“Eating Disorders” plus 1 more nursing article(s): NursingCrib.com Updates

Posted: 21 Feb 2011 07:15 PM PST

Overview

Eating is very important in every human being. Not only that it is necessary for survival but it is also a social activity and has been part of many occasions all around the world. For some individuals, eating is one source of their worries, anxiety and problems.

Many people are worried and apprehensive about how they look. Most of the time, they can feel self-conscious about their bodies. Amongst the population, the teens are the ones most concerned about their body figure. This can be true, especially that they are going through puberty and they undergo dramatic physical changes and face social pressures.

Definition

Eating disorders refer to a group of conditions that are described and typified by the abnormal eating habits that are involved. The food intake in this case are either insufficient or excessive that results to detriment of an individual's physical and emotional health.

List of Common Eating Disorders

Anorexia Nervosa (AN). AN is a life-threatening eating disorder. It is characterized by the client's refusal or inability to maintain a minimally normal weight and an intense fear of gaining weight. Clients with anorexia nervosa have a disturbed perception of the size and shape of their body. These people have body weight that is 85% or less of that expected for their age and height. Anorexia can cause menstruation to stop, and often leads to bone loss, loss of skin integrity, etc. It greatly stresses the heart, increasing the risk of heart attacks and related heart problems. The risk of death is greatly increased in individuals with this disease.
Bulimia Nervosa. Bulimia is characterized by recurrent binge eating followed by compensatory behaviors such as purging (self-induced vomiting, excessive use of laxatives/diuretics, or excessive exercise). The amount of food consumed during a binge episode is quite larger than a person would normally eat. Bulimics may also fast for a certain amount of time following a binge. Clients with bulimia binge because of strong emotions which are then followed by guilt and shame.
Binge Eating Disorder. This type of eating disorder is characterized by a compulsive overeating. However, unlike bulimia nervosa no compensatory behavior is noted after the binge episode.
Purging Disorder. Individuals who are eating normally but are recurrently purging to promote weight loss are under this category.
Pica. Individuals who cannot distinguish between food and non-food items have PICA. In this type of eating disorder, a person is craving to eat, chew or lick non-food items or foods containing no nutrition. These things include chalk, paper, plaster, paint chips, baking soda, starch, glue, rust, ice, coffee grounds and cigarette ashes.

image courtesyof teensdonteat.blogspot.com

Passive Range of Motion Exercises

Posted: 21 Feb 2011 07:14 PM PST

Range of Motion (ROM) exercises

Range of motion exercises, also called ROM exercises, reduce stiffness, prevent deformities and help keep the joint flexible. These exercises can either be active or passive. When a person can perform the exercise himself or herself, active ROM is done. When a person needs someone to do the exercises for him or her, passive ROM exercise is performed. The helper does the ROM because the patient cannot do them by himself.

Importance of Performing the Passive Range of Motion Exercise

If a patient has to stay in bed or is confined in a wheelchair, ROM exercises are very important. Performing these exercises help the joints and muscles as healthy as possible. It increases blood flow and flexibility of the joints. Joints in the knees and elbows can become stiff without ROM exercises. PASSIVE ROM exercises help keep joint areas flexible, however, they do not build up muscles nor make them stronger.

Performing Passive ROM exercises

Explain the procedure to the patient.
Raise the patient's bed in a comfortable height.
Lock the wheels of the bed or wheelchair.

Head and Neck exercises

Lay the patient flat on his back (no pillow).
Support the back of the patient's head with your one hand and the chin with the other hand.
Chin- to chest passive ROM exercise – Gently raise the back of the person's head up from the bed.
Slowly and gently tip the patient's chin toward his chest.
Head turns – place your hand on both sides of the patient's face.
Slowly turn the patient's head to the right, then to his left. Keep in mind that the patient's head is only turned far enough that his or her nose is lined up above the shoulder.
Head tilt – with hands on each side of the patient's face, tilt the head to the side brining the right ear toward the right shoulder. Do the same in the other direction.

Shoulder and Elbow Exercises

Place your hand on the patient's elbow and other hand should be holding the patient's wrist.
Always keep the patient's elbow straight or slightly bent if necessary.
To move the shoulder up and down, turn the patient's palm towards the body. Then bring the other arm forward and upward over the patient's head until the inner arm touches his or her ear.
Bring the arm back down to his side.
To move the shoulder side to side, the right arm should be raised to side to shoulder level. The nurse or caregiver should raise it upward over the person's head as possible. After which, bring the arm down to the patient's side and then swing it across the patient's body toward the left shoulder. Swing the patient's arm back to his side.
To rotate shoulders, the right arm should be brought to the patient's side. Then bend the elbow so the thumb and the fingers are pointing up. Rotation of the arms follows – rotate the arm so the thumb and fingers point toward the person's toes.
After the shoulders, the elbow should be bent up and down. This done by placing the patient's arm at his side and turning the palm of his hand faced up. After which, bend the arm at the elbow so that the fingers are pointing toward the ceiling. Continue bending the elbow and touch the hand to the front of the right shoulder if possible. Place the patient's hand back down to his or her side.
Bend the patient's elbow side to side holding the right arm out at the shoulder level with the palm facing up. Then, bend the elbow and try to make the person's fingertips touch the top of his right shoulder.
Repeat procedure 1 to 8 with the other arm.