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Restraint Definition

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In use of restraints a physical restraint can be defined as any device, material or equipment attached to or near a person's body and which cannot be controlled or easily removed by the person and which deliberately prevents or is deliberately intended to prevent a person's free body movement to a position of choice and/or a person's normal access to their body. Examples of physical restraint include vests, straps/belts, limb ties, wheelchair bars and brakes, chairs that tip backwards, tucking in sheets too tightly, and bedside rails.
Chemical restraint is defined as the use of any type of drug to restrict an individual’s movement or freedom. Chemical restraint may be used solely for the purpose of sedating an individual. The primary types …show more content…

A patient who is violent or agitated may need restraints so that he does not harm himself or others. Restraints may also be needed if the patient tries to remove medical equipment that is helping the patient sustain life, such as IVs or breathing tubes, catheters, feeding tubes.
What are the risks of using restraints? The patient may become more angry or violent while in restraints or seclusion. The patient may struggle against physical restraints, which would cause skin wounds or block blood flow. It can also increase the patient's heart rate and breathing rate. This can be life-threatening. Chemical restraints can cause low blood pressure, heart rhythm problems, and slow or shallow breathing. Affecting how much oxygen the patient gets. Chemical restraints can also cause drooling, shuffled walk, muscle spasms and stiffness, and tremors.
When using physical restraints it can result in possible consequences; including death by strangulation, fall injuries, deconditioning, skin breakdown, incontinence, constipation and psychological effects such as agitation and emotional distress. Using chemical restraints results in agitation, functional decline, gait disturbance, increased fall risk, memory impairment, movement disorders, sedation, orthostatic/postural, withdrawal

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