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Sickness weakens the body. To gain strength and get well quickly, special care is needed. The care a sick person recieves is frequently the most important part of his treatment.

Medicines are often not necessary. But good care is always important. The following are the basis of good care.

1. The comfort of the sick person Edit

A sick person needs love and constant encouragement. A person who is sick should rest in a quiet, comfortable place with plenty of fresh air and light. When they're sick, you can spoil them a little bit. Like giving them a type of food, a new CD, ect..The person should keep from getting too hot or cold. If the air is cold or the person is chilled, cover them with a sheet or blanket. If the room is hot, or the person has a fever, they may need only a light sheet over them. Fever is the body's way of fighting infection- germs don't like hot temperatures any more than people do! However, if fever is causing discomfort it can be controlled with NSAIDS or herbal remedies.

2. Liquids Edit

In nearly every sickness, especially when there is fever,or diarrhea, the sick person should drink plenty of liquids: water,tea,juices,broth,soup, etc. Make sure that whererever the person is, water is plentiful and can be accessed easily.

3. Personal cleanliness Edit

It is very important to keep the sick person clean.The person should be bathed every day. If they are too sick to get out of bed, wash them with a sponge or cloth with lukewarm water. The sick person's sheets, clothes, and covers must also be kept clean.

4. Good food Edit

If the sick person feels like eating, let them. Most sicknesses do not require special diets. Chicken noodle soup would be better because it does not fill the sick person so then they still have an appetite. But over all, any type of soup that won't give the specific person a allergic reaction is good.

A sick person should drink plenty of liquids and eat a lot of nourishing food.

If the person is very weak, give them as much nourishing food as they can eat, many times a day. If necessary, mash the foods, or make them into soups or juices.

Soups seem to be a good way to give the person liquids as well as nutrition. A sick person might not have appetite so delivering as much nutrition as possible in as small a portion as possible is important.

Make nutritionally fully-rounded soups. This means with carbohydrates and fats, and very important, soluble and insoluble fiber. Protein can be animal protein (meat including red meat: fish, white meats such as pork, chicken or turkey, and eggs or egg substitute) or vegetable protein. Protein is always important- according to webmd.com, the average person needs around 50 grams of protein per day, regardless of whether they have the flu or not. They recommend lean meat, poultry, fish, legumes, dairy, eggs, and nuts and seeds as good sources of protein. Soy-based products such as tofu are also high in protein. Keep in mind that some of your clients will be vegetarian or vegan- meat eaters can eat vegetables, but vegetarians/vegans will not eat meat or animal products. Pasta is also good for carbohydrates, and can be turned into a complete protein by combining the grain pasta with nuts, legumes, or seeds. Pasta alone is only a low to medium provider of protein. Vegetables are good for fiber, especially peas, broccoli, and corn (three high fiber foods according to the Mayo Clinic). There are good fats and not-so-good fats. Fish like salmon and tuna, as well as certain nuts such as flaxseeds (in the form of flaxseed oil) and walnuts have Omega-3, a good fat. Minimize saturated fats such as butter, bacon, things that are solid at room temperature. They are hard to digest.

A quick and easy way to make a good, nutritiously well-rounded soup is to combine frozen vegetables, pasta and a meat or vegetarian/vegan protein source like tofu with broth (chicken, beef, mushroom, or vegetable stock). If the sick person prefers thick, creamy soups, add milk or yogurt, or dissolved cornstarch, or mashed potatoes to change the texture. Or use a blender to turn the mixture into a thick soup. Minimize spices -- some spices might upset their stomachs and cause intestinal distress. Do not overcook -- heat breaks down vitamins. A daily multi-vitamin can't hurt, either.

Another good all-around food for sick people is oatmeal. It is nutritious and has soluble fiber. Use unsweetened oatmeal. It lets you or the sick person control the flavor. Often, sick people's taste buds gets dead and ability to smell are affected so they might like a different level of sweetness and other flavors. You can vary how oatmeal tastes by adding flavors like cinnamon, or nutmeg, a banana, or raisins, brown sugar, or syrups such as maple or chocolate to make it more interesting.

Special care for a person who is very illEdit

In all cases, we must put the interests of our patients ahead of our own egos and values. Our patients need to be able to trust us to put their needs first -- and sometimes that means having to recognize and admit when we're over our heads.

If a patient is very ill, they should be somewhere that they can be managed by people with far more training than you will find in a wiki article. The mainstream medical establishment is very good at is dealing with acute illness. Find patients professional help if they need it.

With that disclaimer, here are a few things that medics should know about caring for the very ill.

AirwayEdit

BreathingEdit

CirculationEdit

Vitals/ChartingEdit

OutputEdit

NeuroEdit

Notes Edit

See list of original sources#How to take care of a sick person.