When performing a genitourinary assessment of an older male patient, the nurse notes that the urethral meatus is positioned dorsally. What is the most important concern the nurse identifies from their assessment?

Choice A reason: Food restrictions identify allergies or preferences, but not intake patterns. This limits nutritional status insight, missing recent consumption data critical for assessing current health, making it less foundational for this initial evaluation fully here.
Choice B reason: A 24-hour recall details recent intake, offering a snapshot of diet quality and quantity. This directly informs nutritional status, habits, and deficits, making it the most appropriate starting question for a comprehensive assessment accurately here.
Choice C reason: Family obesity history suggests genetic risk, not the client’s nutrition. This indirect data lacks specificity on current intake, rendering it less useful than a direct dietary recall for this nutritional assessment entirely and fully here.
Choice D reason: Meal frequency provides structure, not content or quality. It’s less informative than a 24-hour recall, which captures specifics of what’s eaten, making it secondary for initiating a detailed nutritional evaluation comprehensively here fully.

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.