Foot pain bothers many nurses considering that they spend many hours on their feet working in long shifts. Severe pain on the feet or ankles can prevent a nurse from working and become a form of disability. Luckily nurses can use natural remedies to manage, eliminate and prevent feet pain.

The valuable methods for management of nurses’ feet pain are:

1. Wear the right shoes

Choose nursing shoes that are comfortable with adequate wiggle room for the toes and a firm grip on the heels. Lacing shoes are good for nurses and the best time to fit when buying is at the end of a shift when the feet are bigger. You can determine the correct size that will accommodate the feet even if they swell by trying new shoes when feet are at their biggest. Nursing shoes should also have excellent arch support and cushioning to prevent overpronation. Consider adding shoe inserts that make shoes to accommodate specific food conditions like high arches, flat feet or plantar facilities. A custom shoes insert by a podiatrist ensures that you get the right product.

2.Alternate and replace shoes often

The structural support of a shoe starts breaking down after using months. It is essential to check and replace if necessary after every 8-12 months. Wearing the same shoes everyday wears them faster .it also makes them get into contact with same points of pressure by the feet, increasing risk of repetitive strain injury. It is important for nurses to have at least two pairs of shoes.

3.Wearing cushioned socks or compression stockings

Cushioned socks protect the feet especially when fats pads on the feet wear away as fat pads advance. Compression stockings can prevent swelling on the feet and legs for a while.

4.Vinegar

Vinegar is one of the useful natural remedies right in the kitchen shelves and can help much in reducing inflammation that causes muscle strain. Vinegar helps to reduce feet pain by using it in one of these variations. A.Hydrotherapy Vinegar for hydrotherapy should be in equal amounts to the water. You should prepare two containers of cold and hot water and add the same measure of vinegar to each. Soak a small clean towel into the water a wrap it around the foot for 5 minutes. You should alternate wrapping the towel between the cold and hot water repeating the process for up to four times. B.Footbath Add 2-3 tablespoons of vinegar to a warm bath. Add Epsom or sea salt to the water and soak the feet in it for 10-20 minutes.

5.Herbal oil massages

Herbal oils help to loosen tight tissues and increase circulation if you use it to massage the feet. The herbal oil contains distinct medicinal properties that also help to alleviate foot pain. A gentle massage on the aching feet provides quick relief because you can feel the tension and pain easing while the oil warms on the skin. Some of the recommended types of herbal oils are:

• olive oil
• mustard oil
• chamomile oil
• lavender
• clove oil
• sweet marjoram
• rosemary
• eucalyptus
• thyme
• peppermint

Nurses with sensitive skins or open breaks can dilute the herbal oil with a teaspoon of extra coconut or olive oil before using it to massage the feet.

6.Ginger

Ginger more so turmeric ginger has anti-inflammatory properties that help to reduce inflammation that causes pain and swelling on the feet. Nurses with low blood pressure or any blood disease should not use this remedy.

7.Diet

Change of diet is a general act when dealing with arthritis or any other feet pain malady. One of the ways to reduce feet pain is to avoid eating food that increases inflammation like animal products and citric foods. The best diet to take when having feet pain should have a high amount of omega-3 fatty acids like cold water fish, flaxseeds and walnuts. It should also have plenty of carbohydrates. Cherry fruit or juice also helps t reduce inflammation because it contains antioxidant properties. Drink diluted fresh juice or eats at least 10 cherries every day. A serving of three-ounce pitted dark cherries gives 82-297 milligrams of anthocyanins (antioxidant properties that relieve inflammation).

8.Exercising

Stretching exercises targeting the legs, back, shoulders and neck before work activate the body’s nervous system and prevent strain injuries .exercises prepare the feet to endure physical stresses and enhance performance. Performing similar stretch exercises and some yoga poses after work hastens recovery of the foot muscles from any minute injuries after a shift. Nurses might not avoid feet pain due to much walking, but natural remedies help to restore the comfort without pooping pain relievers.

Nurses and doctors need to define ways of calming a patient before a shot because some have a fear of injections. It is usual to encounter patients with a phobia for shots in clinical settings. It is something that is difficult to overcome, and the nurses can try what they can to calm a patient before an injection to prevent the person from incurring a trauma. Nurses who are just starting their careers should master these strategies that help to calm patients before they get shots.

1.Instruct the patient to breathe in deeply

Instruct a patient to take a deep breath then exhale like during the process of blowing out a candle. The best time to inject is when the patient exhales. Tensed muscles relax more when breathing out, and the patient will feel lesser pain when receiving the shot. Giving an injection when a patient is anxious and the muscles are tense makes the needle to feel more painful.

2.Distraction

Distracting a patient by diverting attention before administering the shot helps to reduce the anxiety that a patient has at that moment. Starting a friendly conversation is a superb method of distracting a patient who fears shots from impending injection explores the interests of the patient when preparing to give the patient an injection. The focus will shift to the matter when a nurse hooks the attention of the patient. Nurses can explain the injection procedure then start discussing other issues such as hobbies or favorite activities. When a patient is in the exciting moment, a nurse should begin injecting the drug, and the process will be over before the patient gets anxious. Encouraging deep breathing and asking questions about favorite or singing a song can help nurses to distract as well as calm children before a shot.

3.Crack a joke

Many patients feel nervous, uncomfortable and sweaty because of the panic they have about getting a shot. A nurse who tells a good joke helps to overcome the nervousness. Humor triggers laughter that distracts nervous patients as it helps to relieve and relax them. Telling a funny joke also helps to establish a rapport with the patient. Some nurses have a sense of humor, and it can be of much help in making their patients forget the ordeal of receiving an injection and the entire ordeal will pass without much pain. It also relaxes the muscles which help to reduce the pain that occurs during injection than when they are tense.

4.Provide the right information

Providing patients with unrealistic assurances before an injection is wrong. For instance, there is no point in telling a patient that a needle will not hurt only for them to feel the “sting.”The right thing is to prepare patients in advance by informing them that shot will hurt but not severely as they fear. A nurse may also inform a patient who fears shots that the pain will not last for long. You can also assure them that you will do the best to lessen the pain by completing the process within a short moment and using a small size needle.

5.Using creams or the buzzy on the skin

Some types of topical creams can work as anesthetics that block the sensation of pain by the needle. Pharmacists know about the most common creams for the treatment of needle phobia. The buzzy is a personal pain relieving device developed a by a pediatrician. It works by overwhelming the nerves with buzzing and a cold sensation to prevent the user from feeling the pain that a needle causes as it passes through the skin to the vein. The buzzy now has a version for adults and a new version for kids. The latest for children resembles a bee, and it includes distraction cards.

Many people fear the needle and nurses or physicians should not condemn patients for their phobia. They should not ridicule the patients but instead, let them know that they should not be a cause of shame. It helps to reduce the phobia and make injections to be more manageable.

The term non-compliant patient refers to someone who does not take medicine according to prescription or fails to follow the prescribed course of treatment. The failure to comply can sometimes occur because the patient refuses to adhere to instruction by a healthcare provider.

It is difficult to deal with non-compliant patients due to the frustration of trying to help someone who has no concern about the effort and danger of failing to take medication according to prescriptions. Those who are not careful can lose their professionalism and rationality making it even harder to convince a patient on the need of compliance. An individual who is non-compliant feels more powerful and in control of the verbal interaction if the caregiver becomes emotional.

1.How to Deal With Non-Compliant Patients

The first thing by a professional who is dealing with a non-compliant patient is to make the person understand the dangers of deviating from instructions by a medic. It is a bonus to make the person comply. These approaches guide professionals to deal with non-compliance.

2.Determine the reason for non-compliance

It is simpler to find a solution for a patient has a reason for failing to comply than someone who is adamant. Nursing is a resourceful profession and the training together with experience can yield to alternative solutions. Here are the frequency reasons for failing to comply with medical instructions that enable a nurse to determine if a non-compliant patient requires help or is just stubborn.

After determining the reason for non-compliance, these steps will help to manage the patient especially when failure to comply was a stubborn action.

3.Maintain rationality

It is essential to stay rational because losing your cool will cause a power struggle that does not guarantee a win by persuading the patient to change. An increase in frustration and irrationality by a professional makes the non-compliant patient more stubborn.

4.Explain the directive

Sometimes it might be wrong to assume that a patient knows the meaning of medical instruction. It might be that the person does not understand and deserves the benefit of a doubt by clarifying the importance of a medical directive.

5.Place responsibility at the rightful place

The responsibility for refusing to comply with medical directions should lie with the patient, and a caregiver should not agree to shoulder the burden. For instance, a patient can insist on knowing the ways that a nurse can use to cause compliance. It is essential to inform him that there is no action to enforce submission but explain the medical consequences of failing to take medications or treatment and then he will carry the blame for the inaction.

6.Set reasonable limits

Some non-compliant patients want to test the ceiling to see if the healthcare provider will budge and change the original instructions on medication and treatment. Setting reasonable limits and consequences is essential. The person will think that nothing will happen if he limits are unreasonable. You should be ready to enforce some results when setting the boundaries. The action could be something simple like telling the patients to leave the room, or you get help to remove them if they are not going to comply with treatment or medication recommendations. Enforcing the limits makes it simple to manage such persons in future because they know you will take action if they are unreasonable.

Charting and documenting when dealing with a non-compliant patient is very crucial because it will provide evidence if there is a future inquiry about a failure to complete treatment. It feels great when those who know how to deal with non-compliant patients succeed in changing their attitudes. However, it should not be a reason for self-blame when patients choose not to comply after an explanation on the need to change their stubbornness.

Self-diagnosis is a process by a patient to identify a medical condition without seeking medical help from a professional. The diagnosis could be from the knowledge that a person learns by reading medical resources on the internet, books, dictionaries or past personal experience. Other diagnose by identifying similarities in symptoms and medical signs to those in family members or friends who are suffering from a condition.

Nurses should accept that self-diagnosis is now a reality in the medical field. The most challenging aspect of managing patients who self-diagnose is to establish trust and a rapport. It is clear that such patients have meaningful information about infections that they learn from discussions with other people, the internet or publications. It is essential to develop strategies that simplify the management of a patient who self-diagnose if you are a nurse or healthcare provider.

Tips To Manage Patients Who Self-Diagnose

1.Acknowledge the efforts by the patients

The first step is to make the patients who self-diagnose to feel that you appreciate their knowledge. Healthcare providers should get into the shoes of such patients to better understand what they are going through and to determine the better solution. Patients feel that someone is giving them the importance and validates their effort by acknowledging the trouble they took to research on their symptoms to the point of achieving a diagnosis.

2.Strike a friendly conversation

Communication is essential for an excellent healthcare provider-patient relationship. It is vital to approach the situation delicately even if a patient diagnosis is inaccurate. Start by acknowledging the valiant effort in an attempt to diagnose, articulate the correct diagnosis and demonstrate the common understanding. Explain the concept of differential diagnosis that occurs when different illnesses or injuries are present and show similar symptoms if applicable. A friendly approach recognizes the effort of a patient is self-diagnosing but corrects the wrongs without arrogance or belittling the person. This method of dealing with a patient does not entirely discredit the self-diagnosis but states the similarity of symptoms between the wrong self-diagnosis and the correct diagnosis. Approaching the situation with an understanding enables a healthcare provider to develop trust and better rapport with a patient.

3.Encourage verbalization of the feelings

Patients tend to listen to, and trust medical staff who encourage a verbalization of their feelings and listen to them .It also helps to establish a rapport that makes a patient reveal information concerning self – a diagnosis which is helpful in narrowing down to a better potential diagnosis.

4.Build on the shared information

The information by a patient provides an excellent opportunity to find something relevant from their symptoms if you can take time to achieve a good grasp of the things that a patient believes and understands. It is best to build on the information that patients share when it possible to add on to what you know about the symptoms and correct diagnoses.

5.Suggest extra resources to guide the patients

Providing additional information increases knowledge by the patients and might guide them to correct some false assumptions. Health experts should advise the patients to find information from websites and other resources affiliated to healthcare institutions and medical centers to access more accurate facts on self-diagnosis. Data from such locations has undergone a thorough examination before publishing to ensure that they carry the most accurate and up-to-date information. It is vital to inform the patients that they should avoid sites that have excess adverts because the writers may have edited the information to meet requirements that favor the advertisers.

6.Educate the patients about dangers of self-diagnosis

More people are spending time on the internet finding information about medical conditions and some might assume that they are masters of their health. Healthcare providers must diagnose, treat and also educate the patients to prevent mistakes in future. Healthcare providers must act as the patient's advocate after assessment and diagnosis. It makes it part of their duty to inform the patients about the pros and cons of a self-diagnosis.

If possible, you should provide visual aids for the patients to achieve a better understanding of the things that they might experience when something about their diagnosis goes wrong. Patients who get accurate information from their care providers will minimize reliance on the internet and other media for self-diagnosis.