Nursing Hx:Share Oldtime Ineffective tx's? - page 7

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Recently a few of the "old-timers" and I were gabbing about ineffective treatments that used to be the standard of care for pts. Such as: MOM, sugar, and heat lamp therapy for Stage III... Read More

  1. by DelGR
    Sep 18, '02
    Occupation: RN/Risk Management Joined: May '02; Posts: 130; Likes: 2
    Swan-Ganz-- we've used the room temp D5W in a continuous system for several years. I have seen but never used the old transducers.I heard they were hard to prime. I must have started in ICU right after they got the newer type of transducers.
    Remember the dip sticks for Glucose and Ketones for fingersicks and using that to decide the dose of Regular insulin you needed to give for the sliding scale coverage.
    Bucks traction-- is that still around? How about the combination of muscle relaxers, pain meds, bedrest, and pelvic traction for back pain patients. We had so many that started hallucinating after a day or two. They were seeing bugs, climbing on the traction frames, etc. Is that still a treatment that is being used?
    Did any of you use external catheters that had the drainage tube draining into a plastic drawstring bag and going around at the end of the shift emptying each bag into a bucket?
    Ether anesthetic in the OR.
    T-tubes for weaning patients from ventilators. We haven't used them for a long, long, time.
    Did any of you use Dakins (weak bleach smelling) solution for wound care?
    Patient's smoking while you were doing painful dressing changes because the doc didn't think a pain med for painful dressing changes was necessary.
    That's it for now.
  2. by traumarns
    Sep 19, '02
    Occupation: ed rn Joined: Jan '02; Posts: 61; Likes: 37
    Originally posted by prn nurse
    I'll be glad when leeches are history ! We still use them routinely for microvascular and some plastic surgeries!

    Getting cardiac outputs with saline "iced down" in 5 cc syringes.
    ha ha ha, we still use leeches.

    we have ONE vascular physician who ONLY wants cold c.o's.
  3. by extremebean
    Sep 19, '02
    Occupation: ED RN Joined: Aug '02; Posts: 54; Likes: 1
    DelGR- i got my license may of 2000. i was using dakins solution up on the floor then.....not so very long ago.............hmmm.....
  4. by JonRN
    Sep 19, '02
    Occupation: none-retired Joined: Jun '02; Posts: 1,085; Likes: 10
    Got another oldie...any dialysis nurses/techs remember the old Kiel boards? Looked like a cheese box kinda. Held together with clamps. After dialyzing the pt., the board was broken down, the cuprophane was thrown away, and the plastic dividers soaked in formaldehyde. Then they were remade up with new cuprophane.

    Pappy
  5. by sunnygirl272
    Sep 19, '02
    From: NY, US ; Joined: May '02; Posts: 4,130; Likes: 91
    Originally posted by mamabear
    Yes, I'm one of the few remaining outlaws who breaks needles. My cheapskate employer has been extremely slow in getting safety syringes. We still don't have them for insulin or PPD's, which RN's must give, but that's another story.:chuckle
    mama..i think osha's deadline has passed...you employer is out or compliance...blow them in!!!!
  6. by sunnygirl272
    Sep 19, '02
    From: NY, US ; Joined: May '02; Posts: 4,130; Likes: 91
    http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owad...ES&p_id=2570#V

    On November 6, 2000 the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act was signed into law (Public Law 106-430). It directed OSHA to revise the Bloodborne Pathogens standard to include new examples in the definition of engineering controls; to require that exposure control plans reflect changes in technology that eliminate or reduce exposure to bloodborne pathogens; to require employers to document annually in the exposure control plans consideration and implementation of safer medical devices; to require employers to solicit input from non-managerial employees responsible for direct patient care in the identification, evaluation, and selection of engineering and work practice controls; to document this input in the exposure control plan; and to require certain employers to establish and maintain a log of percutaneous injuries from contaminated sharps. OSHA published these revisions on January 18, 2001 with an effective date of April 18, 2001.

    i could've done this in a pm, but thought the link might be a useful reference for others also...
  7. by bungies
    Sep 19, '02
    Occupation: I'm now working as a graduate nurse on a busy (!!) haematology ward in a dedicated cancer hospital/research centre in Melbourne, Australia Joined: Jun '01; Posts: 55; Likes: 5
    Originally posted by kmchugh
    The program outlined also included ten hours of demonstration and practice in bandaging, and a whopping two hours of classroom instruction in administration of medication, in conjunction with classes in dosage and solution.
    Kevin McHugh
    Two hours may actually have been enough...
    My grandmother (who began nursing in 1938) is fond of telling me that they only had THREE MEDICATIONS!!! - morphine, aspirin and sulphur.

    Also "A bedsore on one of your patients was more than your job was worth", and "we had to provide our own razors to shave pre-op patients, out of our tiny wages". And a shave was head to toe for most ops, so they would have gone through a lot of razors. She describes almost dragging the hair out of patients when she didn't have enough money for a new blade.
  8. by bungies
    Sep 19, '02
    Occupation: I'm now working as a graduate nurse on a busy (!!) haematology ward in a dedicated cancer hospital/research centre in Melbourne, Australia Joined: Jun '01; Posts: 55; Likes: 5
    Originally posted by WashYaHands
    Last year while cleaning out my clinic, I found a urinometer. It looks similar to a thermometer with a much bigger bulb. You submerge it in a cylinder of urine to get specific gravity.
    Linda
    This is a hydrometer - what we use to test the car (?bike!) battery when it seems to be flat!
  9. by Sleepyeyes
    Sep 19, '02
    Joined: Dec '01; Posts: 3,165; Likes: 59
    Originally posted by DelGR
    Bucks traction-- is that still around?
    ...
    Did any of you use Dakins (weak bleach smelling) solution for wound care?
    Yes, we still use Buck's traction--mostly to keep ahip fx stable before reduction surgery.

    And Dakins is great for certain types of wounds. We still use it.
  10. by Glad2behere
    Sep 19, '02
    Occupation: CCU Joined: Aug '02; Posts: 572; Likes: 6
    I remember stomping on discarded boxes and boxes of Sodium Bicarb in resuscitations. Wonder how many we really were hurting.
  11. by Dr. Kate
    Sep 19, '02
    Occupation: RN in Nursing Education; House Supervision; Editor RNdex Joined: Mar '02; Posts: 427; Likes: 9
    Breaking needles--hard to imagine there was a time when you could be disciplined for not breaking a needle after you used it. I almost freaked out when I had one of the dogs at the Vet's office and he used one of those clip type needle breakers.
    The really nasty thing about those clipper thing was they dulled really quickly then you were fighting with the thing and occ. it would flip the broken needle out at you.

    What about a balanced traction for a femur fracture, on an adult. The last time I saw one of those, I swear there were ony two of us in the hospital who had ever seen or worked with one before. There's only so much you can do to keep it properly alligned when you only work 12 hrs/day, 3 days/ week.
  12. by NurseGirlKaren
    Sep 19, '02
    Joined: Jun '02; Posts: 311; Likes: 3
    Have been a nurse for 5 years and have seen t-tubes used for weaning within the last 3. Also, my friend who has had problems with yeast infections on her nipples while breastfeeding was advised by lactation consulant to use gentian violet (last month), and it worked!!
  13. by kaycee
    Sep 19, '02
    Joined: Mar '01; Posts: 1,898; Likes: 37
    Still use Dakins for cleaning maggots out of wounds in the ER. Works on roaches too.

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