A nurse is providing discharge teaching to the partner of a client who has a linear incision site following an open cholecystectomy. Which of the following wound care instructions should the nurse include?

The correct answer is C: Clean from the incision to the surrounding skin. This instruction is important to prevent introducing bacteria from the surrounding skin into the incision site, reducing the risk of infection. Cleaning in this direction also helps avoid contaminating the incision site with microorganisms that may be present on the skin. Using sterile gloves when removing the old dressing (option A) may be excessive for routine wound care and is not necessary in this case. Changing the dressing four times per day (option B) is excessive and can disrupt the wound healing process. Applying tincture of benzoin prior to removing the dressing (option D) is unnecessary and may cause irritation to the skin.