Question

A nurse is reinforcing teaching with a guardian whose child was exposed to poison ivy. Which of the following instructions should the nurse provide?

A. Flush the child's skin within 15 min with cold, running water
B. Apply miconazole topical ointment to the area daily for 1 week
C. Wash the child's clothes in cool, detergent free water
D. Encourage the guardian to keep the child away from other children for a week

Answer 1

To mitigate the effects of poison ivy exposure, the child's skin should be flushed with cold, running water within 15 minutes, and their clothing should be washed in hot, soapy water. Keeping the child isolated is unnecessary because the blisters are not contagious.

Step-by-step explanation:

If a child has been exposed to poison ivy, it is essential to act quickly to prevent the spread and severity of an allergic reaction caused by the poison ivy resin known as urushiol. The nurse should advise to flush the child's skin within 15 minutes of exposure with cold, running water to remove as much of the urushiol as possible.

After flushing the skin, contaminated clothing should be washed separately from other laundry to prevent urushiol oil from transferring. The washing should be done in hot water with detergent to break down the oils effectively. Applying miconazole, which is an antifungal, would not be appropriate for poison ivy exposure, and keeping the child away from other children is not necessary as the blisters caused by poison ivy are not contagious.

Overall, quick and appropriate washing of the skin and clothes is crucial, and symptomatic treatment should be provided as needed.