Personal Care and Hygiene

Question 1

What are the four main external risk factors to developing pressure ulcers?

Answer 1

Pressure - when skin and tissues are directly compressed between two hard surfaces.

Shear - when tissues are stretched in different directions.

Friction - when two surfaces rub together.

Moisture - Skin should not be left wet as moist skin sticks to material, it can become macerated making it more susceptible to shear and friction.

Question 1

What are the seven main internal risk factors to developing pressure ulcers?

Answer 1

Skin.
Moisture.
Weight.
Sensation.
Mobility.
Co-Morbidities.
Nutrition.

Question 2

What does the SSKIN, used to guide best practices in pressure ulcer prevention, acronym stand for?

Answer 2

• Surface
• Skin Inspection
• Keep moving
• Incontinence and moisture
• Nutrition and hydration

Question 3

What is ocular hygiene?

Answer 3

Eye care.

Question 4

What are common causes of sore, itchy or gritty eyes?

Answer 4

• Tear film dysfunction (dry eye). Patients may report sore eyes upon
  waking, with symptoms that worsen during the day. Poor sleep quality is
  associated with dry eye. Symptoms may include
  pain, a burning sensation and a red eye.
• Blepharitis, which is a disorder of the eyelid margins – causes include
  infection and lid gland malfunction. It usually affects both eyes and is
  chronic in nature. It occurs particularly in older people, or young people
  with autoimmune disease. It often causes
  crusting around the lash margins and stickiness when waking, and may
  sometimes cause the eye to appear red.
• Conjunctivitis, which may be viral, allergic or bacterial. The symptoms may
  include a feeling of grittiness, itchiness, discharge and red eye.
• Eye surgery, such as that to remove a cataract. Patients who have had
  eye surgery will have been given instructions about when and how to
  cleanse their eyelids.