chemistry assignement

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I've been given an assignment in chemistry class to prepare me for my practical nursing program and i basically have to discuss how chemicals affect the human body and what nurses deal with on a daily basis. I have been researching but I cant find any good info. If anyone can help me that would be great. Thanks guys:)

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Specializes in cardiac, ortho, med surg, oncology.

Chemicals.....that's rather broad. Do you mean chemicals like cocaine, pharmaceuticals, or Na, K etc?

If referring to Na or K etc. that's easy. They are electrolytes. Na helps with fluid balance and electrical activity. K affects cardiac function etc. All this info should be in your nursing books.

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Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

look up any drug on the internet then look for it's complications. You will find that, depending on what else is going on with the patient, drugs can have serious side effects. It is the nurse's responsibility to look for changes in condition that would suggest a negative reaction or toxicity or even improvement. Or just pick a chemical, like Sodium, and look it up to see what can happen if you have too much, too little or just right amount in your system.

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Does Davis' Drug Guide have an online edition that is free? If so you might check that.

Good luck!

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calcium, sulfur, hydrogen, just the main elements in the body.

I'm actually a high school graduate. I'm upgrading my mark to get into practical nursing this winter so i actually dont have any books yet.

but this is actually an ISU assignment. any help would be great. Im just trying to find out more on how the body functions with elements.

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

common chemicals that nurses deal with every day that affect that body include things like ethyl alcohol (the kind people drink), isopropyl alcohol (the kind used for disinfecting), sodium hypochlorite (bleach--used for disinfecting), hydrogen peroxide (used for wound debridement), witch hazel (still used as a mild disinfectant), epsom salts (used in wound care), and providone-iodine solution (brand name: betadine) to name a few. take a walk through the wound care aisle of a drug store or the cleaning aisle of a store and look at the liquids and salts used. there are also tinctures and oils of naturals products that are considered chemical compounds. information about the ones that are used as drugs or for wound care can be found on the web sites of the commercial pharmacies like walgreen's and on medline plus (http://www.medlineplus.gov/). for example:

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