Artificial Nutrition And Hydration Essay

The end of a person's life is often a difficult and emotional time for the person suffering, and friends and relatives of the patients. If the patient does not have any prior directive, family members can be left with the daunting task of making decisions for their loved one. One of the decisions that needs to be made towards the end of a person's life is whether or not the patient should receive artificial nutrition and hydration.
Artificial nutrition and hydration is a treatment that delivers nutritional substances and fluids to a person through a feeding tube or intravenous therapy. This is often given to patients who are unconscious or who cannot swallow. These treatments are often painful to be started, and can have painful side effects such as infection, nausea, and fluid overload. Towards the end of a person's life this is an option that raises questions such as, “Is this really how the patient would want to live?” In my opinion, artificial nutrition and hydration should only be given to patients who have stated they want this care, or …show more content…
A person receiving this treatment, no longer has the basic function of swallowing. Personally, I feel that would be a poor quality of life. While making this decision, it is also important to consider the side effects of this treatment. The treatment is very painful to begin with, and with side effects like infection, it can cause the patient more pain than necessary. If the artificial nutrition and hydration is simply extending the person's life, not helping them improving their health condition it should not be provided unless it was the patient's or their surrogates wishes. It is the health care provider’s jobs to improve or extend a person's life. Although this may treatment may extend the life, it will likely make the little time a person has left,