COMFORT DEVICES

COMFORT ???
• Comfort is a state of mind in which an individual
is generally at peace with himself and with his
environment.
Comfort Devices ??
• Comfort devices are invented articles which
would add to comfort of patient when used in
appropriate manner.
• These devices relieve the discomfort and help in
maintaining correct posture. Various comfort
devices are used for giving comfort to the patient,
such as: pillows, back rest, foot rest, bed block,
bed cradles, sand bags, air cushion, rubber and
cotton rings, air and water mattresses and knee
rest.
Factors Influencing Comfort
Physical conditions
• Pain
• Restricted movement
• Uncomfortable bed
• Improper environment such as too bright light
or too much humidity
• Temperature too hot or too cold (extremes)
and
• Inadequate attention to personal needs e.g.
Cleanliness, elimination. Nourishment
Psychological conditions
• Fear and anxiety in regard to illness,
• Concern for the family,
• Interruption in daily routine,
• Noise or failure to provide privacy.
Purposes of providing comfort are to:
• Relieve fatigue or to improve physical strain
• Stimulate circulation
• Prevent muscular spasm
• Prevent contractures/deformities
• Prevent bed sores/decubitus ulcers
• Facilitate drainage from body cavity
• facilitate breathing.
Comfort devices
Back rest
Bed with inbuilt backrest
• It is needed for those patients who are not able
to sit themselves.
• These patients need help as well as support of
some device with the help of which patient is
made to sit on the bed.
• It is needed while you want to give mouth care,
or feed the patient or giving steam inhalation
helping in deep breathing exercise etc.
• It is a light wooden or cane covered frame or
may be made up of metal.
• Many times it is attached with bed itself and can
be raised whenever needed.
• At home it can be improvised by use of back of
chair without arms.
• Pillows are arranged in this frame against which
the patient rests.
Bed board:
• It is a support that is placed under the bed
mattress to give added rigidity to the mattress.
• It is used for patients who need hard bed for
providing additional support to the spine or
when doing cardio pulmonary resuscitation etc
Bed cradle:
• It is used to keep the weight of the top bed clothes off
the. patient.
• Patients who have burns, uncovered wounds or wet
casts often need to keep the top bed clothes away from
the injured area.
• The cradle is carefully positioned so that the area of the
patient's body that is to be free from the weight of the
top bed clothes is directly under the cradle.
• The top bed clothes must be pulled up higher than
normally so that they cover the shoulders of the patient.
The foot board:
• It is a device that is placed toward the foot of the
patients bed to serve as a support for his feet.
• Foot boards are usually' made up of wood.
• They are also used to keep the weight of the bed
clothes off the patients feet as well as to support the
patient in maintaining his feet in dorsal flexion.
• It prevents foot drop.
• The foot boards are so placed that the patient can
rest the soles of his feet against it while the rest of
his body is in good alignment.
Over bed table
It is used for assisting patients who
have difficult breathing. The patient
with the help of this, can lean forward
Which makes it possible for him to use
extraordinary muscles of respiration.
Trochanter roll
• It is often made from a bath towel.
• The towel is folded lengthwise once and then
rolled to within six inches of one end.
• The roll is secured by two safety pins that are
fastened between the body of the roll and the tail
of the roll is placed under the patient's thighs,
with the safety pins away from the patient..
• The roll is then secured firmly along the patient's
leg.
• They are also used to raise a patient's heels off
the foundation of the bed.
• These are used in paralysis, unconscious patients
to keep the body in proper shape
Rings and air cushion:
• It is made of rubber and filled with air.
• It should have sufficient air in it to partially
inflate it but at the same time it should, remain
soft and flexible.
• Air rings are used under a patient's sacrum to
take pressure off the bony prominence.
• The air ring is covered with cotton cloth to
protect the patient.
• Rings are also used to protect the skin over bony
prominence, but caution is needed while using
because they are also known to increase pressure
upon tissues and may interfere with circulation.
• Small rings used to support patient's elbows and
heels above the bed surface. They can be made
from a large dressing which is rolled and molded
into a circle and then covered with gauze.
Pillows
• When placed under bony prominences they
relieve pressure; placed in the lumbar curve or
under a limb they support or elevate an injured
part.
ROLLS
• Hand rolls are made of cloth that rolled into a
cylinder’ about 4-5 inches long and 2-3 inches in
diameter and stuffed firmly
• These used to keep the fingers from being held
in a tight fist leading to flexion contracture in
patients who are unable to move hands due to
paralysis, injury or disease.
BED BLOCKS
• Bed blocks are made up of wood size; it may be
high or low. These are placed under the foot of
bed for various reasons.
• To prevent shock
• To arrest hemorrhage
• To retain enema
• After spinal anesthesia
• After tonsillectomy
• To provide traction
• To position in postural drainage
Wedge/ Abductor pillow
TRAPEZE BAR
• An overhead trapeze is a triangle-shaped metal
bar. It hangs from a metal frame, which is attached
to the headboard and footboard of the bed.
• A triangular metal apparatus above a bed, used to
help the patient move and support weight during
transfer or position change.
• Trapeze bar is suspended from an overhead frame
that extends from the foot to head of bed. Patient
can grasp the bar to raise the trunk off the bed
surface or to move up in bed.
Splints and Braces
Knee rest
Sandbags
• Serve as a means of providing support to patient.
• They are firmer than trochanter rolls and,
because of their weight, are less easily moved.
• For this reason sandbags are desirable, when
body alignment must be maintained e.g. in
fractures.
Side rails
AIR AND WATER MATTRESSES
• Air and water mattresses are used for very thin or
obese patients and for those who are prone to get
pressure sores. The principles is that pressure
exerted by the body, will be distributed equally in
all directions.
• Air and water mattresses are plastic mattresses
with two sets of chambers. To use them place the
mattress on the bed and fill air or water in the
compartment. Cover the mattress with light
bottom clothes.
• To improve circulation
• To provide comfort
• To prevent pressure sores
• Used in very thin or very obese patients
• Used in chronic bed ridden patients
ROLE OF NURSE IN COMFORT
MEASURES
• Nurse identify comfort needs of patients and
family members
• Nurses design interventions to meet identified
needs
• Intervening variables are considered when
designing interventions
• When interventions are delivered in a caring
manner and are effective, and when enhanced
comfort is attained, interventions are called
“comfort measures”
• Patients and nurse agree on desirable and
realistic health seeking behaviors
• If enhanced comfort is achieved, patients and
family members are more likely to engage in
health-seeking behaviors these further enhance
comfort
• When patients and family members are given
comfort care and engage in health-seeking
behaviors, they are more satisfied with health
care and have better health-related outcomes.
• When patients, families, and nurses are satisfied
with health care in an institution, public
acknowledgement about that institution’s
contributions to health care will help the
institution remain viable and flourish.