What is the one thing that turns your stomach?

Nursing Students General Students

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Surely everyone has at least one thing that they can't handle. ;) Maybe you can do blood and guts and poo, but the smell of pee gets you? What is the one thing that messes you up? Did you know going in to school that it was going to be your weakness, or were you surprised when you ran out of the room the first time?

Mine is ortho. I can take all the nursing smells and sights, but I will hit the floor if I hear bones crunching or grinding. I can see them, no problem. But the chiseling/grinding sounds of ortho surgeries...shudder! Even fake TV sounds get me.

Specializes in Pediatrics.

The sounds of bone saws and drills in surgeries or autopsies. Both before they touch the bone and during. It makes me cover my ears even when its on TV. The grinding sound freaks me out so much that they had to knock me out to take my braces off ("polishing" the glue off my teeth).

Eye surgery, too. Basically keep me away from the OR at all costs.

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The sounds of bone saws and drills in surgeries or autopsies. Both before they touch the bone and during. It makes me cover my ears even when its on TV. The grinding sound freaks me out so much that they had to knock me out to take my braces off ("polishing" the glue off my teeth).

Eye surgery, too. Basically keep me away from the OR at all costs.

This is me exactly. I had an abscess after I had my wisdom teeth surgically removed as a teenager. They went in and reopened to clean and scrape out the wound. I almost passed out when he started scraping on my jaw. He had to stop and get me a soda and cold rag, and a dose of "I dont care" medicine to finish. I turned ghostly white. And I mute the tv when they break out the ortho equipment on those real life trauma ER shows. It makes me skin crawl.

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I always hear ”if you can't handle bodily fluids don't be a nurse.” Glad it's normal.

I hate the smell of vomit (can tolerate the action) or anything that crawls. Someone on here said maggots. Is this a common thing? O_O

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Specializes in Cardiac, ICU.

I can handle any bodily fluid, especially if I am gloved and masked. I can not handle feet anything. My patient could have freshly pedi'd feet and I would't want to help put on fresh socks without contact precautions. Gross feet make me squirm and throw up a little.

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Specializes in Cardio-Pulmonary; Med-Surg; Private Duty.
I've also recently gotten to watch circumcisions as a nurse tech in the NICU, and although I can handle it...it bothers me.

You and me both.

I watched one through a window during my OB rotation, and it just made me so sad. I had asked my clinical instructor if I was "required" to watch one as part of the program b/c I have personal objections to the procedure, and she recommended that I watch one just so that I'd be able to give a factual, first-person account if any patients asked me to describe the procedure to them in the future.

I did watch through the observation window, but I kept having to turn away. I still don't understand why female circumcision is "cruel" but male circumcision is an accepted practice in today's society.

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Specializes in BMT, Oncology, LTC/SNF.

I can't do sputum - sometimes not even my OWN - and fecal matter just... isn't cool. Sometimes farts and burps gross me out - probably from experience with my dad *ugh*. I can do just about anything else.

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Teeth injuries...I can handle severed limbs, poo, pee, vomit, mucous, you name it, but if I see busted teeth and oral injuries, I want to run away screaming. It's like nails on a chalkboard for me. Gives me the heebie jeebies :eek:

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I'm gonna go with c-diff diarhhea. Normal feces dont bother me but I had a client with c-diff who defacated all over his bed, clothing, and the floor. Took about half an hour to get everything cleaned up and some of it even ended up on my shoes. Terrible

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Specializes in Intensive Care Unit.

Pannus's (if that's a word) and anything that grows in them or is found in them.

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I still don't understand why female circumcision is "cruel" but male circumcision is an accepted practice in today's society.

The difference is that "female circumcision" as it is called is complete removal of the privy parts, with the goal of greatly reducing or eliminating any ability of the woman to obtain sexual pleasure. It is often done in unsanitary conditions (with high rate of infection/complication) and cultures that practice it seem to believe it will keep an otherwise promiscuous future wife from cheating on the husband.

That sort of thing. It is also known as "Female Genital Mutilation", which is probably more descriptive.

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I can do regular puking but projectile vomiting freaks me out. It's gross and it scares me every time cause you don't have warning and you have to run for cover

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I had a pt who was detoxing from ETOH- chronic, chronic ETOH user. He was conked out and was not clearing his secretions, and I (as the lucky student) had to NT suction him. I am NOT a gagger. Like ever- I can do C.diff poo, vomit, ulcers, feet... but I had to hold my breath because of the odor that was emitted from this man's nasal/oral secretions. I will NEVER forget that smell- I was convinced for days that smell was still on me; I think my nose hairs were like singed from that odor. My horrifying nursing school story...

Oh I also hate the physical act of having to reduce a hip or shoulder dislocation. The amount of force that is required for some of them just make me shudder..

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