Washing my clients face help

Nursing Students Student Assist

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Hello all nurses,

I am in my first semester of nursing school and have just started my clinicals. In my clinicals, one of my duties is to wash my clients face. I know how to wash a face, but my client has a skin condition, of which at this time I do not know what it is. In appearances he has pustules all over his face about 1mm thick by 3 mm long. Inside is a yellowy pus-like secretion. They look really delicate. How do I properly was my residents face without popping these pustules and adequately clean his face?

Any help would be appreciated.

Sugar-phosphate:confused:

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Ask the resident to wash his face as much as he can. When it is your turn, I would glove up and apply soap with my fingers. Pat to rinse and dry.

Find out what he has. If it is something that can be spread to the rest of his body, be careful about what you touch to his face and body. Use separate washcloths for the face. Do not dip them in a bucket used for the rest of the body.

Best of luck with nursing school :)

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Do some research in his chart, or computer documentation, and find out what he has on his face. I would want to know if it is infective, if it could spread to the rest of his body, or to me, how long they had been there, if they were being treated, and any other information I could find. Also, make use of your clinical instructor and the nurses around you. Ask someone for help if you aren't sure. I would have the patient wash his face independently, if possible. If he wasn't able to wash his face for whatever reason, I would put on gloves and try to wash his face myself. Just be gentle and try not to irritate the pustules. If one or two pops, clean the mess up, and try not to pop anymore. It would really help if you knew what they were before you started trying to wash him off.

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Specializes in IMCU.

I would check with the nurse from the facility before jumping in and washing this patient. The patient may have specific wound orders. The contents of the pustules should be considered infectious even if they were not puss-filled (as would any fluid from the body). Has this patient had one of these lanced and cultured?

I was trained that soap was not to be used on the face.

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