Mother’s Day kicks off the annual National Women’s Health Week. It’s a week designed to raise awareness of women’s health issues and how to prevent or manage many of them. Your mom’s great about going for her mammograms, and it led to the discovery that your mom has breast cancer. Your mom will be going in for a double mastectomy, and her care needs following this surgery are great. Arrange skilled nursing care services to help her out.
Here are the different things skilled nursing care will do to help her.
Health Checks
For the first few days, your mom’s nurse can monitor your mom’s blood pressure, especially if she’s on prescription pain medications. Her nurse can keep track of her temperature and alert the doctor if there is a fever.
If your mom has diabetes, special care is needed as she heals. Her nurse can keep track of her blood sugar levels and make sure it’s stable. If there are issues, the nurse is able to consult with the doctors and determine the best course of action.
Medication Administration
Your mom may be on some pretty powerful pain medications for a day or two. Nurses can monitor the dosage and watch for side effects. If your mom has an adverse reaction, her nurse is there to help.
If there are problems with a fever or signs of infection, your mom’s nurse can administer the antibiotics her surgeon recommends she starts. If they’re IV antibiotics, the nurse can set up the IV line without her having to go back to the hospital.
Bandage Changes and Incision Care
Keeping the incisions dry and covered with pressure bandages is typical and it’s generally recommended that your mom doesn’t touch it. The surgeon will remove the bandages at her follow-up appointment. But, if something happens, a skilled nurse can properly dress the incisions again.
Your mom’s nurse can also monitor your mom for signs that there’s a problem with the incision, such as excessive blood showing through the bandage or redness spreading to the skin outside of the bandaged area. This can be a sign of infection and must be addressed ASAP.
Many mastectomy patients have a drain in their incisions to help with drainage from the healing wound. This drain needs to be emptied several times a day and the amount of drainage is recorded. With skilled nurses helping your mom, it’s easier to know if there is a problem with the amount of drainage or possible infection starting.
Arrange skilled nursing care as soon as you can. You want to make sure that plans are in place to have nurses ready at your mom’s home as soon as she is released from the hospital. Call our skilled nursing care agency to get started.
If you or a loved one are considering Skilled Nursing Care Services in Monroeville PA, please call and talk to the caring staff at Extended Family Care of Pittsburgh at (412) 693-6009. We will answer all of your questions.
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