Definitions: S
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Sac - a pouch or pouch-like structure in a plant or an animal, sometimes filled with fluid.
Sacrum - is a large, triangular bone at the base of the spine and at the upper and back part of the pelvic cavity, where it is inserted like a wedge between the two hip bones.
Safety - the person receiving care and the person arranging for care both entrust a caregiver with the safety of the care receiver. Safety promotes greater activity and independence which translates into a better quality of life.
Scab - a crust formed from and covering a healing wound.
Scale - a thin flake or compacted plate-like structure.
Schizophrenia - is a psychotic disorder (or a group of disorders) marked by severely impaired thinking, emotions, and behaviors. Schizophrenic patients are typically unable to filter sensory stimuli and may have enhanced perceptions of sounds, colors, and other features of their environment. Most schizophrenics, if untreated, gradually withdraw from interactions with other people, and lose their ability to take care of personal needs and grooming.
Scooter - a device, usually battery-powered, that a person with limited mobility can "drive" from one place to another, typically indoors. Use differs from a motorized wheelchair in that it is assumed that the person riding the scooter is somewhat ambulatory.
Secrete - to synthesize and release a substance.
Sedative - an agent or a drug that produces a soothing, calming, or tranquilizing effect.
Self-Administer - to apply to oneself as a remedy.
Self-Sufficient - able to provide for oneself without the help of others; independent.
Semen - the thick whitish liquid released from the penis during sexual intercourse. It contains sperm and other secretions.
Senior Apartment - (see independent living)
Senior Citizen - (see seniors and elderly)
Seniors - generally anyone over 65.
Senses - any of the abilities by which stimuli from outside or inside the body are received and felt, as in the abilities of hearing, sight, smell, touch, taste, and equilibrium.
Sensitivity - (see allergy)
Sepsis - a bacterial infection in the bloodstream or body tissues.
Septic - causing or producing sepsis.
Serum - the clear portion of any liquid separated from its more solid elements; blood.
Shelter - something that provides cover or protection, as from the weather.
Shortness of Breath - (SOB) difficult or labored respiration.
Sjorgren's Syndrome - (SS) is a disorder in which the mouth and eyes become extremely dry. Sjorgren's syndrome is often associated with other autoimmune disorders.
Skeleton - the hard framework of the animal body; the bones of the body collectively.
Skilled Nursing - nursing and rehabilitative care performed by or under the supervision of skilled professional or technical personnel administering medication, diagnostics, minor surgery.
Skilled Nursing Facility - a facility that is staffed with 24-hour on-site licensed professionals for the care of the frail who require a high level of medical care and assistance. Services include medical care, psychological, social and personal services. Residents typically share a room and take group meals in a dining area unless they are too ill to participate. Activities are also available for those who can participate. Some facilities have special units for Alzheimer's residents and for short-term rehabilitative stays for those recovering from an illness or accident. (Also called convalescent care, nursing center and long-term care facility.)
Slider - is a way to indicate the importance of an answer to one of your questions in your assessment. You simply "slide" the indicator to the right or left to indicate more or less importance. The slider has an effect on your CAREmatchesSM. The more importance you place on a particular answer, the fewer matches you will see. This is great for Care Receiver to narrow down their search, but may restrict the CareGiver's possible jobs.
Small Intestine - the narrow, winding, upper part of the intestine where digestion is completed and nutrients are absorbed by the blood.
Social - living together or enjoying life in communities or organized groups.
Social Security Administration - (SSA) an independent government agency responsible for the Social Security system. The Act and it's components are too complex to be explored here, but you can go to http://www.ssa.gov for information.
Social Services - are administered by social workers.
Social Worker - are concerned with social problems, their causes, their solutions and their human impacts. Social workers work with individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities, as members of a profession which is committed to social justice and human rights. Their approach is to consider the whole individual (including their biological, psychological, sociological, familial, cultural, and spiritual subsystems) within the context of their current situation.
Socialization - acting and participating within one's society.
Society - is a grouping of individuals which is characterized by common interests.
Sodium - sodium chloride better known as common salt, is the most common compound of sodium, but sodium occurs in many other minerals. Sodium is an essential element to all living organisms.
Somatostatin - is secreted in several locations in the digestive system such as the stomach, intestines and pancreas as well as the brain. Somatostatin serves to suppress the secretion of several hormones of the body.
Spasm - is a sudden, involuntary contraction of a muscle, a group of muscles, or a hollow organ, or a similarly sudden contraction of an orifice. It is sometimes accompanied by a sudden burst of pain, but is usually harmless and ceases after a few minutes.
Special Needs - usually referring to a child, but many times refers to an adult as well as developmental disabilities, chronic medical needs or similar needs requiring specialized care.
Specialist - refers to an expert in a profession.
Speech Therapy - aids individuals who have speech impairments due to an illness or medical condition. Some people need speech therapy after a stroke.
Sperm - a male reproductive cell
Spinal Cord - is a thin, tubular bundle of nerves that is an extension of the central nervous system from the brain.
Spine - is a column of 34 vertebrae, the sacrum, the cartilage between the vertebrae, and the coccyx situated at the bottom.
Spiritual - relating to a person's beliefs as opposed to his or her physical or material needs.
Spleen - a spongy organ near the stomach, which filters bacteria from the blood.
Standby Assist - literally to "stand by" and assist a care receiver if it is needed in activities such as standing, sitting, eating, toileting, etc.
State of Mind - the state of a person's cognitive processes.
Sternum - also referred to as the breast bone, this is the long flat bone in the middle of the chest.
Steroid - any of a large number of hormonal substances with a similar basic chemical structure, produced mainly in the adrenal cortex and gonads.
Stimulus - any agent or environmental change that provokes a response.
Stomach - the enlarged sac-like portion of the digestive tract between the esophagus and small intestine, lying just beneath the diaphragm.
Stress - results from interactions between persons and their environment that are perceived as straining or exceeding their adaptive capacities and threatening their well-being.
Stroke - is the rapidly developing loss of brain functions due to a disturbance in the blood vessels supplying blood to the brain. This can be due to ischemia (lack of blood supply) caused by thrombosis or embolism or due to a hemorrhage. As a result, the affected area of the brain is unable to function, leading to inability to move one or more limbs on one side of the body, inability to understand or formulate speech or inability to see one side of the visual field. A stroke is a medical emergency and can cause permanent neurological damage, complications and death.
Subacute Care - care provided to patients who are sufficiently stabilized to no longer require acute care services, but are too complex for treatment in a conventional nursing center. Subacute programs typically treat patients who are medically complex and require extensive physiological monitoring, intravenous therapy or pre- or post-operative care. Care may focus on a specific medical specialty, such as physical rehabilitation, cardiac rehabilitation, wound care, infectious disease care, neurological rehabilitation, orthopedic care, pre- and post-transplant care and pulmonary care, including ventilator care. Between acute and chronic care.
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Suicide - the intentional taking of one's own life.
Sundown Syndrome - also known as sundowning or sundowner's. An ailment that causes symptoms of confusion after "sun down." These symptoms appear in people who suffer from Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia. Not all patients who suffer from dementia or Alzheimer's exhibit Sundowner's symptoms, however. Conversely, some people exhibit symptoms of dementia all day, which grow worse in the late afternoon and evening, while others may exhibit no symptoms at all until the sun goes down.
Support - to prevent weakening or failing.
Supportive Housing - (see independent living)
Suppress - to curtail or inhibit the activity of something.
Surgery - medical procedure in which the body is manually cut open to treat medical conditions.
Susceptible - likely to be affected with a disease, infection, or condition.
Symptom - any evidence of disease or of a patient's condition
Synthesize - to combine so as to form a new, complex product.
System - a set or series of interconnected or interdependent parts or entities (objects, organs, or organisms) that act together in a common purpose or produce results impossible by action of one alone.
Systemic - pertaining to or affecting the body as a whole.
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus - (SLE) is a disease where a person's immune system attacks and injures the body's own organs and tissues. Almost any system of the body can be affected by SLE.
These definitions are from sources deemed reliable but you should independently verify their accuracy.
If you click a link, you can go back by clicking your browser's back button or by pressing Alt, left arrow.
See a correction? Want us to add a definition? Tell us here.
Sources:
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/
http://www.webmd.com/
