Tips For Helping Patients On Infusion Therapy

If you are working with a patient that is going through infusion therapy, you might not know exactly how to make sure that he or she does okay. However, it is critical for you to make sure that you are quick and practiced at inserting the needle into the veins of the patient in order to avoid causing him or her pain. Here are some tips for you to help your patients get through the infusion therapy process as smoothly and as painlessly as possible.

1. Use Dry Heat to Find Veins

The first step is to make sure that you have heating pads on hand whenever you are probing for a patient's vein. The reason why you want to have heating pads on hand is because the dry heat will help make your patients' veins stick out more broadly and will make it easier for you to find them and deliver the infusion. By being able to find the veins quickly, you will be able to help your patients avoid a lot of pain and unnecessary pricks. Apply the heat for ten to thirty seconds before trying to find the veins and they should be easier to find.

2. Use Different Veins

Try to avoid using the same vein over and over again for the infusion. The reason for this is that you could damage the vein lining and cause more pain each time. The patient might complain and you might not have a system for keeping track of which veins were used last time for the infusion. If you explain the situation to the patient and urge him or her to make a note of it or remind the nurse to make a note of it in his or her chart, you should be able to remember to move around the body when you are searching for veins.

3. Increase Hydration

If you commonly have a hard time finding your patient's veins, make it mandatory that your patient drink a cup or a bottle of water before you even go to see him or her in order to ensure that his or her veins will be hydrated enough for you to easily find at least one.

For more information, talk to a company that specializes in infusion treatments. They might have special, smaller needles that you can use for people with veins that are unusually difficult to find.

For more information, see companies like Idaho Arthritis Center.