A health promotion teaching is focusing on hygiene and the prevention of illness. When instructing clients on how to clean their ears, what action should the nurse recommend?

Choice A reason: PSA isn’t highly reliable alone; false positives occur. It’s a screening tool, not definitive, requiring biopsy for diagnosis, making this inaccurate and less informative than explaining its broader causes for this client fully here.
Choice B reason: PSA complements, not replaces, digital rectal exam (DRE). Both detect cancer; PSA misses some tumors DRE finds, rendering this false and incomplete for teaching screening essentials to a committed client entirely here fully.
Choice C reason: Annual PSA at 25 is too early; guidelines suggest 50, or 40-45 with family history. This overstates frequency and timing, misguiding the client on evidence-based screening practices for prostate cancer risk comprehensively here.
Choice D reason: PSA rises with cancer, BPH, or infection, educating the client on its non-specificity. This accurate teaching supports informed screening with family history, clarifying why follow-up is key, making it the best response accurately here.

Choice A reason: Ear candles are unsafe, risking burns or wax deeper in the canal. They don’t effectively remove cerumen and can perforate the eardrum, contradicting evidence-based hygiene practices for preventing ear infections or blockages entirely in this context.

Choice B reason: Irrigation with saline is for impacted cerumen, not routine hygiene. It’s a clinical procedure, not a daily prevention measure, and risks pushing wax further or damaging the canal if done improperly, making it less suitable here.

Choice C reason: Washing the pinna with a warm, moist washcloth safely cleans the outer ear, preventing debris buildup without risking the canal or eardrum. This simple, effective hygiene step aligns with illness prevention goals for routine ear care perfectly.

Choice D reason: Cotton swabs can push cerumen deeper, causing impaction or eardrum perforation. This unsafe practice increases infection risk, opposing hygiene goals, and is widely discouraged in favor of external cleaning for safe ear maintenance consistently.