A patient tells the nurse that since taking a medication he has suffered from excessively dry mouth.Which of the following assessments would be needed to plan interventions for that symptom?

A) Asking the patient whether foods taste different now
B) Checking the patient's sense of smell
C) Having the patient stand to check for balance
D) Assessing for a history of seizures

Many medications cause xerostomia (dry mouth),and xerostomia is the most common cause of impaired taste.Impaired sense of smell also affects the sense of taste; however,there is no reason to assume impaired smell in this patient.Balance is related to the inner ear and to kinesthetic sense,not to taste and xerostomia.Xerostomia would be related to seizures only if a patient experienced dry mouth as an aura; this would be unusual.Even if this were the case,the information would allow the nurse to plan care for seizures,but not for the symptom of dry mouth.