List suicide precautions

Answer 1

1. Monitoring frequently: every 10 to 15.

· Note any changes in the person's grooming and dietary habits.

· Loss of interest in self-care may be a sign that someone is slipping deeper into depression or schizophrenia and may be a higher risk for suicide attempt.

2. Safety keep any potentially harmful items from the patient:

· Such as knives, scissors, glass, razor blades, belts, nail files, electricart cords, and linens. It is common for patients who are considered suicidal to wear paper gowns and to have paper bedding. Some patients find a way to become wet over their body and then attempt to electrocute themselves by holding onto a metal object and sticking it in an electrical outlet.

3. Medications: always be sure your patient has swallowed all medications.

· Patients find ways to "pocket" medications in their cheeks, roof of their mouth, or under their tongue and then save them until they think they have enough to successfully end their lives.

4. Communications listen to the physical concerns of the patient.

· The physical manifestation may be the method of communicating the desire to commit suicide. Ask outright if the person I considering suicide and, if o how and when. Ask about any specific plan the individual may have. Also ask if this patient has attempted suicide in the past.

5. Contract: develop a suicide contract with your patient.

· Sometimes this is enough to allow the patient to feel responsible and respected. In a suicide contract, the nurse and patient work out a system by which the patient will seek out a staff person (or a significant other) when he or she feels suicidal.

6. Crisis interventions

· Review the information on crisis. Suicide is certainly a crisis situation. Nurses must be ready to think on their fee, perform professionally, and remain calm though it all