🏥 “A healing space where safety, comfort, and care meet.”
📚 The Patient Unit is the physical space assigned for one patient’s care in a hospital setting.
🗨️ A Patient Unit is the complete physical environment or space in a hospital or healthcare facility that is assigned to and used by one patient.
It includes all necessary furniture, equipment, and accessories used for the comfort, care, safety, and treatment of the patient.
✅ Ensure comfort, privacy, and dignity of the patient
✅ Maintain cleanliness and safety
✅ Support therapeutic care and infection control
✅ Improve accessibility of equipment and resources
✅ Promote fast recovery and positive experience
👩⚕️ A nurse plays a vital role in maintaining a safe, organized, and healing environment:
🔹 Check for cleanliness and restocking of items
🔹 Ensure bed safety (side rails up, brakes on)
🔹 Report any damage or malfunctioning equipment
🔹 Maintain privacy during procedures
🔹 Document use of supplies, linen changes
🔹 Educate patients on safe use of call bell, water jug, etc.
✅ Q: What is included in a patient unit?
🅰️ Bed, furniture, call bell, lighting, hygiene items, etc.
✅ Q: Purpose of a call bell in the patient unit?
🅰️ To alert the nurse for help
✅ Q: Which item is used to provide meals to bed-bound patients?
🅰️ Overbed table
✅ Q: How does proper ventilation help in a patient unit?
🅰️ Reduces infection risk and provides comfort
✅ Q: What is the nurse’s responsibility regarding patient unit?
🅰️ Ensure cleanliness, orderliness, privacy, and safety
🏥 “A clean, safe, and healing space that supports recovery.”
🩺 It includes all physical, psychological, and social factors that influence the patient’s health during hospital stay.
🗨️ The Hospital Environment refers to the total surroundings in a healthcare facility that affect the well-being, safety, comfort, and recovery of patients, as well as the efficiency of healthcare workers.
Includes tangible and structural components:
| 🛠️ Elements | 📝 Description |
|---|---|
| 🛏️ Infrastructure | Buildings, wards, operation theatres |
| 💡 Lighting | Natural and artificial lighting |
| 🌬️ Ventilation | Fresh air, temperature control |
| 🧼 Cleanliness | Sanitation, waste management |
| 🔇 Noise Control | Quiet atmosphere for rest |
| 🪟 Layout | Bed spacing, accessibility |
| 🔌 Safety Measures | Handrails, fire extinguishers, non-slip floors |
Deals with emotional and mental aspects:
| 💭 Elements | 📝 Description |
|---|---|
| 🤝 Nurse–Patient Interaction | Communication, empathy, trust |
| 🛌 Privacy | Curtains, separate rooms |
| 📖 Patient Education | Health awareness and reassurance |
| 👂 Listening & Support | Emotional support for anxiety and fear |
| 🧘 Relaxing Environment | Calm, compassionate, non-threatening care setting |
Interaction with staff, family, and other patients:
| 👥 Elements | 📝 Description |
|---|---|
| 👨⚕️ Staff Attitude | Respectful, friendly, professional |
| 👪 Family Support | Visits and participation in care |
| 👩⚕️ Interpersonal Relationships | Among patients and staff |
| 🌍 Cultural Sensitivity | Respecting beliefs, values, and rituals |
✅ Promote healing and recovery
✅ Prevent hospital-acquired infections (HAIs)
✅ Ensure comfort, dignity, and privacy
✅ Provide safety and efficiency in care
✅ Improve patient and staff satisfaction
👩⚕️ Nurses are key guardians of the hospital atmosphere:
🔸 Keep unit clean and organized
🔸 Maintain bed spacing and privacy
🔸 Communicate therapeutically
🔸 Report hazards or non-functional equipment
🔸 Ensure infection control (handwashing, PPE use)
🔸 Monitor noise, odors, lighting, temperature
🔸 Encourage patient’s emotional well-being
🚫 Overcrowding
🚫 Poor ventilation
🚫 Noise pollution
🚫 Lack of communication
🚫 Dirty surroundings or unmanaged waste
🚫 Negative staff attitudes
✅ Regular housekeeping and disinfection
✅ Use of soothing colors and proper lighting
✅ Staff training in communication and empathy
✅ Biomedical waste management
✅ Maintenance of medical and support equipment
✅ Access to natural light and fresh air
✅ Q: What is the main aim of a hospital environment?
🅰️ To promote patient healing and safety
✅ Q: What are the 3 types of hospital environments?
🅰️ Physical, Psychological, and Social
✅ Q: What is the nurse’s role in the hospital environment?
🅰️ Maintain cleanliness, communication, and patient comfort
✅ Q: One factor affecting psychological environment?
🅰️ Nurse–patient communication
✅ Q: How does poor ventilation affect hospital environment?
🅰️ Increases infection risk and discomfort
🏨 “A well-organized ward promotes safety, healing, and nursing efficiency.”
🛏️ It refers to the structured physical and functional arrangement of space, staff, and equipment in a hospital ward.
🗨️ Nursing Ward Setup refers to the systematic arrangement of beds, equipment, furniture, nursing stations, and utilities in a hospital ward to ensure optimal patient care, nurse efficiency, comfort, and safety.
| 🏷️ Ward Type | 📖 Description |
|---|---|
| 🛌 Medical Ward | For non-surgical patients with medical conditions |
| 🔪 Surgical Ward | For pre- and post-operative care |
| 👶 Pediatric Ward | For children and neonates |
| 💓 ICU/CCU | Intensive/critical care for life-threatening conditions |
| 🤰 Maternity Ward | For labor, delivery, and postnatal care |
| 🧠 Psychiatric Ward | For mental health patients |
| 🧓 Geriatric Ward | For elderly care |
✅ Natural ventilation and sunlight ☀️
✅ Calm, low-noise environment 🔇
✅ Easy nurse access to each patient 🚶♀️
✅ Separate procedure and utility rooms 🛠️
✅ Washroom facilities for every 4–6 beds 🚿
✅ Centralized oxygen supply lines 💨
👩⚕️ Nurses play a key role in ward organization and upkeep:
🔹 Keep beds and lockers clean
🔹 Ensure emergency equipment is functional
🔹 Monitor biomedical waste segregation
🔹 Organize medication trolleys & linen supplies
🔹 Report repairs/damages
🔹 Educate patients on unit rules and safety
✅ Q: Ideal distance between two beds in a ward?
🅰️ 3 to 3.5 feet
✅ Q: What is the purpose of a nursing station?
🅰️ To coordinate patient care and maintain records
✅ Q: Which bin color is used for infectious waste?
🅰️ Yellow (as per BMW guidelines)
✅ Q: Who is responsible for ward cleanliness and organization?
🅰️ Nursing staff under ward in-charge supervision
✅ Q: Why is natural ventilation important in ward setup?
🅰️ To reduce infection and promote patient comfort
🧼 “Clean care is safer care.”
🛡️ Infection control prevents the spread of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) and protects both patients and staff.
🗨️ Infection control in the patient unit refers to the set of practices and procedures applied to reduce the risk of transmission of infectious agents in healthcare settings, especially in and around the bedside, furniture, equipment, and surroundings of the patient.
✅ Prevent Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs)
✅ Protect patients, staff, and visitors
✅ Promote clean and safe environment
✅ Reduce cross-contamination and outbreak risks
✅ Enhance healing and recovery
| ⚠️ Source | 💬 Examples |
|---|---|
| 🛏️ Patient’s body fluids | Blood, sputum, urine, feces, wound discharge |
| ✋ Hands of healthcare workers | Unwashed hands post-procedure |
| 🧹 Contaminated surfaces | Bedrails, overbed tables, curtains |
| 🧴 Medical equipment | Stethoscope, BP cuffs, suction apparatus |
| 💨 Airborne pathogens | Droplets from cough/sneezes (TB, flu) |
| 🚽 Toilets & sinks | Improper sanitation |
🔹 Follow and teach standard precautions
🔹 Ensure hand hygiene compliance
🔹 Monitor patient cleanliness & hygiene
🔹 Disinfect patient equipment daily
🔹 Report any signs of infection promptly
🔹 Ensure PPE use and waste segregation
🔹 Educate patients & families on hygiene
✅ Q: What is the most important step to prevent hospital infections?
🅰️ Hand hygiene
✅ Q: Which solution is used to clean blood spills?
🅰️ 1% sodium hypochlorite
✅ Q: What type of bin is used for infectious waste?
🅰️ Yellow bag/bin
✅ Q: What is the nurse’s role in infection control?
🅰️ Apply and educate on infection control practices
✅ Q: Name two types of isolation precautions.
🅰️ Contact and Airborne Precautions
🛏️ “A bed is not just a place to rest; it’s a vital part of healing.”
📚 Different bed types are designed to meet specific patient needs and medical conditions in a healthcare setting.
🗨️ A hospital bed or nursing bed refers to a bed specifically designed for hospitalized patients or others in need of some form of healthcare.
It facilitates nursing care, improves comfort, promotes healing, and helps in positioning and mobility.
| 🧩 Classification | 📌 Basis |
|---|---|
| 🛠️ By Use | Closed, Open, Occupied, Admission, Recovery Beds |
| 🏥 By Condition | Surgical, Cardiac, Orthopedic (Fracture), Burn Bed |
| 📐 By Positioning | Fowler’s, Trendelenburg, Reverse Trendelenburg |
| 🌡️ By Therapy | Blanket Bed, Amputation Bed, Plaster Bed |
🗨️ A bed made after the patient is discharged — fully covered.
✅ Purpose:
✅ Used In:
🗨️ A bed prepared and folded back at the top to receive a new or returning patient.
✅ Purpose:
✅ Used In:
🗨️ Made while the patient is in bed, usually when the patient is immobile or unconscious.
✅ Purpose:
✅ Requires:
🗨️ Made specifically for receiving a patient from emergency or operating room.
✅ Features:
🗨️ Designed to receive a patient post-anesthesia from OT/Recovery.
✅ Features:
🗨️ For patients with pelvic, spinal, or limb fractures.
✅ Features:
🗨️ Designed for cardiac patients to promote comfort and reduce venous return.
✅ Features:
🗨️ A semi-sitting or sitting bed used for respiratory or cardiac patients.
✅ Types:
✅ Purpose:
🗨️ The bed frame is tilted with head down and legs elevated.
✅ Used For:
❌ Contraindicated in increased intracranial pressure (ICP)
🗨️ Head elevated and legs lower — opposite of Trendelenburg.
✅ Used For:
🗨️ Specially arranged to support stump care and prevent deformity/edema.
✅ Features:
🗨️ For patients with wet plaster casts, e.g., post orthopedic surgery.
✅ Features:
🗨️ Prepared to provide external warmth to patients with hypothermia or shock.
✅ Used In:
| 🛏️ Type | 📌 Purpose | 🧾 Specialty |
|---|---|---|
| Closed Bed | Dust-free readiness | For new patients |
| Open Bed | Accessibility | After rounds/test |
| Occupied Bed | Change while patient is on bed | Immobile/critical cases |
| Cardiac Bed | Reduce heart strain | Heart failure |
| Fracture Bed | Prevent movement | Orthopedic cases |
| Trendelenburg | Treat shock | Emergency care |
| Fowler’s | Aid breathing | Pulmonary/cardiac patients |
| Surgical Bed | Immediate post-op care | Recovery room |
| Amputation Bed | Stump elevation | Post-surgery |
| Plaster Bed | Dry cast support | Ortho unit |
| Blanket Bed | Warming | Hypothermia |
✅ Choose correct bed type for patient’s diagnosis
✅ Ensure bed linen is clean, wrinkle-free
✅ Use infection control precautions
✅ Monitor for bedsores or discomfort
✅ Document changes & educate caregivers
✅ Q: What is the position of Trendelenburg bed?
🅰️ Head lower than feet
✅ Q: Which bed is ideal for spinal fractures?
🅰️ Fracture Bed
✅ Q: Which bed helps in dyspnea and cardiac conditions?
🅰️ Cardiac Bed / Fowler’s Bed
✅ Q: What is the main purpose of a surgical bed?
🅰️ To receive post-anesthesia patients
✅ Q: What bed is prepared for hypothermia?
🅰️ Blanket Bed
🛏️ “The beginning and conclusion of the hospital journey, shaped by care, safety, and communication.”
🗨️ Admission is the formal process through which a patient enters a healthcare facility for observation, diagnosis, treatment, or care.
It includes administrative, medical, and nursing steps to begin effective and holistic care.
| 🔢 Type | 📖 Description |
|---|---|
| 🆕 Routine Admission | Scheduled/pre-planned (e.g., surgery, chemotherapy) |
| 🚨 Emergency Admission | Sudden/urgent condition (e.g., trauma, stroke) |
| 🛌 Direct Admission | From OPD or doctor’s referral without emergency |
| 🔁 Transfer Admission | From another unit/hospital |
| 📆 Day Care Admission | For short procedures with same-day discharge (e.g., endoscopy) |
✅ Initiate patient-centered care
✅ Begin complete nursing & medical assessment
✅ Ensure safety, privacy, and comfort
✅ Document baseline health status
✅ Reduce patient anxiety through communication
| 🩺 Step | ✨ Description |
|---|---|
| 🛏️ Prepare the Unit | Clean bed, open layout, admission tray ready |
| 🙋 Welcome & Introduce | Greet patient/family; reduce fear and anxiety |
| 🧾 Verify ID & Documents | Check admission slip, ID card, medical orders |
| 💖 Nursing Assessment | Vital signs, head-to-toe check, allergies, pain level |
| 🧴 Orientation | Show bathroom, nurse call system, visiting hours |
| 📂 Record Belongings | Jewelry, cash, dentures, etc., are listed or sent home |
| 📝 Documentation | Admission notes, assessment form, allergy tag if needed |
| 🧑⚕️ Notify Healthcare Team | Inform doctor, dietitian, and other members if needed |
🗨️ Discharge is the formal release of a patient from hospital care after recovery, transfer, referral, or death.
It ensures continuity of care, patient safety, and legal closure of care episode.
| 🔢 Type | 📖 Description |
|---|---|
| 🆓 Planned Discharge | Ordered by doctor after recovery |
| 📋 Discharge on Request (DOR) | Requested by patient or relatives before full recovery |
| ⚖️ LAMA (Leave Against Medical Advice) | Patient leaves against medical advice (legal implications apply) |
| ⚰️ Discharge on Death | After patient expires (death certificate required) |
| 🔄 Transfer Discharge | To another hospital/facility for specialized care |
| 🩺 Step | ✨ Description |
|---|---|
| 📢 Inform Patient/Family | Give clear date/time of discharge |
| 📜 Verify Doctor’s Order | Ensure written discharge summary & prescription |
| 💊 Medication Teaching | Explain name, dose, time, side effects |
| 🥗 Diet & Activity Advice | Provide clear instructions on diet, mobility, rest |
| 📆 Follow-Up Appointments | Note next OPD visit, tests, home visits |
| 🎒 Return Belongings | Cross-check valuables, clothes, etc. |
| 📝 Final Assessment | Record vitals, wound status, general condition |
| 💻 Documentation | Discharge summary, nurse’s discharge note, patient feedback form |
| 🤝 Coordination | Inform billing department and transport services |
✅ Diagnosis (initial and final)
✅ Treatment given (medications, procedures)
✅ Response to treatment
✅ Instructions on diet, rest, activity, hygiene
✅ Medications prescribed
✅ Referral/follow-up details
✅ Name, signature of doctor and nurse
🔸 Document LAMA or DOR with signatures of patient/family and witnesses
🔸 Ensure informed consent for early discharge
🔸 Report refusal of discharge or noncompliance to doctors
🔸 Maintain confidentiality of discharge information
🔸 In case of death, follow protocol for body release and death certification
| 🏥 Feature | ✅ Admission | 🚪 Discharge |
|---|---|---|
| 🎯 Purpose | Start of treatment | End or shift of care |
| 📑 Documents | Admission form, ID, history | Summary, prescription, bills |
| 🛏️ Nurse’s Role | Welcome, assess, orient | Review, teach, document |
| 🔗 Communication | Initiates coordination | Closes care loop with referrals |
| 📦 Belongings | Stored safely | Returned with checklist |
✅ Q: Which discharge occurs when the patient refuses treatment?
🅰️ LAMA (Leave Against Medical Advice)
✅ Q: What is the nurse’s first action in planned discharge?
🅰️ Verify doctor’s discharge order
✅ Q: Which document includes medications and follow-up?
🅰️ Discharge Summary
✅ Q: What should nurse do during admission?
🅰️ Welcome, assess, document, orient patient
✅ Q: DOR differs from LAMA in that:
🅰️ DOR is voluntary by family; LAMA is against medical advice
🛏️ “Small aids that bring big comfort to the healing journey.”
📚 Comfort devices are tools or aids used to maintain or improve patient comfort, prevent complications, and promote rest, healing, and safety.
🗨️ Comfort Devices are articles used to provide physical comfort and support to patients who are ill, bedridden, post-operative, or unable to move freely.
They relieve pressure, maintain positioning, and support hygiene and dignity.
✅ Maintain normal body alignment & posture
✅ Prevent bedsores and deformities
✅ Provide rest and relaxation
✅ Reduce pain, friction, and discomfort
✅ Support healing and patient independence
| 🔧 Device | 📝 Use |
|---|---|
| 🔁 Pillows | Support head, arms, legs, abdomen for alignment |
| 🧼 Back Rest | Keeps patient in semi-sitting (Fowler’s) position |
| 🧍♂️ Foot Rest/Footboard | Prevent foot drop, maintain 90° ankle flexion |
| 🔄 Sandbags | Maintain limb position post-fracture |
| 🔷 Knee Rest | Elevate knees for comfort and circulation |
| ➰ Bed Cradle | Keeps bed linen off sore or injured areas |
| 🛡️ Device | 📝 Use |
|---|---|
| 🥚 Egg Crate Mattress | Reduces pressure on bony prominences |
| 💨 Air Mattress | Alternating pressure to prevent bedsores |
| 🧼 Water Bed | Even weight distribution for long-term care |
| 🧴 Rubber/Cotton Rings | For sore areas (buttocks, elbows) |
| 🧊 Air Cushions/Donut Cushions | Relieve pressure while sitting (hemorrhoids, postpartum) |
| 🚶 Device | 📝 Use |
|---|---|
| 🦯 Walking Stick | Support for partial mobility |
| 🪑 Wheelchair | Movement for non-ambulatory patients |
| 🏃♀️ Walker/Crutches | For rehabilitation and fractures |
| 🚶 Overbed Pole/Monkey Bar | Helps patient shift position in bed |
| 🌡️ Device | 📝 Use |
|---|---|
| 🔥 Hot Water Bag | Relieve pain, promote circulation |
| ❄️ Ice Bag/Cold Pack | Reduce swelling, fever, bleeding |
| ♨️ Heating Pad | Muscular pain, arthritis |
| 🧊 Ice Cap | Reduce fever, headaches |
| 🧻 Device | 📝 Use |
|---|---|
| 🚽 Bedpan | Urination/defecation in bed-bound patients |
| 🧴 Urinal (Male/Female) | Toilet assistance for patients in bed |
| 💦 Commode Chair | Toilet substitute for semi-mobile patients |
| 🛁 Sitz Bath Basin | Relieves perineal discomfort (piles, postnatal) |
🔹 Select correct device based on patient’s condition
🔹 Maintain cleanliness and safety
🔹 Ensure correct positioning and alignment
🔹 Educate patient on use and purpose
🔹 Monitor for pressure areas, pain, discomfort
🔹 Document effectiveness and patient response
✅ Q: What is the use of a footboard in bed care?
🅰️ To prevent foot drop and maintain normal foot position
✅ Q: Which device reduces pressure while sitting in bed?
🅰️ Air ring or donut cushion
✅ Q: What is the function of a bed cradle?
🅰️ To prevent bed linen from touching the body
✅ Q: Which comfort device is used to keep limbs in position?
🅰️ Sandbags
✅ Q: What device helps a bed-bound patient sit up without help?
🅰️ Overbed pole (monkey bar)
♨️ “Where warmth heals, relaxes, and soothes.”
🩺 A hot application is a local or general application of heat to the body to relieve pain, improve circulation, and promote healing.
🗨️ Hot application refers to the therapeutic use of heat over a body part or the entire body for comfort, healing, or pain relief, using dry or moist heat sources.
✅ Relieve pain, muscle spasms, and cramps
✅ Reduce inflammation and stiffness
✅ Promote vasodilation and blood flow
✅ Enhance absorption of exudates in infection or swelling
✅ Provide relaxation and comfort
✅ Promote suppuration in localized infections (boils)
| 🔬 Effect | 🧠 Response |
|---|---|
| 🔴 Vasodilation | Increases blood flow to area |
| 💆 Muscle relaxation | Relieves stiffness and tension |
| ⚡ Increased metabolism | Speeds up healing |
| 🧪 Enhanced capillary permeability | Promotes nutrient delivery and waste removal |
| ❌ Nerve sedative effect | Reduces pain sensation |
| 🔧 Device | 📖 Description |
|---|---|
| 🔥 Hot water bag | Most common device, filled with hot water (40–45°C) |
| 🧯 Heating pad | Electrically heated pad for muscles and joints |
| 🥚 Hot sand bag | Used to maintain warmth over large areas |
| ♨️ Infrared lamp | Used for dry surface heating in physiotherapy |
| 🪑 Hot air oven | Used for dry sterilization, not therapeutic |
| 💧 Method | 📖 Description |
|---|---|
| 🧖♂️ Hot compress | Cloth soaked in hot water and applied to skin |
| 🌡️ Hot fomentation | Localized moist heat with wrung cloth (e.g., over abscess) |
| 🛁 Sitz bath (hot) | Perineal soaking in hot water (40–45°C) |
| 💧 Steam inhalation | Moist heat for upper respiratory tract |
| 🌬️ Hot pack | Commercial or hospital-prepared packs |
| 🌡️ Type | 🧪 Temp Range |
|---|---|
| ❗ Very Hot | 45–50°C → for adults (short time) |
| 🔥 Hot | 40–45°C → most common |
| 💦 Warm | 36–40°C → for children/elderly |
| ☕ Tepid | 27–36°C → for fever reduction or sensitive skin |
🔹 Check doctor’s order (site, duration, method)
🔹 Inspect skin for redness, breaks, infection
🔹 Explain procedure to patient
🔹 Prepare and test water temperature (using thermometer or back of hand)
🔹 Cover device with cloth to prevent burns
🔹 Apply for 15–20 minutes unless otherwise directed
🔹 Observe for redness, blistering, discomfort
🔹 Never use on areas with impaired sensation (diabetes, paralysis)
🔹 Document site, type, time, response, and any adverse reaction
🚫 Areas with decreased sensation (neuropathy)
🚫 Active bleeding or hemorrhage
🚫 Malignant tumors
🚫 Severe edema
🚫 Poor circulation or vascular disease
🚫 Open wounds without medical advice
✅ Q: What is the safe temperature range for a hot water bag in adults?
🅰️ 40–45°C
✅ Q: Which type of heat application promotes suppuration?
🅰️ Moist heat (hot fomentation)
✅ Q: Which condition is a contraindication for hot application?
🅰️ Area with decreased sensation (e.g., diabetic foot)
✅ Q: Ideal duration for hot application?
🅰️ 15–20 minutes
✅ Q: Why is hot application not advised during active bleeding?
🅰️ Heat causes vasodilation and may increase bleeding
❄️ “Cool care to reduce pain, swelling, and bleeding.”
🧊 Cold application is the use of cold temperature locally or generally to treat inflammation, injury, pain, or fever.
🗨️ Cold application is the therapeutic use of cold to a part or the entire body for reducing temperature, controlling bleeding, relieving pain, or minimizing inflammation.
✅ Constrict blood vessels → reduce bleeding (vasoconstriction)
✅ Relieve acute pain, muscle spasms
✅ Decrease inflammation and edema
✅ Reduce body temperature in fever
✅ Slow down nerve impulses → reduces pain sensation
✅ Minimize bruising and tissue damage after injury
| 🔬 Effect | 🧠 Result |
|---|---|
| 🔵 Vasoconstriction | Reduces blood flow to site → less swelling & bleeding |
| ❌ Nerve impulse slowing | Numbs area → reduces pain |
| 🧊 Metabolism reduction | Slows tissue damage & inflammatory response |
| ⏸️ Muscle relaxation | Relieves cramps & spasms |
| 🧊 Device | 📝 Use |
|---|---|
| ❄️ Ice bag | Local injuries, sprains, fever |
| 🧤 Cold pack | Reusable/chemical packs for swelling & bruises |
| 🥶 Ice collar | Post-tonsillectomy or throat surgery |
| 🧊 Ice gloves/caps | During chemotherapy to reduce hair loss or protect extremities |
| ❄️ Cold compress (dry) | Clean cloth cooled in freezer |
| 💦 Method | 📝 Use |
|---|---|
| 💧 Cold compress (wet) | Cloth soaked in cold water – for eyes, forehead, limbs |
| 🧼 Evaporative cooling (tepid sponge bath) | For fever management in children/adults |
| 🧴 Alcohol sponge | Promotes cooling by evaporation — used cautiously |
| 🌬️ Type | 🌡️ Temp Range |
|---|---|
| ❄️ Cold | 15–20°C (59–68°F) |
| 🧊 Very Cold | 10–15°C (50–59°F) |
| 🧊 Ice-Cold | 0–10°C (32–50°F) |
| 🧼 Tepid | 27–36°C (80–96°F) — for sponge baths |
✅ Local cold application: 10–20 minutes (as per doctor’s advice)
✅ Monitor for chilling, shivering, cyanosis, numbness
✅ Allow rest time between applications (30–60 minutes)
🔹 Check doctor’s order: site, method, duration
🔹 Assess patient’s skin, circulation, and sensation
🔹 Explain procedure to relieve anxiety
🔹 Wrap ice bag with cloth to prevent frostbite
🔹 Monitor for:
🚫 Peripheral vascular disease (e.g., diabetes)
🚫 Raynaud’s disease
🚫 Open wounds unless prescribed
🚫 Impaired sensation or numbness
🚫 Unconscious patient (without monitoring)
🚫 Very young or elderly (skin sensitivity)
✅ Q: What is the main physiological effect of cold application?
🅰️ Vasoconstriction
✅ Q: What is the safe duration for cold application?
🅰️ 10–20 minutes
✅ Q: Which cold device is used post-tonsillectomy?
🅰️ Ice collar
✅ Q: Why should cold applications be wrapped in cloth?
🅰️ To prevent skin damage or frostbite
✅ Q: In which condition is cold application contraindicated?
🅰️ Peripheral vascular disease