The nurse is caring for a patient with a chemical burn injury. The priority nursing intervention is to:
a. remove the patient's clothes and flush the area with water.
b. apply saline compresses.
c. contact a poison control center for directions on neutralizing agents.
d. remove all jewelry.
A
As long as the chemical remains in contact with the skin, burn damage will result. Priority interventions are to remove the patient's clothes, brush loose chemical away from the skin and apply water for at least 30 minutes. Water needs to washed away from the body, not be applied as compresses. Contacting poison control may be helpful in obtaining more information on the systemic effects of the chemical, but it is not a priority intervention. Jewelry should be removed, but this is not as high a priority as removing the chemical and stopping the chemical burning process through continuous flushing with water.
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