Gross Things Patients Do

[bluegeegoo2]

I have seen some pretty questionable activity by patients, but this one got me. It also got me wondering: What other disgusting things do patients do?

I had a patient with a large pannus riddled with open sores that were positive for MRSA. As I'm cleaning them she kept poking her fingers in them. "This one (squish!) popped up about 2 weeks ago, and this one (poke!) about a week ago..." Ugh. I advise her not to touch the open wounds...and move along. I apply the ordered Medihoney and turn my head to get the dry drsg, when, out of the corner of my eye I see her put her finger in her mouth and (gleefully) exclaim "It DOES taste like honey! I wonder if you could eat it?..." Urp! Ralph! I tell her that while you can TECHNICALLY eat anything you can put in your mouth, it's probably not a good idea, finish up and quickly leave. Shaking my head. People never cease to amaze (and disgust) me.

[RunnerNurse09, BSN, RN]

Years ago when I was a nursing assistant in the er, as a female I used to chaperone on gyn exams. One woman decided to use a regular kitchen sponge as a method of contraception. She left it in for over a week. Odor was horrific.

[StarBrownRN]

We were out of urinals, so the patient peed in his reusable coffee mug--while on a hemodialysis machine. (He could have asked to pause the Tx and go to the restroom.) And that mug of cloudy pee sat chair side for the remaining 3 hours of tx. After Tx, patient rinsed mug in sink and continues to use it. Perhaps not the grossest thing ever, but the patient gets coffee refills at Dunkin Donuts with that same mug.

[thatgirl2478]

My husband is a social worker. He worked with adults with mental illness & drug/alcohol dependency. One day he was standing on the sidewalk with one of his clients discussing 'life', when his client, spying a dead baby bird on the sidewalk, scoops it up in his hands proclaiming "I will breath life into you!", puts it in his mouth and swallows.

A little later that day, the front desk staff discovered he had vommitted ALL OVER the front bathroom. Everything was covered and there were bits of bird stuck to everything.

I wanted to say, I am not yet a nurse. I'm working to get into nursing school now, but have enjoyed reading as much as I can about the nursing experience before I jump into it. My husband is still a social worker, but luckily works with a more stable clientele now.

[nursebey, LPN, LVN]

me too! OMG. Im an LPN for 7 yrs now and trach care is still one thing I hate. Even when I was a STNA I hated it. Blood, BM, urine are all gross but mucus does me in!

[NurseCard, ADN]

Oh my, some of these stories. The trach one is the best so far.

The "yeast in the starter" story comes in a close second.

I know I've seen some pretty nasty stuff in my years as a

nurse... heck I've worked psych, LTC, home health... but

I can't come up with anything that compares right now.

The most outrageous "gross" thing that I can think of right

now, is the drunk, mentally ill patient that I had when I first

worked as a CNA, who somehow urinated into his incentive

spirometer.

[ladyandthetiger]

Recently had a patient with some of the worst diarrhoea I've ever seen, it was so loose and large it had filled the bed and was flowing onto the floor. When we rolled the patient to begin cleaning him up, he farted and sprayed the nurse on that side of the bed with projectile liquid faeces.

[bluehealer]

I once had a patient who... not sure if he really needed to do this or not. By looks of it, did not need to...anyways, was used to literally picking his own feces out. He asked for help and instead of having a normal BM, would reach down and pick his own feces out. And then throw it in a bedpan. Bare handed. He reached down, picked it up, then threw it in the bed pan. Stool was wel formed and appeared to be moist. Not the typical stool thats impacted...He was a normal dude too... wasn't my patient and it was during a rotation. So I didn't follow up or find out... situation or background, but wow...

[nursebey, LPN, LVN]

No no no! OMG no. Disgusting. Having worked a behavioral/psych unit I can relate to the crazy things they do, but no. Oh no. Barf.Gag. I would have needed a shower after that. I literally gagged and put my one hand over my stomach and the other over my mouth.

[LadysSolo]

Okay, the trach sucker is truly the grossest thing I have ever heard of, and the yeast is #2. My grossest story is the patient I had one night who dug herself out (BM) and proceeded to fingerpaint the wall above her bed with the feces. Took her all night, but she got the wall covered (everything she could reach. No we couldn't get her to stop.) And congratulations to the trach sucker story author, I have been a nurse for 35 years, and that one is a CLEAR winner!

[latisaclark]

I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit

[ThatChickOmi, ADN, RN]

During my first year as a nurse I admitted a female patient with a history severe mental illness to a med/surg floor. They had ordered a Foley cath to be inserted and as I was cleaning her peri area I noticed something protruding from her lady parts. I removed what appeared to be a partially eaten bologna sandwich and it had been down there for a while, the stench was horrendous. I asked the patient why she had placed it there and she told me matter of fact, "To keep it warm for later."

I about lost my lunch.

HAHAHAHA whoah.

[jaderook01, BSN, RN]

I think I took care of the same patient!

Same!