The nurse is caring for a patient who has just undergone knee-replacement surgery.The patient has incontinent of continuous oozing stool for the last few days.Which is the appropriate action of the nurse?

A) Administer loperamide 8 mg PO BID.
B) Check the patient's rectum for presence of impacted stool.
C) Liberally apply skin barrier cream to prevent perineal irritation.
D) Encourage the patient to drink at least 2 L of fluid each day.

Continuous oozing stool for several days indicates the possibility of fecal impaction,especially as the patient has been recuperating after joint surgery.Loperamide would cause fecal impaction to worsen and should not be administered.Potential skin breakdown does not address the root cause of the oozing stool.Fluid intake,in the presence of continuous oozing stool,is less likely to help the patient versus assessing for a fecal impaction.