Anyone worried about throwing up or passing out?

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Hi,

I posted this question on a different thread but I probably should have put it on here. I REALLY want to be a nurse, but I have a history of almost hurling and almost passing out when it comes to certain things. I was watching a procedure being done on my sister once. She was having Norplants removed, and yep, I nearly hit the ground and didn't even know it. Had to remove myself from the room and sit with my head between my legs for about 10 minutes. Has anyone else had this problem? Wanting to be a nurse but worried you're to squimish?? Please let me know how to overcome it, or how you overcame it, if so! I'm highly stressed about it.

Thanks!

I think I read your post on the other board and commented. But again, I seriously thought I was the only one with this and was actually embarassed that I was going into the nursing profession when I couldn't handle vomit! I don't mind blood, poop, pee, or that stuff, but I do mind mouths and vomit. I know that mouths sound weird but I mean I can't stand when people don't brush their teeth, or just gross mouths in general. My other thing is vomit. I can not stand it. I had to clean it up once and I kept thinking to myself, "Okay this is JUST food, chemicals, and stomach acids!" It didn't really stop me from gagging and having to keep walking out of the room, but it did help me not throw up completely. Everyone tells me that I will get used to it when I have kids, but I'm going to be a nurse in (hopefully!) 4 years and I really doubt I will have any kids by then! I heard (I think I learned it on here actually) if you smile it does something to your gag reflex to where you don't gag. I guess that would look weird if you are sitting there with a big grin on your face while cleaning up vomit but hey, whatever works. I also heard something if you stand on your left foot or something you don't gag? Oh the things you have to go through not to vomit!

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Specializes in Surgical/Telemetry.

I almost fainted while watching a PICC line placement as a student. Saw black spots and had to excuse myself out of the room holding the walls to stay upright. I think I didn't have my mask on correctly, because once I took it off and got some air, things cleared up! A week later, I managed to stick through open heart surgery, but a medical student fainted into the sterile field.

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The only thing so far that has made me nauseous has been when I was observing in the GI lab and this guy grabbed a suction canister from the wall to throw out the contents and it was about a liter of this blood-tinged, viscous liquid that was sloshing around. I have seen quite a bit, like infected, deep pressure ulcers and such, TONS of feces, emesis, etc. (but no heavy trauma) and the sloshing bloody stomach/bowel cocktail is the only thing that has gotten to me so far. Stangely I think it was the large amount and the sloshing that did it...

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Well, Thank you all for the stories and support. I'm moving forward with it. I'm going to invest in some peppermint oil and compression stockings! LOL

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Specializes in ER/ OR/ PACU and now Occupational Health.

HaHA y'all are so funny! I love it! I have to admit after working in the OR for 8 years not much gets to me EXCEPT.......when anesthesia has to suction out the stomach for an emergency case and there is thick food crap in the suction cannister! YACK I almost just gagged typing it. Maybe because we have this really funny anesthesiologist who KNOWS I hate it so while I have my back turned to the whole thing(on purpose), she goes into laughing detail about describing what is coming out like "Oh that was totally a pickle from a BigMac". AGGHHH I hate it. Then she tries to leave the room and make me throw the canister away....hahahah NO WAY I brought her right back in and she had to do it. I guess it's ok when you can laugh about it later but it is not so fun at the time! Just stick with it, you can hang!

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I gag and/or vomit every single time I have to change a brief. Tried the vick's vapo-rub, tiger balm, peppermint, etc. I'm just ultra sensitive to the smell. Just a few weeks ago had a pt who needed to be changed. He was a big guy so I needed a classmate to help me. I had my classmate turn the pt. toward him so I could do the work. I had to push the garbage can next to me so I could alternate between wiping and throwing up. Luckily I vomit quietly. Only problem is, I laugh hysterically when I'm doing it but I act like my classmate made a joke about something that happened earlier in the day so the pt. won't think it's related to him. Good thing I have cool classmates who play along with it.

For those who say "don't worry, you'll get use to it", I hope it's true. But in my case, I'm pretty sure it's not. LOL.

Good luck though!

P.S. This has NOTHING to do with you being able to be a damn fine nurse!

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Try not to think of it as "gross" or don't go in thinking "I hope I dont' pass out", look at it as a learning experience.

The other day I saw a woman who was mid miscarrying - the pregnancy had continued but the baby had stopped growing at about 2 weeks. And holy moly you should have seen the blood that gushed out, and all the thick clots and that strong, coppery stink of blood that lingered in the cubicle. After, the OBGYN let me move my fingers through the blood and clots to try and find the placenta material.

Trust me, nursing is not the profession you want to be squemish in, but its an easy enough issue to change about yourself.

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Specializes in Med/Surg.

Give yourself time to adjust.

My first semester of nursing school, I had the opportunity to shadow a wound/ostomy care nurse (WOCN). She went to the ICU to fix the colostomy bag on this rather large patient who had had two other colostomies go bad. The WOCN was there to change out the patient's WoundVac dressings on the colostomies that went bad. She took the dressings off, and pulling up those dressings, the skin and wound had begun to putrefy...long, smelly strings of pus-infiltrated skin.:barf01:

I remember standing beside the WOCN, and everything went powdery gray before my eyes. I bit the inside of my lip until it bled, clenched my hands on the patient's bed rail, and absolutely tightened every muscle I had into rigidity in order not to go down fainting on the floor.

:barf01:

I guess the "secret" I learned that day was that the patient was feeling much worse than me, and I would only make that person feel worse by my reaction. The patient is looking to me for compassion and understanding, and I helped provide that by smiling at and chatting with the patient while the WOCN cared for the patient.

Just my two cents worth.

PS - Two other tips that have helped me: learn to breathe in through your mouth and out through your nose, and watch every gross, disgusting horror movie you can. It will help desensitize you to gore.

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Specializes in Psychiatry.
I guess the "secret" I learned that day was that the patient was feeling much worse than me, and I would only make that person feel worse by my reaction. The patient is looking to me for compassion and understanding, and I helped provide that by smiling at and chatting with the patient while the WOCN cared for the patient.

Wow, that's a great way of looking at it.

Thanks for sharing!

Best,

Diane

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Specializes in med surg home care PEDS.

I haven't lost my cookies yet, but came close twice, trach suction watching it go into the canister just turned my stomach, and a really bad case of c-diff, the smell was making me gag.

However the oral care above would have done me in.

I think we all have things that gross us out, but we just keep going forward.

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Specializes in ER, OB.

my best tip is to eat breakfast (or whatever meal it is before you go to clinicals). i was observing in the or everyday for 2 weeks. they told us to eat breakfast and all day besides 1 i did and that was the day i almost passed out. i was watching a d&c and i had seen 5 or 6 of them before and they never bothered me. i didn't realize it was that big of a deal to eat breakfast but it is so my best advice is to eat breakfast!!!! it really does make a difference. good luck!!!

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that is my biggest fear..i cannot stand getting shots let alone seeing blood, guts and God knows what else..lol:)

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