Policy Manual sample

MDT Home Health Care Agency, Inc. POST-OPERATIVE INSTRUCTIONS FOR CATARACT PATIENT 1. Patient should not sleep on the side of the operated eye for one month. 2. Patient should not rub or irritate the eye. If necessary, lids can be wiped very gently with warm. clean, wet washcloth. Patient should use no medicine in the eye except what he/she was given at the time of discharge. Instructions should be followed exactly. 3. Patient should not lift heavy objects. He/she should do no pushing, pulling or straining with heavy objects. 4 Patient should not bend over, as he/she may fall forward or accidently bump something. 5. Pt should wear his/her metal eye shield Qnight, and during the daytime if taking naps. This will prevent the accidental rubbing or scratching of the eye during sleep. Pt should always wear either the shield or glasses. 6. Patient's glasses may feel uncomfortable and strange at first. They should be worn often at short intervals until he becomes accustomed to them. Patient should always grasp the glasses by the tip of each ear piece when placing them on the head to avoid striking the eye. 7. Patient should be careful going up and down stairs, sitting down on chairs, and going through doors. (The stair or step will look larger and closer, and sometimes one will accidentally miss a step and fall, causing injury to the eye.) Patient should be careful getting into and out of cars. 8. Patient should recuperate quietly at home the first week after discharge from the hospital. 9. Patient may shampoo hair ten days after going home. He/she must be careful not to bend his/her head over the bowl. Someone should help or, preferably, patient may go to a beauty shop. Shaving is permissible, depending on patient's ability to do so. 10. Patient may take a tub bath with help. He must be careful to avoid falling in the tub. 11. Patient may read and watch television if it causes no discomfort. 12. Patient may do needed cooking and light housework. 13. Patient should do no garden or lawn work for the first two months after surgery. 14. No diet restrictions are necessary, unless patient is on a diet for another reason such as diabetes or heart disease. 15. Patient should avoid constipation and straining at the toilet by taking a mild laxative, such as milk of magnesia, at bedtime, if necessary. 16. Patient should not fail to keep his post-operative appointment with his doctor. Home Health Agency Nursing Care & Procedures K-1