During a health history interview, a female patient states that she has noticed a few drops of clear discharge from her right nipple. What should the nurse do next?

A) Ask her if she is possibly pregnant.
B) Immediately contact the physician to report the discharge.
C) Immediately obtain a sample for culture and sensitivity testing.
D) Ask the patient some additional questions about the medications she is taking.

The use of some medications, such as oral contraceptives, phenothiazines, diuretics, digitalis, steroids, methyldopa, and calcium channel blockers, may cause clear nipple discharge. Bloody or blood-tinged discharge from the nipple, not clear, is significant, especially if a lump is also present. In the pregnant female, colostrum may be expressed after the fourth month of pregnancy, but colostrum would be a thick, yellowish liquid, not clear. In the pregnant female, colostrum would be a thick, yellowish liquid, and it would be normally expressed after the fourth month of pregnancy.