Bed Baths

MissAnthrope · Jul 21, 2008

Well, hopefully, patients are using bedpans or commodes for their bodily functions and not bath basins...:chuckle

We got rid of the "redi-bath" packages as well...in part because people were flushing the wipes down the toilet and clogging them up. I personally prefer the washcloth and basin method myself, because I like to mix up the soap with baby lotion, mouthwash, and baby shampoo - makes people smell really clean and good (and helps those pts that come in smelling like they haven't bathed in months!). What can I say, I was an aide for a long time. :)

My hospital doesn't charge individually for the plastic basins, so I don't hesitate to get a new one if it's been used for especially icky purposes of the emesis or BM kind.

SWEnfermera · Jul 21, 2008

"We got rid of the "redi-bath" packages as well...in part because people were flushing the wipes down the toilet and clogging them up. I personally prefer the washcloth and basin method myself, because I like to mix up the soap with baby lotion, mouthwash, and baby shampoo - makes people smell really clean and good"

I was told by our Skin Integrity Nurse that using mouthwash in bath water is a bad idea since it usually contains some sort of sugar and causes a breading ground for yeast and other sugar-loving bugs.

We have also had Bath bags removed in the name of cost containment. It has been my observation that there is more skin irritation using washcloths to wipe and clean versus pre-moistened disposable wash cloths which usually contain aloe.

Seems that this would be a good Nursing Study.

UM Review RN, ASN, RN · Jul 21, 2008

Help:( we have just switched from "Bag Baths" back to bed baths. We had the Bag Baths for +15yrs. Now we have switched back to the old bed bath with plastic basin using disposable paper wipes? I don't care how careful people think they are there must be feces remains in that basin? I'm sure someone thinks it is saving money but we are throwing away the basins for new and it takes forever to get warm water! What is your practice? Do you think this is better?
Thanks for any advice:confused:

I'm confused about how there could be feces in the pan. When washing the peri area, you get the wipe wet, wash the parts, and discard. You don't put it back into the water, right? :confused:

And in places where it takes forever to get warm water and you're in a real hurry for warm water, you might nuke one or two cups of water in the nourishment room microwave. One place I worked had a coffee pot that had hot water on one side, so I'd go get a cupful, go back to the room, put it in the basin, and add cooler faucet water to it and test till it was a nice comfortable temperature. Meantime, I'd have the sink faucet running till it warmed up. (Sinks were right next to the beds in this place, so it was easy to keep an eye on it.)

Hope that helped.

nightshift82 · Jul 21, 2008

I am not personally washing the peri area and then the body but I do feel it's a possibility that it will happen. :uhoh21: If a patient is incontient and only needs peri care I have seen the basins used and then there must be remains in the basin no matter how clean you think you have been. :uhoh3: I have also seen the the clothes rinsed in the basin and re-used.:uhoh21:I do like the real wash clothes to exfoliate but we have been given the disposible paper clothes. I remember years ago the pts were full of bubbles/soap. That was a problem. I did like letting the lotion float around in the basin so it was nice and warm. I think a better way is to use the basin for washing the body and having the " Bag Baths" for peri/incont care. I believe there are some Redi/Bag baths that have the dimethicone? barrier on them. It just seems as there are less of us and more to do there are five more steps in the process instead of one. I agree it would be a good nursing project to swab the basins and see what may grow. :nurse:

Thanks

Just whinning I guess:bugeyes:

nightmare, RN · Jul 21, 2008

We use readi-wash(a type of spray foam) and disposable wipes for peri-care. For normal body washing we use basin and cloth flannels which are then sent to the laundry and boil washed.

nightshift82 · Jul 21, 2008

:)Thanks for the comments.

nursecass · Jul 21, 2008

I guess we are very fortunate that we have supplies to provide a proper basin bath with washcloths for full baths and we have the skin barrier wipes for periodic peri-care. Personally I label all of my basins with "BATH ONLY" on the sides and hope that no one is vomitting into the same bin we are washing in. But I also share the concern that I don't actually know what happens while I am not there, so before every bath I clean out the basin with the hand gel that we have in each room and give it a little scrub out. Then I rinse and mix my bath potion. I'm not sure if it actually helps, but it makes me feel a little better esp because we charge each bin individually so I can't justify getting a new one every night.

As for the nursing study, one of the women that I work with did a research study on this exact thing. She ran around and swabbed all of the bath basins on the unit, and actually several of them grew (don't remember what at the moment). I will email her and see what she found and if she wrote it up officially and get back to you all if anyone is interested.

nightshift82 · Jul 22, 2008

:redbeatheThanks your information was very helpful. I always have a perm marker on me and will do as you suggested. I also like the idea of rinsing with a "potion" prior to use. I may still do the study. Would be interested to know what your colleague found.

gilf7243 · Jul 23, 2008

At my hospital we use the pink plastic basins and wash clothes; however, we do not use wipes. We use peri -pray for patients who are extremely soiled prior to using a wash cloth. We also use several wash clothes. We use a seperate wash cloth for each body part. Especially, the perineal areas. We keep the same basin in the bathroom for the use of that patient their entire stay unless a new one is needed. As for the warm water, it does take a while to get warm water in some of our patients rooms so the first thing I do is to turn the water on and then set up for the bath while the water is warming. I guess if I was a patient I would rather have a bath with warm bath water then a wipe. Hope that helps you adjust to your new system