Author Question: After conducting a physical assessment, the nurse determines that the client is at risk for ... (Read 170 times)

chads108 · **on:** Jun 25, 2018

After conducting a physical assessment, the nurse determines that the client is at risk for developing cataract. Which item in the health history support that the client is at risk for developing cataracts?

A) Age 75 years
B) Hypertension
C) Minimal direct sun exposure
D) Nonsmoker

Question 2

After being diagnosed with cataracts, a client believes the right eye has a cataract but not the left eye, as there are no vision changes with the left eye. Which response by the nurse is appropriate?

A) Only your doctor can tell if you have a cataract in your left eye.
B) Cataracts develop at different rates, so one eye will be more affected than the other.
C) Don't worry about it until you can't see out of your left eye.
D) Your doctor must have made an error.

shewald78 · **Reply #1 on:** Jun 25, 2018

Answer to Question 1

Answer: A

Age is the greatest single risk factor for cataracts. Environmental and lifestyle factors, such as long-term exposure to sunlight, increase the risk for cataracts; cigarette smoking and heavy alcohol consumption are associated with earlier cataract development. Eye trauma, including injury to the lens capsule by a foreign body, blunt trauma, or exposure to heat or radiation, can precipitate cataract formation. Diabetes mellitus is associated with earlier development of cataracts, especially when the blood glucose level is not carefully controlled at or near normal levels. Certain drugs, such as systemic or inhaled corticosteroids, chlorpromazine (Thorazine), and busulfan (Myleran), also prompt the formation of cataracts. The one assessment finding that would predispose the client to cataract formation is the client's age. The other findings would not.

Answer to Question 2

Answer: B

The nurse should respond that cataracts tend to occur in both eyes and develop at different rates, and one cataract generally matures more rapidly than the other. The nurse should not tell the client that the healthcare provider made an error or that the healthcare provider is the only one who can tell if the client has a cataract in the left eye. The nurse should not tell the client not to worry until vision is lost in the left eye.