Dealing with a Patient Suffering from Dehydration - Essay Example

"Dealing with a Patient Suffering from Dehydration" is a perfect example of a paper on care.
As a medical student nursing or taking care of a patient is a crucial activity as far as contact with the patient is concerned. Apart from contact with the patient, I have been given a chance to grow professionally. Analyzing the depth of the ailments of a patient in a still condition has enabled me to achieve expertise in the field of medicine. Additionally, this has provided me with the means and ways to take care of a patient outside medical practice. In this paper, I will focus on how to deal with a patient who faces dehydration occasionally. Additionally, it will focus on ways or alternatives of home-based care of a very ill patient.

In this case, I will refer my patient as Mrs. M. for confidentiality purposes. Mrs. M is an elderly woman suffering from hypernatremia, UTI, and Alzheimer's. These conditions lead to often instances of dehydration and confusion. The patient cannot walk or rise for long since she is occasioned to falling. Due to this, she spends most of his times seated and almost all her medical care is provided while she is seated.

In one scenario in one of the afternoons in training, I realized that the patient has extremely pale skin and her lips were completely dry. After consulting my supervisor, I was advised to check her blood level which was at about 158mEq/l. This is contrary to the normal blood level of an elderly which is supposed to be about 140mEq/l. this was a clear indication that she was dehydrated. Elderly patients especially those with limited mobility have limited access to water and are too weak to ask for water (Frank, 2010). Also, dehydration may be caused by the emission of excess water from a patient’s body through urine or diarrhea.

After this discovery, I decided to keep the patient’s water input and output. Additionally, the consumption of any sodium related product was under my watch. After a time limit of about one hour, I checked the blood level of the patient and provided her with water. I was also able to detect any form of excessive emission of water from her body. From this, I was able to prevent her from any possible cases of dehydration (Nursing Skills, 2012). In some instances, the patient looked confused and did not know her location. Due to the ailments she faced, she also experienced mood swings which I also learned with time. As a result of her condition, the patient needed the utmost care from a professional health care expert. With her living condition, a prescription of a trained medical practitioner should be the best option (Leslie, 2011).

This experience impacted positively on my professional growth to what I am today. I am able to correctly measure and analyze blood levels. Additionally, I have learned how to relate to patients regardless of their condition. From my mentor, I learned how to relate to a patient’s mood swings and how to ease their emotional discomforts. Given the chance, I would provide efficient health care to more needy individuals.