Soaks
A soak involves immersion of a body part in warm water or a medicated solution. This treatment helps to soften exudates, facilitate debridement, enhance suppuration, clean wounds or burns, rehydrate wounds, apply medication to infected areas, and increase local blood supply and circulation.
Most soaks are applied with clean tap water and clean technique. Sterile solution and sterile equipment are required for treating wounds, burns, and other breaks in the skin.
Equipment
Basin, or arm or foot tub ▪ bath (utility) thermometer ▪ warm tap water or prescribed solution ▪ cup ▪ pitcher ▪ linen-saver pad ▪ overbed table ▪ footstool ▪ pillows ▪ towels ▪ gauze pads and other dressing materials ▪ gloves ▪ sterile gloves.
Preparation of Equipment
Clean and disinfect the basin or tub. Run warm tap water into a pitcher or heat the prescribed solution, as applicable. Measure the water or solution temperature with a bath thermometer. If the temperature isn’t within the prescribed range (usually 105° to 110°F [40.6° to 43.3°C]), add hot or cold water or reheat or cool the solution, as needed.
If you’re preparing the soak outside the patient’s room, heat the liquid slightly above the correct temperature to allow for cooling during transport. If the solution for a medicated soak isn’t premixed, prepare the solution and heat it.
Implementation
Check the doctor’s order and check for a history of an allergy to the medicated solution, as appropriate.
Confirm the patient’s identity using at least two patient identifiers according to your facility’s policy.1
Provide privacy. Explain the procedure to the patient.
If the soak basin or tub will be placed in bed, make sure the bed is flat beneath it to prevent spills. For an arm soak, have the patient sit erect. For a leg or foot soak, ask him to lie down and bend the appropriate knee. For a foot soak in the sitting position, let him sit on the edge of the bed or transfer him to a chair.
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