What are cooling and warming blankets?
Cooling and warming blankets in Intensive Care are used to regulate the body temperature of a Patient. The blanket are therefore attached to a machine that is either blowing hot or cold air into the blanket that your loved one is covered with. Most warming blankets are placed over your loved one, whilst some cooling blankets or cooling devices are placed underneath your loved one.
It is quite common for Patients in Intensive Care to be either very hot or very cold in Intensive Care as a result of their underlying condition.
Some indications to warm a Patient include
- post- surgery after coming back from the operating theatre
- hypothermia(low temperature)
- Haemodialysis(Dialysis Machines)-warm blood coming out of a Patient’s body and going through a machine and is cooling down, therefore the Patient feels cold
- peripheral vascular disease with cold feet and cold hands
Some indications to cool a Patient include
- Cardiac Arrest
- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
- Sepsis
- high fevers
Any questions?
Of course, if you have any questions or concerns, please discuss them with the ICU nurses and doctors.
All Intensive Care interventions and procedures carry a degree of potential risk even when performed by skilled and experienced staff. Please discuss these issues with the medical and nursing staff who are caring for your loved one.
The information contained on this page is general in nature and therefore cannot reflect individual Patient variation. It is meant as a back up to specific information which will be discussed with you by the Doctors and Nurses caring for your loved one. INTENSIVE CARE HOTLINE attests to the accuracy of the information contained here BUT takes no responsibility for how it may apply to an individual Patient. Please refer to the full disclaimer.
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