Nurse Phobias?

Warpster · Feb 7, 2008

Dunno, went through it all, Grave's patients who would spontaneously enucleate and need to have their eyeballs put back in, blowing up Foley balloons inserted into people's noses to stop arterial nosebleeds, getting barfed on with a mixture of blood and bile when varices let go and the wash basin was out of reach, rolling over a 96 year old stroke patient who'd been kept at home for 6 months to find all his bones revealed through the bed sores on his affected side.

I don't think I have anything left to be phobic about although I never stopped gagging when I emptied colostomies or NG suction containers. Some things are just gross. I felt entitled to gag. I just wasn't phobic about that part of the job.

hikernurse · Feb 7, 2008

See, loads of folk seem to be grossed out at the suctioning thing. I don't one bit, but I think the main reason is that I work only with Neonates. you can cope with anything tiny babies throw up and at ya, But I couldn't cope with the same from adults! Theres a certain satisfaction from getting that lump from the ET tube in a preemie, or from getting all the "chewing gum" yuk from the mouth of a CPAP babe. Anything to make them breathe easier.
But, I've never done this with adult secretions, so hats off to all you brave lads and lassies who do!:cheers:

There's not a whole lot of icky that comes out of the wee ones. I'm with you on the satisfaction angle--it just feels so good to see the big clumps of stuff go flying down the suction tube :chuckle.

I to dont like bridges, I think of all aweful things that could possibly happen driving over them, It really feels creepy!:typing

I can handle the big bridges as long as I look straight at the road and not down, but I never have much faith I'm going to make it over alive, LOL. When we were in New Zealand we ran into a couple of one way bridges (not the big suspension kind, fortunately--can you imagine having to back off one of those :eek: ), but, we made always made it across alive--although DH wasn't too pleased with my rather strong suggestion that we turn around and find an alternate route, LOL, esp. since we were many miles away from any possible options.

But (after all that ) what really scares me is those big freeway signs. I'm always scared that a bolt or two is going to give way and the sign will fall right on top of the car, slicing the car in half and probably all the passengers, too.

mollyjada · Feb 10, 2008

As a nurse I can deal with a lot of the blood and guts. Give me the worst oozing sores. I love it. But I cannot stand someone shoving and groveling food in their face especially when its dripping down their face. The sight of dentures floating in solution also makes me ill. Whatever happened to rinsing them off before soaking them. I gag at the thought of the patient/resident putting them back in their mouth. I used to hate suctioning, but I quickly overcame that. I'd rather see it flying in gunks though the tube than knowing that someone is choking on it...UHGGGG. I am petrified of centipedes and millipedes. The sight of one makes me nauseated. A wonderful way to keep the pounds off though.

Bluewombat · Feb 17, 2008

I have a phobia,I dread that when you are looking after a really sick patient and someone sends red and white flowers to them, it's bad luck for that patient,(the red and white refer to blood and bandages)

The person will often get worse or even die...... I've seen it happen....

So when ever any of my friends are in hospital I never send red and white flowers...I always ask for mulitcoloured bouquets to be sent....

Cheers

Sallianne

jojotoo, RN · Feb 17, 2008

Removing insects from ears. Can't do it. Can't assist. Can't even be in the same room. Other foreign body removal doesn't bother me.

twotrees2 · Feb 22, 2008

Just wondering, since I have one of my own... what are your phobias as a nurse? I know some people don't like sputum (the deeeeep down thick stuff) and so on, but is there something of which you have a deep down, debilitating fear? I guess it doesnt even have to be related to nursing...
FYI, this crossed my mind because I have a memory of being 6 years old or so and the movie Mask being on the TV (the Cher one, not the Jim Carrey one) and I cried and hid in the closet. Now, maybe that didn't do it, but I honestly have a fear of that kind of deformity. I can't even watch the FX channel because I saw on the channel guide the other day that it was on. And recently, there was a yahoo news picture of a severely deformed boy's face, and I nearly passed out. I haven't been to my 'My Yahoo' page in over a month now. Weird? I dunno, but I get upset just thinking about it at home alone.

throwing up - not what comes out - but the gagging and noises are what gets me.

AuntieNursey · Feb 22, 2008

throwing up - not what comes out - but the gagging and noises are what gets me.

The visuals are bad enough, but the audio is always what gets me, and if it's alcohol related, the smell. Gets me every time :barf02:

elizabells, BSN, RN · Feb 22, 2008

I thought I posted this already, but I don't see it.

Umbilical cords. When they're fresh and wet and juicy and ohhhhhhhhh god. When we have to put umbilical lines in the sick kids they cut the cord down to a stump below the clamp, and I have to take the cut-off piece off their field, take the clamp off and give it back to the L&D nurses and dispose of the three-inch long length of cord they cut off. I ALWAYS manage to smack myself in the hand or wrist with it.

So. Nauseating.