Mr. Bandes is a 34 year-old sales agent who has chronic low back pain. He has been taking ibuprofen intermittently for the past two years. Two days ago he experienced shooting pain from the lower back and into the buttocks and left leg. He was admitted to the facility for medical management. During the afternoon shift, he complains of mild but persistent headache. The client appears to be irritable. To ease Mr. Bandes’s headache and discomfort, nursing care should include:
Explanation
Answer: C - In order to ease Mr. Bandes’s headache and provide comfort, the nurse should decrease sensory stimulation. Sensory overload is manifested by headache, irritability, restlessness, anxiety, and sleeplessness. Sensory overload may also occur or worsen with increasing pain, intrusive nursing care and diagnostics tests, and overwhelming contact with strangers and visitors. Reporting the client’s complaints to the attending physician is appropriate if the headache and discomfort become too disruptive. Before administering the next dose of pain medication, the nurse should know the time the last dose was given. Teaching of pain management techniques should be appropriately scheduled; discomfort and irritability could hinder learning.
