Worse thing for skin? What?

Nursing Students Student Assist

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I have searched my book high and low! What is the worst thing skin can be exposed to? I thought that was a no brainer! Extreme temperatures of course! Or is it needle sticks? Or injury in general?

Specializes in Critical Care.

Going through a wood chipper? A pack of hyenas after being covered with bacon grease naked and unconscious? That is truly a horribly vague question. Although still pretty typical as Nursing school questions go.

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Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.
A pack of hyenas after being covered with bacon grease naked and unconscious?

I think you would be lucky if you're unconscious. ;)

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

Is the bacon grease naked and unconscious or the patient??? I'm confused..... :)

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Specializes in Medical-ICU.

This suspiciously looks like a SATA question....

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Specializes in Pedi.

Extreme temperature wouldn't necessarily be on my short list. My skin is exposed to extreme cold all the time, don't think it does me any harm. The harm done to skin in extreme heat isn't from the heat, it's from the UV rays of the sun. You can be out in extreme heat and do no damage to your skin with proper precautions. Needle stick wouldn't really be on my list either... ACCIDENTAL needle stick might but not just plain old needle stick. Diabetics get needle sticks multiple times/day and that's less damaging to their skin than the vascular ulcers or gangrene they would get if they didn't monitor their sugars or take their insulin.

Is this a serious question? I don't know that there is an objective "WORST" thing for skin to be exposed to. Herpes, flesh eating bacteria, chemo infiltrates, Steven Johnson syndrome, Leprosy, melanoma... those are all pretty bad.

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Well, as the old Allan Sherman song parody goes, "You gotta have skin/To keep your insides in!"

Stevens-Johnson syndrome is pretty nasty, but for all-around horrible I'd take big burns. Well, SJS is just like a big burn because you lose all your skin and you spend a long time in the burn unit, but it doesn't usually come with the horror of the traumatic event that a burn does.

Who wants to know? Or is this an assignment where there is no right answer but they want you to give your reasoning?

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