September 11, 2023

Ep. 420 Providing Comfort During the Last Days of Life with Barbara Karnes RN

1 hour 8 minutes

Learn useful tips for helping patients and loved ones be more comfortable at the very end of life – small changes can make a big difference.

This week I welcome back my recurring guest Barbara Karnes RN, hospice nurse, author, speaker, thought leader and expert on end-of-life care. She is the author of ‘the little blue hospice book,” Gone from My Sight and the recently published By Your Side: A Guide for Caring for the Dying at Home. We discuss tips for caregivers to provide comfort to patients during the last days and hours of life when they may not be able to communicate their needs. There are dozens of “little things” that can make a big difference in the comfort level of our loved ones and patients and you’ll learn about them in this conversation. Learn more about Barbara’s work and books at her website:

www.bkbooks.com

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Listen here:

This episode includes:

Why grooming and hygiene matter for patients all the way through the end of life

Tips for good mouth and lip care

Preserving patient dignity by honoring their routines

Preventing skin breakdown

Importance of positioning and turning patients for maximum comfort

Dealing with breathing issues and “death rattle”

An alternative to adult diapers

Options for administering medications sublingually, rectally or as a skin cream

Links mentioned in this episode:

Get my two new books!! Stories from the Dark Night and The Tao of Death

Check out previous interviews with Barbara Karnes RN

Get EOLU Podcast Merch here

Conversations on Death with ChatGPT – Audiobook here; Print Book here

Leave me a message by email: [email protected], Twitter, Facebook or Instagram

Support your local bookstore by buying my books on Bookshop and Indiebound: 7 Lessons for Living from the Dying and The Journey from Ego to Soul

Subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Stitcher Radio

Check out the Series I’ve recorded in the past here

Join the team at Patreon.com/eolu and receive free gifts like the “Mind if we talk about death?” mini-poster or Love Your Life sticker or coffee mug. PLUS get our regular bonuses: the monthly EOL News Update, occasional movie reviews from 2 Doctors and a Movie, and automatic access to A Year of Reading Dangerously!

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By Karen Wyatt MD

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