Personal care management
Issues such as mouth care are imperative. The patients’ tongue can become coated with saliva excretion, along with dry mucosa. The lips becomes regularly encrusted. The symptoms of uraemia such as urea breakdown in saliva can
cause the patient to experience dysgeusia (a distortion of the sense of taste), which can result in a metallic taste in the mouth and a peculiar smell to the breath. The patient may be prone to intractable hiccups as a result of metabolic
derangements. This can be managed by dialysis . Mouth lesions can lead to further complications, like respiratory
infections. The nurse may encourage the patient to rinse out their mouth with ice cold mouthwashes or water rather than lukewarm solutions, and suggest applying petroleum jelly to the lips . Skin care continues with regular washing and close
monitoring of the skin’s condition, along with regular pressure-area care, especially if the patient is oedematous