Overcome Drug Addiction With Action

By Mario Bullions


Many drug addicts find that giving their problems to God on a daily basis is the first step into taking the right action. Often people look at their own spiritual destiny and feel like they are working towards a specific goal in their life. When you give your problem to God, he gives you a certain sense of overcoming your pain and sorrow. You have to look at life and feel like it's working towards you. Life in general makes us see that we are in a good position for change.

I recently saw an episode on COPS which showed a man running around their neighborhood naked because of their use of cocaine. Cocaine makes a person run around and feel a sense of change. Change happens when you least expect and you can easily look at your life and say, "Hey, everything is going in a good or bad direction for me."

Allow yourself to see that in life, we must overcome our obstacles. It matters a lot to see people speaking to us about the future. The future is something that makes sense because we grow with it. We cannot stop anything from achieving success in our lives because God has it all under control to begin with. Often, we see life as being a unique journey. It is because we never know what the future can hold for any one of us.

If we get a psychic reading, the spiritual adviser will often tell us what they see for us. We never know exactly what that can be. For the most part, it's a new beginning for our life and we can focus on what is most important. I like to think of life as being a new foundation. On a daily basis, we look at life as being new. It is a new creation of who and what we are.

Drug addiction often takes over a person's life. However, when you begin to step out of your comfort zone in sobriety, it begins to get better. Drugs do not have to take over your life. Sober living is always the best way to getting to know yourself again.




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What You Need To Know About Surgical Drain Management

By Nancy Hamilton


Drains have been used post-operation since the ancient times. Their main purpose is to aid in the decompression of the surgical side. Air and fluids accumulate in the site many a times if this is not done. Thus, the patient can develop serious complications. Read on to know more about surgical drain management.

The caregiver can analyze the fluid characteristics to make the proper diagnosis. In addition, a lot of information can be gotten from evaluating the color of the fluid. Maintenance of the conduits is essential to avoid serious problems.

The management is usually governed by the location, purpose and type of the conduit. However, the instructions and preferences of the surgeon ought to be followed. It is good for the care provider to ask for written protocols from the surgeon to ensure that everything is followed to the latter.

The conduits are either closed or open. Corrugated rubber and also plastic are the major products used in production of the drains. They empty into stoma bags or gauze pads. The situation increases the chances of infection. It is upon the care provider to plan the care process to minimize this. Closed conduits are seen mainly in patients who have undergone chest, orthopedic or abdominal operations. The risk of suffering from infections is low when these drains are placed.

Active drains work under suction. However, the passive ones utilize the difference in pressure in the various cavities in the body and the external environment. Rubber drains induce tissue reactions and they should be avoided. Loose drains can be dislodged with ease. When this happens, the patient can die within a short time due to the introduction of air into the internal space.

Reading and recording the amount of fluid draining from the sites is crucial. In addition, odd observations and alarming levels of drainage should be noted. Communication to the entire team providing the care process is essential. Problems can be handled way in advance before the issue becomes serious. The common fluids discharged include bile, blood and pancreatic contents.

When the amount of discharge is monitored, the professional will be able to tell the amount of intravenous fluids to administer to compensate for the lost fluid. Patients can go into shock when the level of fluids in the body is too low. Proper management can give the care provider information about the right time to remove the drains. To note is that conduits which remain in-situ long after their objective is achieved cause unnecessary trauma to the patient and increase suffering.

They tubes should not be removed at once. When this is done, the wound is not given enough time to heal. The patient should pull out 2 cm every day until the whole tube is out. The wound will have time to heal. However, removal of the entire drain in one day will interfere with healing. The patient might suffer from acute pain upon discharge. He or she will have to return to the hospital for further management.




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The Maintenance Of A Drain Tube After Surgery

By Donna Hayes


Certain types of surgeries (particularly those than involve cavities) require a drainage tube to remain in position for a few days. The drains help in getting rid of fluids such as pus, blood and serous fluid that tend to accumulate within such cavities. There are different types of tubes that exist and the choice depends on the nature of operation, the resultant wound as well as surgeon preference. We will look at how a drain tube after surgery should be maintained.

Removal of fluid is done either actively or passively. In passive removal the fluid flows under gravity usually into a jar that is located at a lower level than the patient. The active approach, in contrast, uses a suction machine. The method that is chosen is dependent on the type of surgery that has been performed as well as the consistency and amount of fluid that is expected.

When the patient leaves the operating room and is admitted to the post-operative ward, initial inspection has to be performed. This inspection is meant to assess for signs of oozing, leakage or redness at the site of entry. The drain should be properly secured with a tape or suture. Ensure that the tube is patent and is not kinked or knotted at any point along its length. All these findings should be documented for future references.

In the subsequent rounds, repeat the same procedure and document. Look out for signs of sepsis and note down if any exist. Such signs include fever, redness at the entry site, tenderness and oozing. Let the other persons that are involved in the management know about such signs as soon as possible. The next step is usually to take a pus swab of the site as well as a blood sample for culture.

Observations should ideally be made on a four hourly basis to ensure that the tube is patent. The findings should be documented every time a visit is made. If there is a need to move a patient, check and document the findings before and after the movement has taken place. Blockages cause accumulation of fluids within the cavities and predispose to infections. Effectively, healing is delayed and hospital stay is prolonged.

If you encounter a leakage, attempt to seal it using dressing reinforcement and more adhesive tape. Dislodgements and blockages are more difficult to deal with. Ensure that the head of the team is informed so that replacement can be done. Granulation tissue is a common cause of blockage and also makes removal difficult. Surgery is often needed.

The tube is usually removed when it stops draining or if the amount of fluid drained in 24 hours is less than 25 milliliters. One of the techniques used is gradual withdrawal (about 2cm) per day so that the insertion site also heals gradually. Take note that if the tube has been in position for a prolonged period of time, it may be difficult to remove. Warn the patient that there will be some discomfort.

The patient may be discharged from hospital as soon as the drain is removed. Dressing will go on until healing has taken place. Fluid may continue to leak but this should not be a cause for concern unless the volume increases or an infection sets in. The danger signs should be clearly communicated to the patient.




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