Contents:
- Medical Video: A Boy Ate 150 Gummy Vitamins For Breakfast. This Is What Happened To His Bones.
- What is a comma like?
- Coma does not mean dead
- Coma patients still need to eat and drink
- How do patients eat and drink coma?
- What can be done when visiting a coma patient
Medical Video: A Boy Ate 150 Gummy Vitamins For Breakfast. This Is What Happened To His Bones.
What first crossed your mind when you heard the word comma? Most people might describe the coma as a condition of unconsciousness, aka long sleep due to certain diseases. As you know, people who are sleeping certainly cannot eat and drink until they wake up. So what about coma patients? Approximately, how do coma patients eat and drink? Relax, find the answer in the following review.
What is a comma like?
Simply put, coma is a condition of long-term loss of consciousness. Coma can be caused by many things, including due to head injury or trauma, nervous system disease, metabolic disease, infection, or stroke.
These things can cause swelling or bleeding in the part of the brain. As a result, the pressure in the head cavity increases and inhibits the flow of blood containing oxygen to the brain. This condition makes a person lose consciousness until they experience coma.
Coma does not mean dead
People who are in a coma cannot move all parts of their body, starting from the eyes, ears, mouth, hands, to the feet. They also cannot respond to the pain, light, or sound that surrounds them.
However, it should be noted that a person who is in a coma does not mean his brain is no longer functioning or dead. People who are in a coma are still alive, but cannot respond to the surrounding conditions normally.
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), coma patients usually only can grimace, smile, or cry as a form of reflexes in their body.
Coma patients still need to eat and drink
Humans need to eat and drink to meet their nutritional needs every day. Especially if you are sick, you certainly need more food intake so your body will recover quickly and recover.
This also applies to people who are in a coma. Even in an unconscious condition, coma patients still need food and drink intake so that their organ functions continue to run well.
But the question is, how do patients eat and drink coma? In fact, you certainly know that coma patients look like they are sleeping so that it is not possible to eat or drink.
The explanation is this. Commas are serious medical conditions and need to be monitored regularly. That's why doctors and other medical teams will always make sure the respiratory system and the patient's blood circulation run well so that the amount of oxygen to the patient's brain remains stable.
How do patients eat and drink coma?
The way patients eat and drink is certainly not the same as other normal people. Because coma patients cannot swallow or chew, food or drink will be given in other forms.
Coma patients eat and drink through intravenous fluids that are inserted into their venous veins. The infusion fluid contains electrolytes, which consist of salt or other substances, to prevent coma patients from starvation or dehydration.
Depending on the patient's condition, the doctor can also make a nasogastric tube to allow the coma patient to eat and drink. This nasogastric tube is inserted through the nose, then into the throat, and ends in the stomach to drain fluid and nutrients into the patient's body.
However, this type of tube can only be used for 1-4 weeks. If it is more than 4 weeks, the nasogastric tube will usually be replaced with a PEG tube.
PEG or hosePercutaneous Endoscopic Gastronomy is a permanent food hose that is inserted from the skin of the stomach directly into the patient's stomach. Through this hose, artificial food will be inserted directly into the stomach to be digested by coma patients.
What can be done when visiting a coma patient
There is not much you can do when visiting family members or friends who are in a coma. However, there are a number of things you can do to stimulate the patient's reflex towards your presence. The method is as follows:
- Greet the patient in a gentle tone so that the patient knows that you are visiting him.
- Talk about good things, because coma patients may hear what you say.
- Show your love and support, for example by holding hands or simply stroking his skin slowly. Even though it looks simple, this method can make patients feel comfortable in your presence.
Even though the patient cannot respond much, keep showing your support for the patient. The greater your support, the greater the patient's enthusiasm to stay alive and wake up from his long sleep.
