Chapter 6: Personal Care Skills

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering key personal care skills, positioning terms, pressure injury stages, and hygiene definitions from Chapter 6.

Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)

Daily self-care tasks including hygiene, grooming, dressing, eating, drinking, transferring, and eliminating.

Hygiene

The practices and methods used to keep the body clean and healthy, such as bathing and brushing teeth.

Grooming

Practices related to personal appearance, such as caring for fingernails and hair.

Pressure Points

Areas of the body that bear much of its weight and are at high risk for skin breakdown.

Bony Prominences

Areas of the body where bone lies close to the skin, such as elbows, shoulder blades, sacrum, hips, knees, ankles, and heels.

Shearing

Rubbing or friction that results from the skin moving one way while the underlying bone remains fixed or moves in the opposite direction.

Pressure Injuries

Injuries resulting from skin deterioration and shearing; also known as pressure ulcers, pressure sores, decubitus ulcers, or bed sores.

Stage 1 Pressure Injury

An injury where the skin is intact but reddened (or discolored in darker skin tones) and does not relieve after pressure is removed; the area may be painful, firm, soft, warmer, or cooler than surrounding skin.

Stage 2 Pressure Injury

Partial-thickness skin loss involving the outer and/or inner layers of skin; the injury appears pink, red, moist, and may look like a blister.

Stage 3 Pressure Injury

Full-thickness skin loss in which fat is visible and slough or eschar may be present; damage may extend down to, but not through, tissue covering muscle.

Stage 4 Pressure Injury

Full-thickness skin loss extending through all layers of skin, tissue, muscle, bone, and other structures such as tendons, appearing like a deep crater.

Slough

Yellow, tan, gray, green, or brown moist tissue present in a wound bed.

Eschar

Dead necrotic tissue that is hard or soft in texture and black, brown, or tan, often resembling a scab.

Unstageable Pressure Injury

A pressure injury with full-thickness skin and tissue loss where the true depth cannot be determined because it is covered with slough or eschar.

Deep Tissue Pressure Injury

Intact or nonintact skin area that appears deep red, purple, or maroon, or manifests as a blood-filled blister, often painful and differing in temperature from surrounding tissue.

Bed Cradle

A positioning frame used to keep bed sheets and covers from resting on or rubbing against a resident's legs and feet.

Draw Sheet

A half-sized sheet or folded bed sheet placed under residents to help move, turn, or reposition them in bed without causing shearing.

Foot Drop

A weakness of muscles in the feet and ankles that causes difficulty with flexing the ankles and walking normally.

Handrolls

Cloth-covered or rubber devices placed in the palm to keep the hand and fingers in a natural position and prevent contractures.

Orthotic Device (Orthosis)

A device, such as a splint, that supports and aligns a limb, improves functioning, and prevents or corrects deformities.

Trochanter Rolls

Rolled towels or blankets placed along the thighs to prevent a resident's hips and legs from turning outward.

Partial Bath

A daily hygiene routine involving washing only the face, hands, axillae (underarms), and perineum.

Perineum

The genital and anal area of the body.

Labia Majora

The outer folds of perineal tissue in females that protect the urinary meatus and the vaginal opening.

Pediculosis

An infestation of lice, which are tiny bugs that bite into the skin and feed on blood.

Involved / Affected Side

The weaker side of a resident's body caused by a stroke or injury; garments are put on this side first during dressing.

Intravenous (IV) Therapy

The delivery of fluids, medications, or liquid nutrition directly into a vein.

Antiembolic Stockings

Elastic or compression stockings designed to gently squeeze legs, improve blood circulation, and prevent blood clots and swelling.

Embolism

The obstruction of an artery or blood vessel, typically caused by a blood clot traveling from another location in the body.

Aspiration

The accidental inhalation of food, fluids, or foreign material into the lungs, which can lead to pneumonia or death.

Fracture Pan

A specialized, flatter bedpan designed for individuals who cannot raise their hips onto a standard bedpan.

Portable Commode

A movable chair equipped with a toilet seat and removable bucket underneath, used for residents who can get out of bed but cannot walk to the bathroom.

Supine Position

A standard recumbent body position where the resident is lying completely flat on their back.

Lateral Position

A side-lying body position on either the left or right side.

Prone Position

A body position where the resident is lying flat on their stomach or anterior surface.

Fowler's Position

A semisitting body position in which the head of the bed is elevated to an angle between $45^\circ$ and $60^\circ$.

Sims' Position

A left side-lying position where the upper knee is flexed and drawn up toward the chest.

Logrolling

A technique used to turn a resident in bed as a single unit without twisting, keeping the head, spine, and legs in straight alignment.

Footboard

A padded board placed upright against the soles of the feet to maintain alignment and prevent foot drop and contractures.

Orangewood Stick

A slender wooden tool used during nail care to gently clear dirt and debris from beneath the fingernails.

Electric Razor

The safest shaving device that operates dry without soap or water, indicated for residents taking anticoagulant medication to prevent bleeding.

Standard Repositioning Interval for a dependent resident in bed

Every $2\,\text{hours}$

Oral Care for an Unconscious Resident

Mouth care provided at least every $2\,\text{hours}$ using sponge swabs moistened with minimal liquid while the resident is positioned laterally to prevent aspiration.

Denture Water Temperature Precaution

The requirement to rinse, clean, and store dentures exclusively in cool or moderate water to prevent the artificial material from warping.

Denture Removal Sequence

The protocol of taking out the lower denture first because it rests freely on the gumline, followed by a slight downward pull on the upper denture to break suction.

Rule for Dressing and Undressing with an Involved Side

The standard procedure requiring caregivers to put garments on the resident's weaker (affected) limb first, and remove garments from the stronger (unaffected) limb first.

Dressing a Resident with an Intravenous (IV) Line

The procedure requiring clothing to be removed from the non-IV arm first and gathered over the IV setup, while clean clothing is put onto the arm with the IV first.