The Healing Power of Touch – Guidelines for Nurses and Practitioners

Book excerpt: This book offers precise and highly informative instructions for nurses and caregivers on how to select external applications for various indications and how to perform them on children. It also enables readers to gain a deeper understanding of the skin, its functions and the therapeutic potential of external applications. The sense of touch is the first sensation that develops in the body during embryonal development; therefore, it is essential for orientation in the world from the beginning of life. The skin is known as the body's protective mantle. It is the largest sensory organ of the human body and plays a key role in perception, social interaction and health. Touch and external applications to the skin can have a lasting effect on overall health and wellbeing and contribute to the healing of various conditions in children. Through the skin, children react sensitively to external influences like natural active ingredients and touch. These mechanisms are particularly relevant with regard to the deep relationship between the skin and the organism as a whole. External applications use these mechanisms to support the health and healing processes in children. The book is intended for healthcare professionals interested in complementing conventional pediatric care with external applications, especially in daily use by nurses and caregivers. Nurses will find guidance from complementary medicine and care to deal with various indications occurring in various pediatric fields like pediatric surgery, psychiatry, oncology, intensive care, neonatology and during the phases of child development. In addition to the detailed descriptions of the application techniques, it provides insights into the theory behind external applications and explains the mechanisms of action. Furthermore, it includes case studies, scientific data and personal reports from experts.