Nursing program to meet the challenge of caring for patients with water intoxication

This article describes a program that is effective in working with psychiatric patients who have trouble with excessive water intake. The purpose of the program is to provide consistent treatment in a controlled and therapeutic environment in which the special needs of these patients can be met. We incorporate a variety of nursing interventions suggested by the literature to help meet the goals of the program. As a result of the program, disruptive behavior has decreased and patients have learned skills to help them manage their illness. An additional benefit of the program is that working with water intoxication patients is no longer stressful for staff.