Chapter 17: Nursing Care of the Child With an Alteration in Sensory Perception/Disorder of the Eyes or Ears

The nurse is teaching a group of parents about eyes and eye concerns. The nurse tells these caregivers about a condition that occurs when unequal curvatures in the cornea bend the light rays in different directions and this causes images to be blurred. The condition the nurse is referring to is:

Astigmatism

The nurse is talking with the mother of a 4-year-old boy who will soon be going to a pre-kindergarten program. The child has had the Snellen vision test done at home, and he was unable to distinguish the pictures at the distance that would indicate his vision is normal. The child's mother asks the nurse if he will need glasses. Which statement made by the nurse would be most appropriate regarding the child's vision?

"A child's vision is not completely developed by this age. Your child might outgrow this nearsightedness."

The parents of a toddler have just learned that their child has profound hearing loss. The parents are very upset and state to the nurse, "It just isn't fair. We did everything right during our pregnancy all the way to this point." How should the nurse respond?

"I can't imagine how difficult this must be. When you're ready I would be happy to arrange a meeting with a support group of other parents with children who have hearing loss."

The nurse is educating the parents of a premature newborn diagnosed with retinopathy of prematurity. Which comment will be part of the information provided?

"It's an overgrowth of retinal blood vessels."

The nurse is assisting the parents of a school-age child with new hearing aids. Which comments by the parents indicate the need for clarification by the nurse? Select all that apply.

"We will need to change the batteries daily for optimal performance of the hearing aid." "We will need to clean the hearing aids once a week."

An 8-year-old boy comes to the emergency room with an eye injury after having a glass bottle shatter near his face. Which intervention should the nurse do first while assisting this client?

Instill a few drops of a topical anesthetic into the affected eye

A child returns to the clinic after an episode of external otitis (acute otitis externa or swimmer's ear) that has resolved. What would the nurse emphasize as the priority for preventing future episodes?

Keeping ear canals dry

A parent of a newborn asks the nurse if there is any way to prevent acute otitis media. What would the nurse state to the parent?

The frequency of otitis media is reduced in breastfed infants.

The nurse is caring for a 20-month-old girl with equivocal bacterial otitis media, a severe earache, and a temperature of 39°C (102.2°F). Which intervention would the nurse expect to implement?

administering antibiotics as soon as they're available

The nurse is teaching the family of a 6-year-old boy with allergic conjunctivitis how to minimize his exposure to allergens. What action would the nurse anticipate as being most difficult for the family to implement?

encouraging the child to keep his hands away from his eyes

A child has recently been diagnosed with cataracts. The treatment for cataracts is:

surgery

The nurse is educating the parents of a 6-year-old child about preventing hearing loss. Which topic will be included in the discussion?

prevention and treatment of otitis media

The school nurse is assessing a student complaining of left eye pain. Upon visual inspection, the nurse notes left conjunctivae redness and thick, colored discharge. The nurse understands that these signs and symptoms are consistent with which diagnosis?

viral conjunctivitis

The nurse is educating the parents of a 7-year-old boy who has hearing loss due to otitis media with effusion. Which statement by the parents indicates that further education is needed?

"We need to raise the volume of our voices significantly so he can hear us."

A child has been diagnosed with bacterial conjunctivitis. Which statement(s) by the child's parent indicates the need for further education? Select all that apply.

"I will continue to use eye drops until the redness is gone." "Our child can go back to school in 4 hours, after that thick yellow drainage is gone."