A nurse is working with a client who has a history of headaches for greater than two months. When preparing to assess the client's temporomandibular joint, what instruction provided to the client would indicate the nurse needs more teaching?

Choice A reason: Morphine treats severe pain but isn’t first-line for headaches worsened by coughing, which may signal increased intracranial pressure. Without neurological assessment, this risks masking symptoms of serious conditions like brain tumors, delaying critical diagnosis and intervention.

Choice B reason: Palpating occipital lymph nodes checks for infection or inflammation, but headaches worsened by coughing or sneezing suggest intracranial issues, not lymphatic ones. This action misses the priority of assessing brain function tied to the client’s specific symptom pattern.

Choice C reason: Neurological assessment, like checking reflexes or pupil response, is vital for morning headaches worsening with coughing, hinting at possible intracranial pressure from masses or bleeds. It’s the most direct step to rule out life-threatening causes promptly.

Choice D reason: Explaining migraines assumes a diagnosis without evidence. Morning headaches improving later, worsened by strain, don’t align with typical migraine patterns, risking misdiagnosis of serious conditions like sinus thrombosis, necessitating neurological evaluation over premature reassurance.

Choice A reason: Slow venous return causes edema, not deep, painful wounds. This venous issue lacks the arterial insufficiency link to tissue necrosis, misaligning with the circular ulcer’s ischemic profile, which requires oxygen delivery, not just drainage, here fully.

Choice B reason: Osmotic pressure disruption affects fluid balance, not localized wounds. This systemic issue doesn’t explain a toe ulcer’s depth and pain, missing the vascular supply deficit driving tissue breakdown in this specific extremity finding entirely and clearly.

Choice C reason: Lymphatic blockage or infection causes swelling or lymphangitis, not deep, circular wounds. This lacks the ischemic etiology of toe ulcers, which stem from arterial insufficiency, not lymphatic dysfunction, distinguishing it from the observed pathology here fully.

Choice D reason: Inadequate arterial blood supply, as in peripheral artery disease, causes deep, painful toe ulcers due to tissue ischemia. Poor oxygen delivery leads to necrosis, matching the wound’s characteristics, making this the most likely etiology accurately and precisely.