Gagging during the breif change... Help!

[TiffanyLovesPink]

I am currently taking my CNA certification course and we have been to the nursing home 3 times so far. I'm getting worried though because everytime we change the brief and there is a #2 in it. I begin gagging from both the smell and the appearance. I really want to be a nurse some day but am worried I won't be able to get over this. Blood, guts and goo don't bother me but the brief def. does. I tried to breath through my mouth rather then my nose but that hasn't helped. Please help me get over this!

[LovebugLPN]

If it is the smell you could try rubbing vapor rub under your nose. It will get better though and nobody ever really looks forward to the sight of poop.

[topher-67]

Try strong breath mints or peppermints in your mouth. We have a small spray bottle of deoderizer that we carry around in our pockets that helps.

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

I used to barf whenever I merely heard someone else do it. And my son, a new CNA himself, used to retch miserably just picking up the dog's little tootsie-roll doots in the hall. Now, a mere three months after taking the training course, he works with residents who have C. diff, and GI bleeds, and infected draining wounds, and can hardly even muster up a gag anymore. If we can get over it, so can you.

[sonomala]

I agree with the other suggestions. You'll get over it and one day you'll find yourself on a break with your uniform covered in bits of stuff and you'll be eating without thinking about it all. Of course thats also a sad day for some people

[greeniebean]

Rub one of those alchohol wipes under your nose to help with the smell. The sight thing just gets easier with time. Good Luck

[dscrn]

A friend who worked as a cna used to spray a bit of her cologne on her shoulders, everyday before going to work,,,that way she could whiff her shoulder, if doing something smelly...

[nspector]

I use to be the same way, but I have been working as a CNA for 45 days now and I am use to it already, it hardly bothers me at all anymore. I chew juicy fruit gum sometimes.

[b18c1]

1. get used to it

2. use the deodorizer spray

3. wear a mask

[~LingLing~]

1. get used to it

2. use the deodorizer spray

3. wear a mask

I thought we cannot wear a mask because of dignity...that's what I learned in CNA class.

[53Kalypso]

I imagine that they're babies. Baby poop doesn't seem as gross.

[fuzzywuzzy, CNA]

use the deodorizer spray

Now THAT stuff makes me gag... and cough... and sneeze.... and get a headache. I would much rather smell poop for a minute before I flush it or bag it.