A nurse is planning care for a client who has the communicable disease pertussis. Which of the following isolation guidelines should the nurse include in the plan?

A) Weight gain: Weight gain is more commonly associated with right-sided heart failure due to fluid retention and peripheral edema. While left-sided heart failure can lead to overall heart failure, causing weight gain, it is not as specific as breathlessness for left-sided failure.

B) Warm extremities after walking: Warm extremities are generally a sign of good circulation. In clients with left-sided heart failure, reduced cardiac output often leads to poor peripheral circulation, which would more likely cause cool extremities.

C) Breathlessness when carrying an object: Left-sided heart failure leads to decreased cardiac output and pulmonary congestion. As a result, clients often experience breathlessness or dyspnea, especially during physical activities, because the heart cannot efficiently pump blood, leading to fluid buildup in the lungs.

D) Increased urinary output during the day: Left-sided heart failure usually causes decreased renal perfusion, leading to reduced urinary output during the day. Clients might experience nocturia (increased nighttime urination) due to fluid reabsorption when lying down, but increased daytime output is not typical.

A) Use petroleum jelly on a cotton ball to plug your ear when shampooing.
This method can help protect the ear from water exposure during showering or shampooing. However, it doesn't address trauma or hearing impairment prevention as effectively as avoiding pressure changes.

B) Clean dried blood in your ear canal with a cotton-tipped applicator.
Using cotton-tipped applicators can cause trauma to the ear canal and potentially disrupt the surgical site, increasing the risk of complications and impairing hearing.

C) Avoid blowing your nose for 1 month after surgery.
Avoiding nose blowing is crucial because it can create pressure changes in the ear that may disrupt the healing process and cause trauma to the surgical site, leading to potential hearing impairment.

D) Notify your provider if you have popping or crackling sensations in the affected ear.
Popping or crackling sensations can be normal as the ear heals and adjusts post-surgery. While it’s important to monitor symptoms, reporting them is not necessarily about preventing trauma or hearing impairment.