Insight on a question I do not agree with

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Recent test had this question on it. I personally do not think that any of the responses are correct. Teacher says option C. What do you think . . . .Please back your response up with references.

A client says, "I drink so much water every day you'd think I would have diarrhea, not constipation!" An appropriate response for the nurse to make to this client is:

A. "You're obviously not drinking enough water!"

B. "You are dehydrated."

C. "Your body only absorbs about 1 liter of water a day."

D. "Are you sure you're drinking as much as you think you are?"

Specializes in cardiac stepdown, pre-hospital.

I would have to agree with Mandy and focus on therapeutic communication more than anything else. I would have picked C.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Academics.

Saying that it can't be "D" because it isn't therapeutic communication does not make "C" the correct answer.

Does the body absorb only 1 L per day or not? Is that statement physiologically correct?

If so, wouldn't it then follow that I need only 1 L per day of water to remain adequately hydrated, seeing that the body can't absorb more than 1 L anyway? C'mon...we all know that isn't true.

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Thank you Dudette10. I think you hit the issue right on the head. Excellent wording.

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Specializes in Med Surg - Renal.
Recent test had this question on it. I personally do not think that any of the responses are correct. Teacher says option C. What do you think . . . .Please back your response up with references.

A client says, "I drink so much water every day you'd think I would have diarrhea, not constipation!" An appropriate response for the nurse to make to this client is:

A. "You're obviously not drinking enough water!"

B. "You are dehydrated."

C. "Your body only absorbs about 1 liter of water a day."

D. "Are you sure you're drinking as much as you think you are?"

C is a stupid response, but it is the best among those crappy answers.

Very often in study groups, I would say something like, "I don't care what C says. It could say, "Slap the patient so hard his kids are born dizzy" - I'm picking that answer because the other ones are traps.

In Nursing Exam world, it works.

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Specializes in Psych.
To Mandychelle79

If increasing water intake will not help the constipation then why we recommended to increase water intake to relieve constipation, and why we use enema to help with constipation ????......

Specially, Body does not "ABSORBS" 1 L per day, but it might "RETAIN" 1 L per day..........Because more than 1 L is going to absorb in only small intestine.....and more than that in the Large intestine.......

Two separate issues.

If you do not drink enough fluids you are going to become dehydrated which will lead to constipation. If a patient is have constipation issues and does not drink enough, yes increasing the amount of fluids consumed is going to help get things moving.

However

If the patient is already consuming enough fluids and is still constipated, increasing the amount of fluids consumed is not going to help, and other diet modifications may need to be made.

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Agree with Dudette10..

Therapeutic communication is important in the nursing practice, but if it does not have the scientific background or EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICE then it is wrong in the healthcare. If we can practice nursing only with therapeutic communication, then why hospitals are not recruiting communication therapist or someone who is good at it????

My whole point is that therapeutic communication is important but it should have some scientific rational or evidence based practice back up.....

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Specializes in Med Surg - Renal.
Saying that it can't be "D" because it isn't therapeutic communication does not make "C" the correct answer.

Does the body absorb only 1 L per day or not? Is that statement physiologically correct?

If so, wouldn't it then follow that I need only 1 L per day of water to remain adequately hydrated, seeing that the body can't absorb more than 1 L anyway? C'mon...we all know that isn't true.

No, it would not follow at all. Consider the insensible losses for example.

Either way, it's a bad question. When we study fluid intake and output, "Absorbtion" is not one of the choices.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Academics.
No, it would not follow at all. Consider the insensible losses for example.

Either way, it's a bad question. When we study fluid intake and output, "Absorbtion" is not one of the choices.

But I didn't have to consider any type of water loss to know that the answer was physiologically wrong. The answer stated, "The body absorbs only 1 L per day," as if no more could be absorbed under any circumstances.

Even if I'm an office worker in a perfect temperature-controlled environment, I still need more than a liter a day to remain hydrated. If the body absorbs only 1 L per day, why do I need more?

ETA: I agree it's a bad question. :)

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BUT....

Do you know person is constipated?????

Do you know how much client is drinking???

It does not mention in the question.....

AND

If your body excreting more fluids through respiration, perspiration and other insensible losses in hot climate, your body going to ABSORB more than 1 L per day......so we cannot say that body is not going to absorb more than 1 L per day.....even in the healthy body.....there are many factors that affects the absorption of the water......For example, if normal person is consuming more salt (Na+), then body is going to excrete less water in the kidney and at the same time body is going to reduce absorption from intestine and other organs.......same in the cold climate...body is going to reduce absorption because of decrease in loss of water.......

So there are many factors are associated with the water loss and absorption, therefore we need to answer the first 2 questions and after that we can suggest the answer.....therefore the D is the right answer, which is to do assessment before coming with any suggestion, which is critical thinking in the Nursing.

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Specializes in Home Care.

When you write these exams and the NCLEX, you must select the most correct answer. So in this example you had to eliminate all the others and were only left with C.

Don't think too much in to the questions and answers.

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But when we do the ATI, which is based on the NCLEX, it says consider the key terms......

when we look at the key term...it is "absorbs" in third option, which makes the answer C completely wrong......

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.

The body "absorbs" a certain amount, and excretes the rest it doesn't need. Excretion is an important function, though, because it aids in toxin removal and optimal kidney functioning. But it's true that the body can only "absorb" a certain amount and then it excretes the rest (except in the case of third spacing, of course).

After Mychelle (sorry, I know I spelled that wrong) explained her rationale, I understand and agree. C is the "least wrong" answer.

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