Care of Aging Skin and Mucous Membranes.

I would like to emphasise the importance of this issue, because during my internships in both health center and in the hospital, I saw the large number of patients who needed to undergo skin care.

From my point of view the skin is the largest organ of our body and perhaps one of the least importance we give. Many times when we get injured or receive a hurt, we do not pay much importance as we thought "Bah! It will heal". But in the case of the elderly and people with some form of paralysis (paraplegia, quadriplegia, hemiplegia ...) things change. An injury in these patients can go from acute to chronic. These people have reduced sensitivity so you do not realize the damage that can occur in the skin. By this I mean for example, an elderly disabled who spend much time in one position, the skin being damaged end and it came to produce a pressure ulcer if there are no suitable remedies. 

From the viewpoint nurse, ulcers is a subject that takes a great burden in caring for the elderly, in patients who remain during a long hospital stay or even when they are institutionalized or still at home, often end up developing some degree of skin damage. For all these reasons, to prepare future nurses about the treatment and prevention of ulcers is something of vital importance and that many universities do not consider.

Bibliography

• Hoffmann G. Care of aging Skin and Mucous Membranes. Basic Geriatric Nursing 5th Edition. Missouri: Elsevier; 2012. p 266-284.