strong pee smell

[fuzzywuzzy, CNA]

We have on lady who is incontinent (like most of our residents), but for some reason it's impossible to get the pee smell off of her. It's really strong- almost like cat pee. You take the brief off and the smell fills the whole bathroom. Every single time I toilet her I wash her in ever nook and cranny with a ton of soap and lotion, including her upper thighs, lower back, and tummy fold. The smell gets a lot lighter, but it's still kinda there, even after a shower. I've sniffed her wheelchair cushion, and it's not that. Her clothes get washed every day. You would think she was sitting in a wet brief for days. She seems to drink enough fluids and pees enough, and her urine is light yellow. We've gotten a UA sample and I'm pretty sure it came back clean.

How do I get the smell off of her? We have no shaving cream and the foaming peri-wash stuff is hard to come by where I work.

[sonomala]

While I know you said it smells like pee, could it be coming from her sweat? We had a lady likethat where I did clinicals. Nothing at all worked, not freshner ect. The nurse said it was a medical condition of some kind. None of the students could stand it.

[texastaz]

Sometimes it is due to the medication the person is taking.

[One Flew Over]

I have a lady with the same problem just as you describe and what I find helps is soap, water and a little bit of this stuff, It really kills the smell. And it's good for the skin, especially combined with a barrier cream, really does what it says.

See if your facility can get a hold of some of this for her:

Baza Cleanse & protect All-in-one perineal lotion

No-rinse, pH-balanced cleansing lotion. One step provides mild cleansing, a breathable skin barrier and moisturization. Also available with a mild fragrance to help minimize incontinent odors.

On a side note, check the unusual places for the smell and clean them with soap/water/clorox wipes/etc. It could be on the wheelchair, wipe down the entire thing, get it through the shower. The bed, wipe down the whole bed and even the rails and bed controls (if it's electric) You'd be surprised some of the places that the smell can stick. I kept scrubbing and scrubbing the bed once because I just could not get rid of the smell, and I came to find out it was actually the bed control that reeked to high heaven! It got wet one night when they were turning her. Once that was cleaned the smell finally dissipated.

[cjcsoon2bnp, MSN, RN, NP]

I have a lady with the same problem just as you describe and what I find helps is soap, water and a little bit of this stuff, It really kills the smell. And it's good for the skin, especially combined with a barrier cream, really does what it says.

See if your facility can get a hold of some of this for her:

Baza Cleanse & protect All-in-one perineal lotion

No-rinse, pH-balanced cleansing lotion. One step provides mild cleansing, a breathable skin barrier and moisturization. Also available with a mild fragrance to help minimize incontinent odors.

On a side note, check the unusual places for the smell and clean them with soap/water/clorox wipes/etc. It could be on the wheelchair, wipe down the entire thing, get it through the shower. The bed, wipe down the whole bed and even the rails and bed controls (if it's electric) You'd be surprised some of the places that the smell can stick. I kept scrubbing and scrubbing the bed once because I just could not get rid of the smell, and I came to find out it was actually the bed control that reeked to high heaven! It got wet one night when they were turning her. Once that was cleaned the smell finally dissipated.

I would say that I agree with everything this user said (especially about trying to clean the room for any hidden urine on things.) Try to move the resident out of the room if possible and open some windows to air to it out while you spray something in the air (usually like Oust or something that is light) but can help freshen the room. Sometimes urine and other body fluids end up getting in the weirdest places in a room and sink into the material but once they are cleansed and the room itself has enough time to air out for a little while then the offensive odor will go away. I was going to ask if the person had been checked for a UTI but apparently a UA was done so it wouldn't be a UTI, the smell is probably due to a medication that the person is taking or a medical condition she has. Good luck!

!Chris

[fuzzywuzzy, CNA]

I cleaned the room top to bottom one night recently because she had ants (I found FOOD stashed in weird places!) so I don't think it's that.

It's probably one of the medications she's on. I hadn't really thought of that.

[adorblepuppy]

Sometimes it is due to the medication the person is taking.

I work in a small facilty and we have a woman like this. There is one medicine she is on that makes her have a certain smell no matter what you do.

[ZanatuBelmont]

We have on lady who is incontinent (like most of our residents), but for some reason it's impossible to get the pee smell off of her. It's really strong- almost like cat pee. You take the brief off and the smell fills the whole bathroom. Every single time I toilet her I wash her in ever nook and cranny with a ton of soap and lotion, including her upper thighs, lower back, and tummy fold. The smell gets a lot lighter, but it's still kinda there, even after a shower. I've sniffed her wheelchair cushion, and it's not that. Her clothes get washed every day. You would think she was sitting in a wet brief for days. She seems to drink enough fluids and pees enough, and her urine is light yellow. We've gotten a UA sample and I'm pretty sure it came back clean.

How do I get the smell off of her? We have no shaving cream and the foaming peri-wash stuff is hard to come by where I work.

Put male shaving cream in some spots, but NOT around her genitals or rectum. That does a pretty good job at cutting the smell.