Question

The nursing assistant has to change the bed of a resident who was incontinent of diarrhea in bed. The resident got up and did not say anything to anyone about the diarrhea. Her daughter found it when visiting and was putting something away in the resident's room. The daughter requested that the nursing assistant change the bed linens. 1. What is the best way for the nursing assistant to handle clean and soiled linens in a way that prevents the spread of infection? 2. What are the uses for the different types of linen that the nursing assistant uses to change the bed? 3. Why should the nursing assistant change the resident's linens?

Answer 1

1. Proper hand washing and wearing gloves are the two best way to prevent spreading of infection when handling clean and soiled linens. Because a soiled linen is at risk of having large number of pathogenic infections which can lead to transmission of diseases. Hand washing will reduces the risk of transmitting recognized and unrecognized sources of infection.

2. The main uses for the different types of linen is to provide rest and sleep and to ensure comfort and useful position for a particular condition. Others include

a) Provide physical and psychological comfort

b) Provides a neat appearance and also promotes an effective patient and nurse relationships.

3. The main objective of changing the resident linen is to prevent infection and to promote comfort. If it is not changed, it is easy to spread the infection to others especially who is in close contact with patient/ caregivers. So, it is also necessary to change residents linen.