A 34-year-old Mexican patient admits to seeing a curandero for asthma. The curandero prescribes a special tea four times a day to open the airways. How should the nurse respond to this situation?
a. Encourage the patient to continue drinking the tea.
b. Ask the patient to bring in the tea package, and have the pharmacist check the ingredients.
c. Advise the patient to stop drinking the tea because of potential interactions with other medications.
d. Encourage the patient to drink only one cup of the tea each day.
ANS: B
Often, folk practices are not harmful and may even be helpful; they may be able to be added into the patient's plan of care. Checking with the pharmacist ensures that the tea is safe and will not interact with other essential medications. As long as it is safe, there is no reason to have the patient stop or limit tea intake.
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