cause of the deficiency. If so, then the nurse should educate the patient on
the importance of maintaining a balanced diet.
In many cases, the nurse may reach one of the following diagnoses:
- Altered nutrition; less than body requirements
- Lack of knowledge related to proper nutrition
- Lack of knowledge related to vitamin use
Based on these diagnoses, the nurse should develop a plan for having the
patient eat a well-balanced diet and to take vitamin supplements as prescribed.
The plan should also take into consideration the following interventions:
- Administer vitamins with food to promote absorption.
- Store vitamins in light-resistant container.
- Use a calibrated dropper for administration of liquid vitamins.
- Administer IM if patient is unable to take PO.
Teaching the patient is an important intervention because this gives the
patient the knowledge to implement preemptive actions that lower the risk of
vitamin deficiency in the future.
The nurse should teach the patient to:
- Take prescribed amount of vitamin.
- Read labels carefully.
- Not use megavitamins over a prolonged period of time.
- Check expiration dates on containers before purchasing or taking them
(potency is reduced after the expiration date). - Not take vitamin A with mineral oil because it interferes with the absorp-
tion of A. - Not take megadoses of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) to “cure a cold.”
- Not take megadoses of vitamin C with aspirin or sulfonamides.
- Avoid excessive intake of alcoholic beverages. (It can cause vitamin B-
complex deficiencies.)
Refer the patient to the USDA web site (http://www.mypyramid.gov/pyramid/
index.html) to calculate the desired portions for each food group based on age,
sex, and the amount of exercise the patient performs daily. It is important that
the patient understands that vitamin supplements are not necessary if he or she
is healthy and eats properly.
CHAPTER 9 Vitamins and Minerals^149