During ear irrigation, the nurse accidentally instills solution that is significantly colder than body temperature into an adult client's ear canal. Which client response is the nurse most likely to observe?
Cold irrigation fluid can trigger a caloric (vestibular) response, stimulating the semicircular canals and causing dizziness, vertigo, and sometimes nausea. Warming the solution to approximately body temperature (about 37 °C or 98.6 °F) minimizes this effect. Cold fluid does not typically cause acute hypertension, systemic hypothermia, or bradycardia.
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