Definition
Comfort devices are articles which would add to the comfort of the patient when used, by relieving discomfort and helping to maintain correct posture.
Purposes
- To relieve discomfort
- To provide and maintain correct body alignment.
- To immobilize a body part.
- To relieve pressure in parts of body.
- To prevent falls and accidents.
| Uses of common comfortable devices and their implications | |||
| Names of comfort devices | Uses | Clinical implications | |
| 1. | Pillow | It is used to support parts of the body, such as head and neck, arms, legs, and parts of back Relieves pain on abdominal muscles and tendons beneath the knees. Used in positioning patients. | It is used to splint incision area in abdominal and thoracic surgeries, to reduce postoperative pain during activity or coughing and deed breathing, Pillows placed directly under popliteal fossa may obliterate blood supply in vessels passing through this area. |
| 2. | Footboard: A flat panel or board made of plastic or wood which is placed perpendicular to the mattress and parallel to and touching the plantar surfaces of the patient’s feet. | Used to prevent plantar flexion of feet. | The patient’s feet should be placed firmly against the board. |
| 3. | Posey foot guard: Made of foam structures. | Used to maintain the patient’s feet in a dorsiflexed position and prevent footdrop. | It is used to prevent footdrop. |
| 4. | Trochanter roll: Can be made of thick cotton blankets or towels. A cotton bath blanket is folded lengthwise to a width that extends from the greater trochanter of the femur to the lower border of the popliteal space. | Used to prevent external rotation of legs when the patient is in supine position. | The blanket is placed under the buttocks and then rolled counterclockwise until the thigh is in the neutral position or in Inward rotation. |
| 5. | Sandbags: These are sand filled bags which are available in various sizes. | Used for application of pressure in case of bleeding. used to provide support and shape to body contours and maintains specific body alignment. | Prevents foot drop and external rotation of thighs. |
| 6. | Hand rolls: Can be made by folding a washcloth, rolling it and securing it in place with tape. | Used to maintain thumb in slightly adducted position and in apposition to fingers Used to maintain fingers in slightly flexed position. | Help in maintaining the hand, Thumb and fingers in a functional. |
| 7. | Hand wrist splints: These are individually molded splints for patients to maintain proper alignment of thumb. They are slightly adducted in apposition to fingers and maintains wrist in dorsiflexion. | Used to maintain immobility of the fingers and maintains functional position | The nurse should ensure that pressure of the splints is not obliterating circulation. |
| 8. | Trapeze bar: It is a triangular device that is attached to an over-bed frame | Used to enable patient to raise trunk from bed. Used to enable patient to move from bed to wheelchair. Used to help the patient in performing exercises that strengthen upper arms. | Ideal for patients in traction and plaster Cast for assisting with changing position in bed and in carrying out nursing procedures. |
| 9. | Bed boards: Plywood boards placed under the entire mattress | used for increasing back support and vertebral alignment with a soft mattress. Used in patients with spinal problems. Used in giving CPR in the proper manner. | |
| 10. | Bed cradle: Very widely in size material. | Used to support the weight of the top bed clothing and to prevent them from coming in contact with the patient’s body. Used especially for patients with bums or when the plaster cast is yet to be dry or for patients after amputation. | Cradles with electric bulbs provide desired warmth to burn patients. |
| 11. | Air and water mattresses: Special types of mattresses filled with water or air which moves from one part of the mattress the other, thus reducing pressure to the same area. | Used to prevent pressure ulcers in patients at risk. | All nursing interventions should be carried out to prevent pressure ulcer development even if such mattresses are used |
| 12. | Cardiac table | Used for patients to learn forward, especially e patient has been in the sitting position for a long time. Used as a book support to read or write or as a table to take food in bed itself. Used in positioning patients who are to undergo some diagnostic procedures like thoracentesis. | Generally, this is used by patients suffering from cardiac and respiratory diseases. |
| 13. | Bed blocks: Made up of wood metal, used to raise the head or foot end of the bed. | Used for providing Trendelenburg position for patients: Following spinal anesthesia. For preventing shock. For arresting hemorrhage. For retaining fluids in retention enema. | Do not raise foot end in case of increased intracranial pressure. |
| 14. | Backrest: mechanical device used as a suitable support and rest for the back of the patient in Fowler’s position | Used to relieve dyspnea as in asthmatic patients by providing Fowler’s or high Fowler’s position. Used in positioning cardiac patient to reduce workload on heart. | |
REFERENCES
- Annamma Jacob, Rekha, Jhadav Sonali Tarachand: Clinical Nursing Procedures: The Art of Nursing Practice, 5th Edition, March 2023, Jaypee Publishers, ISBN-13: 978-9356961845 ISBN-10: 9356961840
- Omayalachi CON, Manual of Nursing Procedures and Practice, Vol 1, 3 Edition 2023, Published by Wolters Kluwer’s, ISBN: 978-9393553294
- Sandra Nettina, Lippincott Manual of Nursing Practice, 11th Edition, January 2019, Published by Wolters Kluwer’s, ISBN-13:978-9388313285
- Adrianne Dill Linton, Medical-Surgical Nursing, 8th Edition, 2023, Elsevier Publications, ISBN: 978-0323826716
- Donna Ignatavicius, Medical-Surgical Nursing: Concepts for Clinical Judgment and Collaborative Care, 11th Edition ,2024, Elsevier Publications, ISBN: 978-0323878265
- Lewis’s Medical-Surgical Nursing, 12th Edition,2024, Elsevier Publications, ISBN: 978-0323789615
- AACN Essentials of Critical Care Nursing, 5th Ed. Sarah. Delgado, 2023, Published by American Association of Critical-Care Nurses ISBN: 978-1264269884.
- Ernstmeyer K, Christman E, editors. Nursing Fundamentals [Internet]. 2nd edition. Eau Claire (WI): Chippewa Valley Technical College; 2024. PART IV, NURSING PROCESS. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK610818/
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