NUTRITIONAL STATUS

Nutritional Status



Nutritional Status

Introduction

The study is related to the nutritional status, percentage meal taken and the assistance needed to the elderly patients regarding their diet at the transitional nursing home at the hospital. The nursing homes are the place where they are cared for their health. The elderly patients often require more care regarding their health in terms of nutrition, as their diet structure are fixed. The nutrition of the patients at the nursing home are considered as the best or in other words patients come at the nursing home for getting the nutrition which will not affect their health. These diet structures at the transitional nursing home at the hospital are planned or fixed according to the disease or the problem the patients carry.

The purpose of the nursing homes is to provide assistance to the patients regarding their health as the elderly patients require more care due to the problems occurred to their health. These problems can take place due to various reasons; however, it is observed that most of the problems take place due to the increasing age of the patients. This increase in the age gives rise to other problems because the immune system of the patients gets weak due to which patients get affected by the various diseases. So, the essential role of the nursing home at the hospitals is to provide assistance and care to the patients regarding to the nutritional status.

Discussion

To assess the nutritional status of the elderly patients at the transitional nursing home at the hospital, the nursing homes asks about eating habits, and migrated existing diseases, conducts a general examination and laboratory tests shall appoint, with the help of which determine the blood levels of nutrients and indicators, which depend on the nutritional status (hemoglobin, thyroid hormone and transferring).

Inadequate nutrition can result from various disturbances. For example, the gastrointestinal bleeding can cause iron deficiency anemia. If people take high doses of vitamin A to treat acne, possible headaches and double vision as a result of his overdose. Moreover, due to eating disorders can be affected every body system. For example, with a deficit of nicotinic acid (pellagra), vitamin B deficiency (beriberi), deficiency or excess of vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) and vitamin suffered nervous system. With a lack of zinc violated taste and smell, obesity, diets high in fat, leads to gastrointestinal, and high salt content that promotes the development of hypertension, affects the cardiovascular system. (Kleinmann, 2004)In pellagra, folic acid deficiency and chronic alcoholism may be struck by gastrointestinal tract. Deficiency of B vitamins and vitamin C causes damage to the mouth (lips, tongue, gums and mucous membranes) (Sharkey, Branch and Zohoori, 2002). The nursing homes at the hospitals points out what products people use in the previous day, what is its usual diet. Sometimes the patient is offered for 3 days to record what he eats. During a general survey of physician assesses person's appearance, his behavior, and especially the distribution of fat on the body and the functioning ...