What makes you want to vomit?

Register Today!

  1. This is a discussion on What makes you want to vomit? in General Nursing Discussion, part of General Nursing ... I have just read an interesting article about nurses which says that there are certain things we do...

    by Asst. Admin Dec 7, '12
    I have just read an interesting article about nurses which says that there are certain things we do or see as Nurses which makes us want to vomit.

    http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/2012...lite=obnetwork

    So what makes you want to vomit?

    I don't really have much that makes me want to vomit, but a couple of incidents come to mind from my early days.

    One was the first man who was incontinent of feces and it was spread everywhere

    Second one was trying to take a specimen from an episode of malena

    Both times it was the smell which caught me unawares
    Read Online


    Print and share with friends and family.
    Compliments of allnurses.com.
    http://allnurses.com/showthread.php?t=801248

    by madwife2002 Dec 7, '12 9:36 am
    ©2013 allnurses.com INC. All Rights Reserved.

  2. 58 Comments so far...

  3. Dec 7, '12 by
    I can deal with BM and blood all day long, day long...but pus, snot, and puke and I'm gagging!
    f8dagrate, DSkelton711, and Fiona59 like this.
  4. Dec 7, '12 by
    I never "want" to vomit, and cannot think of anything that would cause me to hurl, except for being actually sick or having eaten bad food.

    Many years ago, we had an ER nurse who could not stand the sight of sputum. When holding up an inverted sputum sample cup (for purely clinical reasons, of course - if it "hangs, it is sufficient for lab/micro use), she took off in a big honkin' hurry.
    nrsang97 and KarenfRN like this.
  5. Dec 7, '12 by
    I can handle poop, pee, vomit, even sputum. No problem with sputum. Colostomies, I don't like to empty them but I've gotten better...

    But I can't stand a dirty nasty, smelly MOUTH. Ew... I just can't hardly do mouth care. Blehhh... can't stand it. I'll do it if I have to but... ewww...
    dsd00, itsmejuli, redhead_NURSE98!, and 1 other like this.
  6. Dec 7, '12 by
    I have BIG problems with sutures and staples. I gag when they're put in, and I GAG when they come out. I try to get somebody to do them when they need to come out - can't do them. I cringe when PICC lines are sutured in and I have to pull the line before a discharge.
    f8dagrate and KarenfRN like this.
  7. Dec 7, '12 by
    Here are a few similar threads on AN:

    http://allnurses.com/general-nursing...ng-528549.html

    http://allnurses.com/emergency-nursi...te-491180.html

    So funny how we're all wired so differently! Haven't found my own personal kryptonite yet, but I'm sure it's out there, just waiting to surprise me!
  8. Dec 7, '12 by
    Questions like this.
    f8dagrate and redhead_NURSE98! like this.
  9. Asst. Admin
    Dec 7, '12 by
    Quote from Mulan
    Questions like this.
    Really, why?
  10. Asst. Admin
    Dec 7, '12 by
    Quote from brillohead
    Here are a few similar threads on AN:

    http://allnurses.com/general-nursing...ng-528549.html

    http://allnurses.com/emergency-nursi...te-491180.html

    So funny how we're all wired so differently! Haven't found my own personal kryptonite yet, but I'm sure it's out there, just waiting to surprise me!
    Thank you for the links-did you read the article that the 'news' say makes us ill
  11. Dec 7, '12 by
    I have been working in the hospital for nearly 8 years and I can count on one hand the number of times I've actually gagged. (The first time was when I emptied my first bed pan full of stool. I attribute that to it being my first time because poop does NOT bother me.)

    One time I did have a lady with a tru close draining an abscess in her abdomen. It tested positive for EVERYTHING, including Pseudomonas. Oh man was that a bad night. It looked like chunky Sambuca. But again that is a fluke because drains, NG tubes and the like are my thing.

    And the most recent time was when I went to straight cath a very nice young woman. Let's just say I have so much gratitude for OB nurses.

    Sorry, got on a terrifying train there, didn't I?

    Anyway, speaking of vomit...yes. That's what does it. Not bilious emesis or GI drainage or even GI bleeds (lower AND upper). But vomit with food in it. Oh dear Heavens that is the worst. The smell, the sound, the imagery. I am getting faint...
    nrsang97, f8dagrate, Nascar nurse, and 1 other like this.