Top videos
Treatment for kidney stones varies, depending on the type of stone and the cause. Small stones with minimal symptoms Most kidney stones won't require invasive treatment. You may be able to pass a small stone by: Drinking water. Drinking as much as 2 to 3 quarts (1.9 to 2.8 liters) a day may help flush out your urinary system. Unless your doctor tells you otherwise, drink enough fluid — mostly water — to produce clear or nearly clear urine. Pain relievers. Passing a small stone can cause some discomfort. To relieve mild pain, your doctor may recommend pain relievers such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others), acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) or naproxen sodium (Aleve). Medical therapy. Your doctor may give you a medication to help pass your kidney stone. This type of medication, known as an alpha blocker, relaxes the muscles in your ureter, helping you pass the kidney stone more quickly and with less pain. Large stones and those that cause symptoms Kidney stones that can't be treated with conservative measures — either because they're too large to pass on their own or because they cause bleeding, kidney damage or ongoing urinary tract infections — may require more extensive treatment. Procedures may include: Using sound waves to break up stones. For certain kidney stones — depending on size and location — your doctor may recommend a procedure called extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL). ESWL uses sound waves to create strong vibrations (shock waves) that break the stones into tiny pieces that can be passed in your urine. The procedure lasts about 45 to 60 minutes and can cause moderate pain, so you may be under sedation or light anesthesia to make you comfortable. ESWL can cause blood in the urine, bruising on the back or abdomen, bleeding around the kidney and other adjacent organs, and discomfort as the stone fragments pass through the urinary tract. Surgery to remove very large stones in the kidney. A procedure called percutaneous nephrolithotomy (nef-row-lih-THOT-uh-me) involves surgically removing a kidney stone using small telescopes and instruments inserted through a small incision in your back. You will receive general anesthesia during the surgery and be in the hospital for one to two days while you recover. Your doctor may recommend this surgery if ESWL was unsuccessful. Using a scope to remove stones. To remove a smaller stone in your ureter or kidney, your doctor may pass a thin lighted tube (ureteroscope) equipped with a camera through your urethra and bladder to your ureter. Once the stone is located, special tools can snare the stone or break it into pieces that will pass in your urine. Your doctor may then place a small tube (stent) in the ureter to relieve swelling and promote healing. You may need general or local anesthesia during this procedure. Parathyroid gland surgery. Some calcium phosphate stones are caused by overactive parathyroid glands, which are located on the four corners of your thyroid gland, just below your Adam's apple. When these glands produce too much parathyroid hormone (hyperparathyroidism), your calcium levels can become too high and kidney stones may form as a result. Hyperparathyroidism sometimes occurs when a small, benign tumor forms in one of your parathyroid glands or you develop another condition that leads these glands to produce more parathyroid hormone. Removing the growth from the gland stops the formation of kidney stones. Or your doctor may recommend treatment of the condition that's causing your parathyroid gland to overproduce the hormone.
Shingles is a viral infection that causes a painful rash. Although shingles can occur anywhere on your body, it most often appears as a single stripe of blisters that wraps around either the left or the right side of your torso. Shingles is caused by the varicella-zoster virus — the same virus that causes chickenpox. After you've had chickenpox, the virus lies inactive in nerve tissue near your spinal cord and brain. Years later, the virus may reactivate as shingles. While it isn't a life-threatening condition, shingles can be very painful. Vaccines can help reduce the risk of shingles, while early treatment can help shorten a shingles infection and lessen the chance of complications.
Priapism is a prolonged erection of the penis. The persistent erection continues hours beyond or isn't caused by sexual stimulation. Priapism is usually painful. Although priapism is an uncommon condition overall, it occurs commonly in certain groups, such as people who have sickle cell anemia. Prompt treatment for priapism is usually needed to prevent tissue damage that could result in the inability to get or maintain an erection (erectile dysfunction). Priapism is most common in men in their 30s.
Physical assessment is taking an educated, systematic look at all aspects of an individual’s health status utilizing knowledge, skills and tools of health history and physical exam. To collect data- information about the client’s health, including physiological, psychological, sociocultural and spiritual aspects To establish actual and potential problems To establish the nurse-client relationship Method: The history is done first, then the physical examination focuses on finding data associated with the history. Health History- obtained through interview and record review. Physical exam- accomplished by tools and techniques ** A complete assessment is not necessarily carried out each time. A comprehensive assessment is part of a health screening examination. On admission, you will do an admission assessment (not necessarily including everything presented here) and document it on the admission form. You will do a daily shift assessment (patient systems review). And, if client has a specific problem, you may assess only that part of the body (focused). Data Collection: Information is organized into objective and subjective data: Subjective: Apparent only to person affected; includes client’s perceptions, feelings, thoughts, and expectations. It cannot be directly observed and can be discovered only asking questions. Objective: Detectable by an observer or can be tested against an acceptable standard; tangible, observable facts; includes observation of client behavior, medical records, lab and diagnostic tests, data collected by physical exam. ** To obtain data for the nursing health history, you must utilize good interview techniques and communications skills. Record accurately. DO NOT ASSUME. D. Frameworks for Health Assessment There are two main frameworks utilized in health assessment: Head to Toe- systematic collection of data starting with the head and working downward. Functional Health Assessment- Gordon’s 11 functional health patterns that address the behaviors a person uses to maintain health. PERSON is the ACC-ADN framework for assessment. It is similar to Gordon's functional health patterns.
Thoracentesis is a procedure to remove fluid or air from around the lungs. A needle is put through the chest wall into the pleural space. The pleural space is the thin gap between the pleura. The pleura are a double layer of membranes that surrounds the lungs.
Renal artery stenosis is a narrowing of arteries that carry blood to one or both of the kidneys. Most often seen in older people with atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), renal artery stenosis can worsen over time and often leads to hypertension (high blood pressure) and kidney damage.