Paper Example on Skin Pressure Injuries

Introduction

Pressure injuries occur in many patients and can result in mortality and morbidity if not controlled. However, a number of these pressure injuries are preventable if good measures are put in place. The prevention measures have a wide range of benefits to the patients. In addition, the preventive measures mainly involve assessing the risks of all the patients in the hospital. Moreover, there are other preventive strategies that are involved which include inspecting the skins of the patients regularly and analyzing the causes of pressure injuries (Dean 2011).

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Benefits of Prevention from Skin Pressure Injuries

There are a number of benefits that are associated with preventing the skin injuries in patients admitted to the hospital. The benefits are as follows; the patients are prevented from friction and other forces increasing skin injuries. When the patients are admitted to the hospital, there are measures that are put in place to prevent them from friction or any other external forces, especially during movement or repositioning. Some of the well laid down procedures include lowering the bed during repositioning and use some of the common slide sheets when moving the patients from one place to another as stated in Coyer and Tayyib (2017).

The patients are prevented from any form of moisture. The skin should not be kept too dry and should be prevented from moisture. The moisture increases screen pressure. Similarly, dry skin can cause skin injuries, but the moisture can be prevented through the application of barrier cream and ensuring that the skin is kept dry and clean. The prevention of moisture is beneficial to the patients because there will be no foreign pathogens that are introduced into the body.

The patients are also prevented from other external causes of injuries. The prevention is done by inspecting the skins of the patients. The sensitive parts of the patients are inspected regularly. Most of the parts that are inspected include the sacrum, heels, elbows shoulders, et cetera.

The patients also benefit from a high level of nutrition. High level of nutrition offered by the hospital helps in boosting the immunity of the patients. The patients are thus offered with frequent fluids and other forms of nutrition by considering the diets.

Lastly, the cost of medication is significantly reduced. The preventive measures that are put in place help in detecting and assessing the skin pressures in prior and hence the pressures can be prevented at the initial stages before they grow resulting in high medical costs.

Impacts of Patients Developing Skin Pressure Injuries

The negative impacts of the skin injuries are several. One of the impacts is the increase in paralysis of patients. The skin pressure damages the skin and catalyzes the associated issues. Also, the collagen is lost making the skin less elastic. The sensation is impaired; the skin injuries cause the inability to sense and the patients with impaired sensation are vulnerable to other hazards like heat, sun, and cold.

The injuries also result in limited mobility. The mobility of patients is compromised resulting in the development of the pressure ulcers. The spinal cord is most susceptible in developing of the pressure ulcers. Lastly, the skin injuries result in the destruction of the epidermis and the dermis. The skin injury destroys the epidermis and the dermis exposing the body hence resulting it in becoming susceptible to diseases and infections.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the skin pressure should be prevented in early stages to avoid other forms of damages. The skin pressure can result in other types of diseases, for instance, pressure ulcers and the appropriate measures are required to manage this condition.

References

Coyer, F., & Tayyib, N. (2017). Risk factors for pressure injury development in critically ill patients in the intensive care unit: a systematic review protocol. Systematic reviews, 6(1), 58.

Dean, J. (2011). Skin health: Prevention and treatment of skin breakdown. Transverse Myelitis Assoc J, 5, 26-32.