Postoperative care is basically the care one receives after a surgical procedure. This kind of postoperative care, precisely, Post operative nursing care depends on the surgery type including your health history, pain management and wound care. Postoperative care done at Post operative care homes commences immediately after surgery is performed on the patients, lasting for the duration of hospital stay and continuing after the patient has been discharged from the hospital. As part of your postoperative care, your healthcare provider should make it a point to teach you about the potential side effects and procedural complications. Before surgery, ask your doctor what the Post operative nursing care, especially for the elderly, will involve. Your doctor may revise some of their instructions post-surgery based on how surgery is carried out and how well one is recovering from it.
Below are five basic pointers one is oblivious of when it comes to Post operative nursing care for the elderly carried out at Post operative care homes:
- Uncontrolled Pain-Whilst pain is commonplace post-surgery, this still needs to be taken care of in post-surgical care for the elderly. The reason is that in some elderly patients, painkillers or sedatives do not work any longer after surgical procedure. In no way the pain can be reduced by prescribed oral drugs, so the need to consult a doctor arises. However, problems with pain management tend to affect a patient’s ability to recover and recuperate, making recovery process a bit more tedious, lasting and uncomfortable than it actually requires to be. This is where the Post operative nursing care performed at Post operative care homes for the elderly comes into the picture!
- Confusion or Delirium-Coming out of anaesthesia is tough task indeed. Grogginess plagues a majority of those who went under the knife. But confusion or postoperative delirium treated at Post operative care homes, is different and is mostly seen amongst elderly people.
According to experts, more than 80% of elderly patients’ delirium go unaware and unnoticed. Here are the warning signs:
- Distraction
- Disorientation
- Inability to utter certain words
- Temporary memory loss
- Hallucinations
- Lack of awareness
If you notice any of the aforementioned symptoms amongst the aged ones, tell someone immediately for timely intervention.
- Increased Nausea-Medications and anaesthesia generate adverse effects on the patient’s body. If your loved ones or the elderly people have problem of this sort, it is quite normal. Nausea is not that alarming in itself. But if it persists for a longer period of time, it leads to dehydration. Give a call to professionals dealing with Post operative nursing care if vomiting and sickness do not subside of their own.
- Excessive Bruising-Post-surgery, it’s overwhelming to see the aftermath. To add to the woes, there is excessive bruising on most occasions. The reason is that there is every chance of blood being leaked out spreading to other places under the skin. It’s not uncommon to detect bruising around the surgery site. Don’t feel panicky if you can’t help yourself out. Get in touch with a professional working at Post operative care homes who can bail you out!
- Dehydration-In the midst of confusion, pain, lethargy, and tiredness, one may easily forget to drink water. It is very much common amongst elderly patients in surgical aftercare carried out at Post operative care homes. This explains why it’s crucial that someone must be there to remind them of hydrating themselves with water at regular intervals. Moreover, ice chips can go a long way. However, hydration aids in temperature spikes, nausea, and all kinds of post-op side-effects.
For most elderly patients, the road to recovery is a difficult one. As a caretaker, it’s quite a daunting task to think of the care your loved ones, especially, aged persons require-right from Postoperative nursing care to recovery in the future. So, it’s imperative to consult professionals and healthcare providers working at Post operative care homes if everything else falls flat.
Swarnavihar old-age home & dementia care centre is an assisted-care living facility established in Pune for needy elders. One of the leading Post operative care homes in Pune offering outstanding senior citizen care services including Post operative nursing care, Swarnavihar aims at taking care and supporting them with compassion, empathy and kindness. It specializes in care and daily living assistance of an order of individuals requiring help, giving them protection from intruders, and providing 100% assurance of safe and secured lives. Swarnavihar’s wide array of services constitute Assisted Living Care, Dementia Care, Geriatric Care, Palliative/Hospice Care, Paralytic Care & Post Operative Care. It provides the amenities for Doctor Visit, Nursing Care and Physiotherapy. With a team of our sincere, efficient and dedicated staff members and experienced clinical team, Swarnavihar excels in offering whole-hearted and full-fledged support and assistance to innumerable senior citizens, spreading its wings far and wide in Vadagaon, Baner, Wakad, Gottigere, Pune India. Get in touch with us to avail our all-round services!