Isopropyl alcohol inhalation as treatment for nausea and vomiting.
In my practice as a recovery room nurse, I had observed anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists wave an opened alcohol preparation pad under a patient's nose when he or she complained of nausea. When asked, "Why?'' the response often was, "Because it works.'' The following article describes the use of inhalation of isopropyl alcohol as a treatment for postoperative nausea and vomiting. Because alcohol swabs are so readily available, and certainly less expensive than some of the newer antiemetics on the market, this simple nursing intervention was worth investigating.
Spencer
Kathleen Walsh
KW
William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, MI, USA. kathleenrn@mindspring.com
D019840:2-Propanol / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000280:Administration, Inhalation; D000328:Adult; D000932:Antiemetics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D015400:Clinical Nursing Research; D006801:Humans; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D016528:Postanesthesia Nursing / Q000379:methods; D011182:Postoperative Care / Q000379:methods / Q000451:nursing; D020250:Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000451:nursing; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000932:Antiemetics; D019840:2-Propanol