What are nursing responsibilities while giving enema to the patient?
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Nurses may look good in white and sure, we do look neat and clean in our tidy uniform, but how ironic is it that the same people who others view as pristine and cool while performing tasks such as administering medication, carrying out doctors’ orders and assisting the sick to recover, are also the ones who are down to do the dirty job? That despite the respectable image that we are upholding, we are also capable of performing nursing interventions that would make others scrunch their nose and say, ‘gross?’ Take administering enemas for example. Show For others, it would be an ultimate no-no, but for us, nurses? Easy peasy. Not a sweat broken. But wait, how exactly do we do that? And how do nurses like us manage to still look calm when doing that? What steps should be followed? Steps on How to Give an Enema
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Liane Clores, RN MAN Currently an Intensive Care Unit nurse, pursuing a degree in Master of Arts in Nursing Major in Nursing Service Administration. Has been a contributor of Student Nurses Quarterly, Vox Populi, The Hillside Echo and the Voice of Nightingale publications. Other experience include: Medical-Surgical, Pediatric, Obstetric, Emergency and Recovery Room Nursing. Dougherty L, Lister S. The Royal Marsden manual of clinical nursing procedures. Professional edition, 9th edn. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell; 2015 Galbraith A, Bullock S, Manias E, Hunt B, Richards A. Fundamentals of pharmacology: an applied approach for nursing and health, 2nd edn. Abingdon: Routledge; 2013 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Constipation: management. Clinical knowledge summary. 2017. https://tinyurl.com/y9rmdzua (accessed 25 January 2018) Nursing and Midwifery Council. The code: professional standards of practice and behaviour for nurses, midwives and nursing associates. 2018. https://tinyurl.com/gozgmtm (accessed 25 January 2018) Peate I. How to administer an enema. Nurs Stand.. 2015; 30:(14)34-36 https://doi.org/10.7748/ns.30.14.34.s43 Pegram A, Bloomfield J, Jones A. Safe use of rectal suppositories and enemas with adult patients. Nurs Stand.. 2008; 22:(38)39-41 https://doi.org/10.7748/ns2008.05.22.38.39.c6564 Woodward S. Assessment and management of constipation in older people. Nurs Older People. 2012; 24:(5)21-26 https://doi.org/10.7748/nop2012.06.24.5.21.c9115 Administering an enema: indications, types, equipment and procedure 14 February 2019 Clinical Aby Mitchell Aby Mitchell Lecturer, Public Health, Health Promotion and Primary Care, University of West London View articles 02 February 2019 Volume 28 · Issue 3 ISSN (print): 0966-0461 ISSN (online): 2052-2819 References An enema is a liquid administered via the rectal route either to aid bowel evacuation or to administer medication (Galbraith et al, 2013; Dougherty and Lister, 2015). This article will discuss the use of enemas for constipation in adult patients. Indications for the use of enemas include to: The use of enemas is contraindicated in patients with a paralytic ileus or chronic obstruction. It is also contraindicated where administration may cause circulatory overload, mucosal damage, necrosis, perforation, haemorrhage or following any gastrointestinal or gynaecological surgery where sutures may be ruptured (Dougherty and Lister, 2015). Most commonly, enemas are used to relieve and treat constipation. NICE (2017) defines constipation as a symptomatic disorder of unsatisfactory defaecation due to difficulty or infrequency of passing stools that is a change to the individual's normal bowel pattern. Chronic constipation is diagnosed when symptoms persist for at least 12 weeks in the past 6 months (NICE, 2017). Early assessment and treatment of constipation is necessary to prevent long-term implications such as faecal loading, impaction or retention, haemorrhoids, anal fissures, distension or loss of sensory and motor functions (NICE, 2017). Register now to continue readingThank you for visiting British Journal of Nursing and reading some of our peer-reviewed resources for nurses. To read more, please register today. You’ll enjoy the following great benefits: What is your first nursing responsibility before administering enema?Wash the hands thoroughly with soap and warm water for a minimum of 15 seconds before beginning the procedure. Gather the needed materials (enema bag or bulb, lubricant, gloves, enema solution, ramp clamp, and a towel).
When administering the enema the nurse should position the patient in the?The left lateral position is the most appropriate position for giving an enema because of the anatomical characteristics of the colon. Although the length of the tube to be inserted is designated as approximately 5-6 cm, do not try to force it but pull it back slightly if any resistance is felt.
What are three 3 safety precautions to consider when administering a tap water enema?Use a warmed solution—not hot or cold water—when providing an enema. To avoid rapid instillation of fluid, do not raise an enema container too high. Lower the container or clamp the tubing if the patient complains of cramping or if fluid escapes around the rectal tube. If the tube does not pass easily, do not force it.
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