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After applying nitroglycerin ointment, a nurse accidentally left a tube of the ointment on her patient's bedside table. Later, she walked past the room and noticed the patient's wife rubbing something on his arm. When she investigated, she discovered that the wife was using the nitroglycerin ointment as a lotion. She quickly intervened and washed it off. Neither was harmed.
We occasionally hear of patients or family members who confuse nitroglycerin ointment with toothpaste or other ointments. When you send a patient home with nitroglycerin ointment, make sure you instruct him to store it away from look-alike tubes.
That's a good rule for you, too. Although you can't prevent a momentary lapse in thinking, as happened here, you can avoid storing nitroglycerin ointment incorrectly. For instance, don't leave it on top of the drug cart; a patient or family member could take it-deliberately or inadvertently-and misuse the drug