What Freaks You Out?

babynurselsa, RN · Apr 20, 2001

Though I have to say that sputum and the sounds it makes nearly do me in every time. My all time worst is nose-bleeds. I am not talking about your run-of the mill nose-bleed, I'm talking about your 90 year old on Coumadin nose-bleed. We used to have this little man comee into our ER rather frequently with his Tupperware bowl and kitchen towel in his lap to catch the flow. And everytime he wouldd spit out those liver sized blood clots out of his mouth I would nearly lose it. It got so bad I would pay co-workers out of my own pocket jusst not to have to take this pt.

janine3&5 · Apr 21, 2001

Blood, poop, vomit, and even phlegm don't get to me, but that unwashed body odor stench does it everytime. Yesterday, I had a lady, about 300 lbs., who obviously is not able to reach all those little crevices to wash really well, anyway, I got her into the shower first thing. So I'm walking BEHIND her, dry heaving the whole way, and she starts passing an unbelievable amount of gas aimed right at me. Those combined smells just about killed me--I managed to get her into the BR, then ran gagging out of the room.

LoriUSAFRN · Apr 22, 2001

I've been an RN for almost 18 years and can honestly say I've never puked because of a patient-not to say I haven't come close. The two most memorable occasions I've had-

While working as a tech while in nursing school, I was changing out an NG tube suctions canister. Whoever had put it on didn't secure it properly, so when I went to take it off, it immediately released, hit the floor and you guessed it-I got hit with the contents. The RN in the room didn't seem the least bit phased by the whole episode.

Second experience: while in a patient room, I placed my hand on the bed then realized I had set my hand down in a puddle of clear sputum.. Gross-no gloves.

Sputum generally is the worst, and the sound of suctioning a close second, but I decided early in my career, I'd rather suction the crap out of someone rather than listen to them rattle.

Have to admit-some of the GYN situations are right up there too, but none of it has ever prevented me from eating lunch!

Unfortunately since I'm a nurse, my husband gives me the honor of cleaning up if the dogs puke.

mkoonrn · Apr 23, 2001

There are just a few things that really gross me out:

1. The sound of someone hocking up snot--the worst-one day a pt. spilled 1/2 an emesis basin of green thick snot down my leg onto my shoe!!!!yuk!!!!

2. I work in the OR and the only thing I can't hardly watch is a toenail being ripped out--the crunch of it is sooooo sick!!!

3. Watching the surgeon drill pins into toes or fingers to fix a break--my toes hurt when I see that!! Ouch!!

Louie18 · Apr 23, 2001

Without a doubt when in my ob rotation and I saw the doc grab the scissors and "SNIP" the epesiotomy, my knees felt it.

Huganurse · Apr 23, 2001

I have been a wound care nurse for many years and thought I'd seen it all, maggots, knats, leeches, colostomy stinkies, trach luggies, rotten black body parts just fall off in my hand (especially toes), and more

Melody Jan · Apr 24, 2001

Once I had to aspirate some stomach contents from a dying resident. It was greenish black and very thick. I tried to do a Hemacult on it, but every nurse in the place was dry heaving. I remember laughing so hard, I ended up vomiting myself, and unable to get the test. Also, in nursing school, saw a decub soooo big, it looked like a shark had bit off this poor man's butt. He had to have air filters outside the room. Watched the treatment nurse change the dressing and was fine with it. Yeah me!!

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Cindy_A · May 23, 2001

I really enjoyed this thread, and thought I'd "revive" it since we have quite a few new members to the BB. I have a pretty strong stomach, but trachs really gross me out. I just can't stand all those thick respiratory secretions. YUCK!!!! :rolleyes:

kennedyj · May 28, 2001

One thing that freaked me out was after we coded an 80 y/o woman for about 30 minutes without any hope or response. Time of death was called. Another nurse and I were cleaning up the body and getting it ready for the family to see. Rigor mortis and pooling was even setting in. The other nurse looked over at me and said "i think i feel a pulse". I checked and sure enough there WAS one. We couldn't heard a heart beat and called in to get the untrasound to verify. There was no cardiac and a doc verified this.

This kind of freaked me.

Jared

:eek:

kennedyj · May 28, 2001

Originally posted by OBNURSEHEATHER:
What a refreshing change of pace from the venting...
I'm an OB nurse, so anything that comes out the "bottom half" I can handle! I'm even OK with vomit. But snot, sputum, or any other respiratory secretion absolutely grosses me out! I must also look away while a woman gets an episiotomy. The aftermath is OK, it's the actual cut that bothers me. Must be the equivalent of a guy watching another guy get kicked in the testicles!
Thanks for the humor you guys!
Heather

I have always been quite partial to fishing through larger lady partsl blood clots looking for placenta fragments..

Jared

P_RN, ADN, RN · May 29, 2001

Been doing this job for 27 years and nothing except toenails being pulled off, watching a GP circumcise a newborn, and eyeballs! I'd trade an eye patient for a new postop total hip patient any day, and any time.

Nothing in the snot, stool, stomach, boney realm, pus etc. In fact I was one of only 3 nurses on our unit who would handle leeches for reimplantation patients.

On a "lighter note" I discovered I had lost my sense of smell when a volunteer told me how bad my new patient smelled and I didn't know it!!!!

He had necrotizing fasciitis of the crotch and attachments!

Goofball · Jun 24, 2001

:eek: It's hard to freak me out or shock me anymore, but there are a few things... the necrotizing fascitis cases are pretty repulsively fascinating, such as the 'one-armed man' who became that way from skin-popping heroin. There was so much gas and rot all down his arm and side, they had to remove his entire arm/disarticulate it at the shoulder and throw it all away. Then they fileted most of his back and side. The dressing changes took 45 minutes, masked, gloved, gowned, and sweating, as he was in isolation for you-name-it as well.He looked like a pork-rib monster. After 2 weeks of torture, he died anyway.

Also, those poor people we have to take from ICU to the radiation oncology center, so we can help strap them to a table, then run behind the lead doors so that poor patient can be fried and nuked with radiation to try to destroy their tumors. Barbaric!!! Then they look like 3rd degree burns, and their flesh always ends up rotting off, they get septic, and they die anyway.

I guess the part about all of this, is that it freaks me (and is depressing) about how much torture one human body will subject itself to out of hope of making it better, and much of the time it doesn't work. (15 years in the ICU have made me somewhat cynical)GB