Dictionary

Signs and symptoms

What a client reports and what a nurse observes, named the way charts and handoffs name them.

incontinenceLoss of control over the bladder or bowel, so urine or stool leaks out without the person meaning it to.

indurationAn area of tissue that has become firm or hard, felt by touch.

inflammationThe body's protective response to injury or infection, with redness, heat, swelling, pain and sometimes loss of function.

insomniaTrouble falling asleep, staying asleep or getting restful sleep.

intercostal retractionA sinking in of the skin between the ribs each time the person breathes in.

intermittentStarting and stopping; happening at intervals rather than all the time.

intoxicationA state in which alcohol, a drug or a poison changes how a person thinks, acts or how the body works.

intracranial pressureThe pressure inside the skull, made by the brain, the blood and the fluid around the brain.

irritabilityA state of being easily annoyed, upset or made angry; in babies, fussiness and crying that is hard to soothe.

irritableEasily annoyed, upset or angered; in a baby, fussy and hard to calm.

irritationSoreness, redness, itching or burning of a body part, caused by something that rubs it or bothers it.

itchingAn uncomfortable feeling in the skin that makes a person want to scratch.