Nursing

A spoonful of tips helps the food go down

Stressed Out Nurses Weekly, December 17, 2007

To help enhance a patient's appetite, make sure he or she has good oral hygiene before meals. Also, remove any unpleasant smells or sights and arrange the food in an attractive manner. If the patient has a poor appetite or seems overwhelmed with the amount of food:

  • Offer small amounts of food frequently
  • Place small servings of food on small plates
  • Cut sandwiches into smaller pieces
  • Keep ready-to-eat snack foods such as pretzels, nuts, crackers, cookies, dried nuts, granola bars, and rice cakes handy
  • Offer portable snacks such as cheese and crackers, muffins, ice cream, peanut butter, fruit, small boxes of raisins, and pudding, as these may be more appealing than a meal

Source: Stressed Out About Difficult Patients, HCPro Inc., 2007. For more information on our series of Stressed Out books, visit www.stressedoutnurses.com

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