An 82-year-old man tells the nurse he is having difficulty hearing and that he has "too much ear wax." Because of the client's age, the nurse would ask
a. "Did you ever experience impacted cerumen?"
b. "Do you swim in a pool with chlorinated water?"
c. "Have you had an upper respiratory infection?"
d. "Have you noted a change in the color of the ear wax?"
A
Obstruction of the ear is most often caused by impacted cerumen. Older adults are more susceptible to cerumen impaction because hair in the ear becomes coarser with age and traps the wax. Impacted cerumen can cause hearing loss in clients of all ages.
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The external ear canal contains sebaceous glands that produce cerumen
Indicate whether the statement is true or false.
A nurse is completing a health history on a client during a routine physical exam. Which of the following questions, which is often omitted, should be asked by the nurse?
a. "How is your family doing?" b. "What problems have you been having?" c. "What health concerns do you have today?" d. "Where do you work and what do you do there?"
A client tells the nurse he or she has been taking "yellow jackets" (pentobarbital, [Nembutal]) but has not had any for a few days. Which should the nurse recognize is the highest priority?
A. Prepare to manage the client's depression. B. Prepare to do frequent room searches, as the client's friends will most likely bring drugs in for him or her. C. Prepare to manage a withdrawal that could be life threatening. D. Prepare to manage the client's pain.
The family of an older patient with a terminal illness has been aware of the patient's pending death and is present when the patient dies. The family's reaction to the patient's death was very emotional and demonstrated a state of disbelief
How should the nurse interpret this family's behavior? 1. Irrational behavior 2. Expression of anger 3. Maladaptive coping of the family 4. Normal shock when experiencing the loss of a loved one