An older patient tells the nurse that he develops pneumonia easily; however, his wife of the same age rarely "gets sick." How should the nurse respond?
1. "Not everyone's immune system is the same, regardless of their age."
2. "Your wife must be doing something that you're not doing."
3. "Maybe your wife just doesn't tell you when she's sick."
4. "It's just a matter of time. Your wife will have the same illnesses you do."
Correct Answer: 1
Immune function declines with aging. External factors, such as nutritional status and the effects of chemical exposure, ultraviolet radiation, and environmental pollution, affect the older adult's immune status. Internal factors affect it as well, including genetics, the function of the neurologic and endocrine systems, chronic and prior illnesses, and individual anatomic and physiologic variations. These influences make it difficult to determine the effect of aging on the immune system. In some older individuals, the immune system is as effective as that of younger persons. The nurse should not say that the patient's wife is doing something that the patient is not doing, or that the wife might not be telling the patient when she is ill. The nurse has no way of knowing if the wife's immune system is going to change or when.
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