The patient complains of a slight burning-like pain and numbness on the skin under a cold compress. Which action should the nurse take immediately?

Question

a. Reassure the patient that some numbness is expected.
b. Assess the entire patient before continuing the treatment.
c. Remove the compress and assess the af-fected area.
d. Provide a warm blanket for the patient's treatment.

Answer 1

C
Although sensation in the affected region changes during cold therapy, the nurse should first re-move the compress and assess the area in response to the patient complaint. The patient will first sensation feel cold, followed by analgesia, burning skin pain, and numbness. Tingling is often associated with numbness as an indication of nerve impairment; thus the nurse assesses the pa-tient before continuing therapy. The patient's skin potentially benefits from passive rewarming and another nursing assessment to rule out tissue damage. Numbness in the affected region is associated with an increased risk of adverse effects from cold therapy. The nurse wants the pa-tient to feel the cold and analgesic phases of cold therapy sensations. He or she assesses the tis-sue before discontinuing the cold therapy. Providing a blanket is a reasonable intervention as cold therapy begins to prevent shivering. However, although shivering consumes massive amounts of oxygen, the blanket is unlikely to affect the sensation of tissue treated with cold therapy.