To relieve the patient ’s thirst, refresh the mouth first: a pilot study using mini mint ice cubes in severely dehydrated patients

Thirst refers to the urge to drink and it is consistently reported as one of the top five stressful symptoms by critically ill patients.1 It can also become a real torment for terminally ill patients2 or severely dehydrated individuals.3 However, thirst is often overlooked, poorly understood, and under-recognized in the hospital.4 For a long time, it was thought to be closely related to changes in the blood volume or plasma osmolarity and to the regulation of blood sodium concentration (Na+).5,6 Rehydration usually aims at normalizing biological targets like Na+ or plasma osmolarity, and the preferred routes for rehydration in the hospital are intravenous fluid administration and nasogastric tube feeding.
Source: Journal of Pain and Symptom Management - Category: Palliative Care Authors: Source Type: research