Q. “I am a nurse in a small community hospital. We care for patients of all ages from babies to children to
teens, adults and seniors. Patients often complain of dry and sensitive skin symptoms. Can True Moisture® products and the ABC’s be used in the hospital?”

ANSWER

Hospital patients are some of the most uncomfortable people on earth. I know from experience, as I am a patient
in the hospital right now while writing this part of the book. Unfortunately, I just broke my left tibia with a
twisted separation of the mid shaft, and a tibial plateau fracture, not to mention a fractured fibula and damaged
nerve. I did this rescuing my 10 year-old daughter from a turned over quad. Surgery was not possible, so, the ortho
doc casted it. Stubborn me, I want to go to work on Monday, so I refuse to take narcotics. I feel as if my entire left leg is being dipped into the caldron of hell. It is absolutely horrible! The last thing a hospital patient wants to deal with is a flareup of dry and sensitive skin. Patients are stuck with sharp needles at regular intervals, they are in pain from mild to beyond severe, they are in a strange bed, and hooked to monitors, IV’s, and tubes. They may be unable to move or shower, and may be unable to do the simple things of life, like eat, breathe, pee, and poo. To add one more frustration to this dilemma, many have dry and sensitive skin. What can nursing staff do to comfort sensitive patients?

You would think that a hospital is the place to find relief, but a hospital bed is all too often the source of discomfort. With this in mind, you would think that most hospitals would have a special standard for dry and sensitive personal skin care. They don’t! They have a diabetic diet, code blue guidelines, a hand washing standard, a rule for isolation of contagious patients, and protocols for hazardous waste, OSHA, and confidentiality. Hospitals have guidelines for many needs, but not for dry and sensitive skin. The skin barrier is an often-forgotten vital organ, even in major hospitals. If a hospitalized patient with dry and sensitive skin has a problem, the nursing staff is often limited as to their therapeutic choices. Our True Moisture® staff understands this dilemma. I believe that practical education is the answer to this problem; so, we’ve designed a special hospital and nursing home educational program to introduce the nursing staff to True Moisture® and the ABC’s of dry and sensitive skin. Please call us. We offer in-service training to hospital and nursing home doctors, nurses, and staff.