The Effect of Cold Vapor on Dyspnea, Thirst, Nausea, and Physiological Parameters in the PACU After Laparoscopic Inguinal Hernia Surgery

Inclusion Criteria: * Volunteering to participate in the study * Being aged 18 years or older * Being able to speak and understand Turkish * Having cognitive, affective, and communicative competence * Having intact visual and auditory functions * Having undergone elective laparoscopic inguinal hernia surgery under general anesthesia * Having an ASA score of I or II * Having a total Modified Aldrete Score of ≥9 and a consciousness score of 2 (fully awake) in the postoperative period * Not having developed vomiting prior to the intervention * Having a body temperature within the normal physiological range (36-37.5 °C) Exclusion Criteria: * Having cold vapor application planned by physician order in the PACU prior to the study * Having signs and symptoms of upper or lower airway obstruction * Developing agitation and having communication insufficiency * Having an allergy to cold vapor application * Having a diagnosis of obstructive pulmonary disease (e.g., COPD, asthma) or heart failure * Having a known history of any neurological or psychiatric disease * Having a postoperative nasogastric catheter inserted * Having received preoperative diagnoses associated with nausea, vomiting, or dyspnea