Intensive care unit

An intensive care unit, or ICU for short, is a special part of a hospital where doctors and nurses take care of people who are really, really sick.

Inside the ICU, there are special machines that help the doctors and nurses keep track of how well your body is working. They will watch your heart, your lungs, your brain, and other important parts of your body to make sure everything is okay.

If you need help breathing, they can give you oxygen through a mask or a tube in your nose. And if you need even more help, they can put a tube down your throat to help you breathe.

The doctors and nurses in the ICU will also give you special medicine to help you feel better and to fight any infection you might have. They will also give you food and water through a tube that goes into your nose or your stomach, so you don't get hungry or thirsty.

Sometimes, people have to stay in the ICU for a long time, but that's because the doctors and nurses want to make sure you are feeling better before you go home. It's kind of like a special place in the hospital where you get extra special care.