These days, doctors prefer to get their patients hospitalized at the drop of a pin. In fact, even the patients seem to be equally enthusiastic about getting admitted. Although it is true that a patient will certainly have access to various specialists, nursing, and diagnostics all under a single roof, even a brief stay in a hospital can expose a patient to other health risks, more so if the patient belongs to the pediatric or geriatric age group.  

The beds, for example, in the hospitals are higher than those that we generally have at home and have rails. This tends to immobilize the patient, making him dependent on the nursing staff or attending family members for even trivial matters. The unfamiliar environment may cause anxiety and, consequently, sleeplessness in some. Catheterization of elderly patients to prevent them from waking up to pass urine is known to increase their risk of suffering from urinary tract infections.

Complete bed rest can lead to a reduction in the plasma volume, giving rise to dizziness due to fluctuations in the blood pressure, which can lead to falls. Prolonged bed rest can accelerate bone demineralization, thereby increasing the risk of fractures. Immobilization is known to cause pressure sores. Besides this, being moved up and down using the inbuilt hoisting mechanism of the hospital bed often exposes the fragile skin to high shearing forces, making it sore.

Isolation of the patient for long can cut off the patient from society and he may lose touch with date and time, i.e. he may get disoriented. Unappealing therapeutic diets in the hospital along with the disease itself may kill the person’s appetite totally and lead to malnutrition. Trying to feed the individual in reclining posture can increase the risk of choking on solids or developing aspiration pneumonia due to passage of liquids into the windpipe.

The biggest risk of hospitalization is the possibility of contracting a hospital-acquired (nosocomial) infection. Such infections are usually difficult to treat because the causative organisms are mostly resistant to routine medications. So, doctors should conscientiously suggest hospitalization only if it is really required and not just because they are under pressure by the trustees and administrators to fill up the wards so that the hospital makes money.

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Tags: Anxiety, Aspiration pneumonia, Catheterization, Choking, Diagnostics, Fracture, Geriatric, Hazard, Hospital, Hospitalization, Immobilization, Malnutrition, Nosocomial infection, Nursing, Pediatric, Sleeplessness, Specialist, Urinary tract infection

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