Aspirin: Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures
This story was related to me from a coworker:
I was taking care of a man who was on bipap. (Bipap is a form fitting mask that goes over the mouth and nose to help augment breathing. It has successfully been used numerous times in place of intubating patients and putting them on ventilators.) He was becoming restless and tired of the mask. I had to wait for the doctor to come and see him, though, before I could remove it.
Due to his medical condition, it was very important that he get an aspirin that day. Since I couldn’t give it to him by mouth (because of the mask), I had to explain to him that I’d need to give it rectally as a suppository.
He nodded his consent and I proceeded to give the aspirin.
A short while later, the doctor came to see the patient and agreed that we could take the bipap mask off for awhile. I happily entered the patients room to take the mask off… and before it was even off his face, he stuck his finger in the air and said,
“FOR THE RECORD, that is a hell of a way to take an aspirin!!”
It’s a hell of a way to give one, too.
*This blog post was originally published at Gina Rybolt, RN’s Code Blog.*
