What should the nurse stress in a teaching plan for the mother of an 11-year-old diagnosed with ulcerative colitis?

Ulcerative colitis is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that causes diarrhea, pain, and bleeding in the colon. Stress and certain foods can trigger or worsen the symptoms, so it is important to teach the mother how to help her son cope with stress and avoid triggers.

Choice A is wrong because ulcerative colitis is not an infectious disease that can spread to others.

Choice B is wrong because ulcerative colitis causes diarrhea, not constipation. Nutritional guidance is important, but not the main focus of teaching.

Choice C is wrong because the daily use of enemas is not part of the treatment plan for ulcerative colitis. Enemas can irritate the colon and cause more inflammation.

The child’s care should include adequate hydration and pain management. The management of an acute event of a vaso-occlusive crisis is the use of potent analgesics (opioids), rehydration with normal saline or Ringer’s lactate, treatment of malaria (whether symptomatic or not) using artemisinin combination therapy, and the use of oxygen via face mask, especially for acute chest syndrome.

Choice A is wrong because correction of acidosis is not a specific intervention for the vaso- occlusive crisis.

Acidosis may occur as a complication of sickle cell disease, but it is not the primary cause of the crisis.

Choice D is wrong because the administration of heparin is not recommended for the vaso-occlusive crisis.

Heparin is an anticoagulant that may increase the risk of bleeding and does not prevent or treat the sickling process.

Normal ranges for hemoglobin are 11.5 to 15.5 g/dl for children after 2 years of age.

Normal ranges for reticulocyte count are 0.5% to 1.5% for adults and 0.5% to 2.5% for children.