physiology is also one of the basic subjects in medicine and allied courses: like nursing, medical-technology, midwifery, etc.

Anatomy is the study of different structures of the plants and its parts.  The two principal methods of this science are:

a) Gross Anatomy – the dissected body and its parts are seen by the naked eye (i.e. without the aid of the microscope.

b) Minute Anatomy or Histology – the tissues and organs are examined with the aid of the microscope.

Posture is “the relationship of the various parts of the body at rest or in any phase of activity.” Posture is considered to be good when proper placed upon the muscles, ligaments, and joints in maintaining balance.

Body movements are made principally by means of the skeleton, the muscles and the nervous system.  The skeleton is made up of bones, two of the functions of which are to provide an attachment for muscles and ligaments and to act as levers.  The proximal end of a skeletal muscle is attached to the less movable bone; this point of attachment is called the origin of the muscle.  The distal end of the muscle is attached to a freely movable bone; this point is called the insertion of the muscle.

The muscles, which are composed of fibers, contract to produce motion. Skeletal muscles are continuously in slight contraction, or tonus.  General good health, good nutrition, alternate rest and activity help to maintain the extensibility of muscle without stretching and thus affect muscle tone favorably.

The bones of the body also act as levers, and in body mechanics the principle of leverage is frequently used.  A lever is “a rigid bar which revolves about a fixed point, the fulcrum of the lever is a fixed point.  The resistance arm is the area between the resistance or weight and the fulcrum.  The effort arm is the area between the point at which the energy is applied and the fulcrum.  The levers of the body vary in shape and even in rigidity.  The principles of leverage are applied in the procedures described.

The spinal nerves are directly involved in trunk and limb movements.  Each spinal nerve has an anterior and a posterior root.  The anterior root constructs impulses to the muscles from the central nervous system; the posterior root conducts impulses from the sensory receptors to the central nervous system.

Body movement is also affected by gravity, the force which pulls all objects toward the center of the earth.  Most movement, then, involves pulling to at least some extent against the force of gravity.  To describe the movement of the body parts, term such as abduction, adduction, flexion, and extension are used.  Abduction refers to movement away from the central axis of the body.  Adduction refers to movement toward the axis of the body. Flexion is the act of bending; extension can be described as the act of straightening.  Illustrations of abduction, adduction, flexion and extension are given later in the chapter.

Body movements can be described relative to three planes; the sagittal, frontal and transverse.  When the body is in the anatomical position, the sagittal plane divides in into right and left sections, the frontal plane into dorsal and ventral sections and the transverse plane into upper and lower sections.