The nurse is caring for an older client whose ear canals are impacted with hard cerumen. Which action by the nurse is best to remove the cerumen?
a. Instruct the client to put a few drops of mineral oil into each ear every evening and to schedule the irrigation for 3 days later.
b. Aim the irrigation fluid directly at the center of the cerumen to facilitate dis-solving the impaction.
c. Administer 10 mg of prochlorperazine (Compazine) to prevent nausea during ir-rigation of the ears.
d. Irrigate the ears with 35 to 40 mL of ste-rile normal saline and repeat as needed until the cerumen is cleared.
A
Softening hard cerumen with mineral oil for 3 days before irrigation will facilitate removal from the ear canal. Irrigation fluid should be aimed at the side of the impacted cerumen to facilitate removal. Administration of prochlorperazine before irrigation is not recommended. Normal saline need not be sterile for ear irrigation.
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