hungry
Joined: 22 May 2003
Posts: 1
Posted: Thu May 22, 2003 6:23 am Post subject: No more food or drink
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To show you how things can change overnite. Our unit has had a totally liberal policy about food and drink. Instead of that horrible odour of a dialysis unit, it smells good like a restaurant. Well now we get a little notice that many units are forbidding food and drink now due to infection control (is that why European units serve meals?). It goes on to say the Dept. of Health can decide we have to forgo snacks if they choose to so they ask us not to
ing our own snacks, but to wait for them to serve snacks (saltines or grahmcrackers). Well at leaste we're not being deprived altogether, but I'd like to know where does this ruling really come from and what is the truth about it??? Does anyone know of a case where someone was contaminated from eating on dialysis? Is there any other area of medical care where patients are denied proper nourishment? Why is it that it's ok for patients to be served meals in hospitals, but not in dialysis?
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Curious
Joined: 02 Feb 2003
Posts: 39
Posted: Thu May 22, 2003 7:44 am Post subject: Say what
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Curious as to what company is doing this. Ask for the number of the Health Dept,or ask for the memo. It usually is a units decision.
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Disgusted
Joined: 26 Jan 2003
Posts: 45
Posted: Thu May 22, 2003 8:19 am Post subject: food in unit
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Some of the large chains of providers have blanket policies against eating on dialysis, probably because some patients do not chew their food well or choke or have large drops in blood pressure then all the patients in that unit must sacrifice their food and fluid. A new study has been released in the AJP -Endocrinology and Metabolism Volume 284 Issue 5 May 2003 "Protein intake during hemodialysis maintains a positive whole body protein balance in chronic hemodialysis patients" this study advises to have a protein and energy enriched meal while dialyzing can strongly improve whole body protein balance. Of course this study was done in The Netherlands and not in USA.
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leadsag
Joined: 31 Oct 2002
Posts: 263
Posted: Thu May 22, 2003 8:24 am Post subject: food in unit
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And the survival rate is probably higher in the Netherlands also but does your unit care about that......
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Sick of it
Joined: 11 Feb 2003
Posts: 46
Posted: Wed May 28, 2003 1:34 am Post subject: Hungry
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I had this happen in my unit. They told everyone they could not have any food at all. I spoke with an insider with that clinic and he said it was because they no longer wanted to clean up after the patient spills. So I made hard boiled eggs and my favorite crackers and ate it anyway BECAUSE THE NETWORK says patients may have a lite snack while dialyzing. I still got the protein I needed and just got ugly stares from the DM.<
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>I will look for that ruling from the Networks and post it.<
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>Stay Healthy even if you have to sneak it in!
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A Witness
Joined: 30 May 2003
Posts: 1
Posted: Fri May 30, 2003 3:55 pm Post subject: eating on the machine
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Have you ever witnessed a patient literally choke to death on a snickers bar when her pressure bottoms out suddenly and she passes out? It is impossible to do the Heimliech Manuever on someone sitting in a dialysis chair, at 185 lbs of weight. Believe me, I have seen it happen. But, of course, we only deny the patients the "right" to eat because we don't want to clean up their crumbs....<
>also, how much faith do you have in the workers to REALLY clean those chairs before you sit in them? Other people have sat in those chairs before you and, most likely, SOMEONE has shed some blood in them -- there are bloodborne pathogens that can live for days on an inanimate object... <
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dialysis patient also
Joined: 27 Apr 2003
Posts: 7
Posted: Sat May 31, 2003 1:13 am Post subject: eating
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a patient must not have large drops in blood pressure to be allowed to eat on the machine. and they have to chew their food. isolated incidents should not have any bearing on the facility as a whole. i watch how the staff cleans the chairs (and have placed a small bit of blood in a spot where i did not think anyone could find it, only to find it gone the next treatment. and yes i can tell if my chair has been replaced). sign a waiver if patients enjoy eating while dialyzing, after all 4-5 hours is a long time to go without nurishment. I cannot tell you how many times the staff is screaming out orders like they are at the Waffle House ordering
eakfast for someone to
ing in while a patient is left in chair with hunger.
