What Is Your Most Gross, Yucky, Disgusting Nursing Horror Story?

[yazisizit]

I was working a night shift on a tele floor as a new Nurse.

We had this one poor old lady who was confused and was restrained as usual for her safety. She was our designated resident nightmare geri from hell, so she was placed near the Nurse's station.

So we are chilling out at the Nurse's station, chatting and trying to get through another night...

Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I see our lady in question standing in the dimly lit doorway of her room!

I instantly leap out and run to her. As I approach her, she appears to be falling towards me, so I meet her in a bear hug...my arms around her waste, and her arms around my shoulders.

As I catch the lady, I notice a very strong smell of feces, and I feel something warm on my hands, arms and shoulders...

My fellow heroes come in behind me, and as the lights are turned on, my worst fears are instantly realized.

Yes, I caught the poor old lady with a good old bear hung football catch, but I was also covered in the lady's feces.

As I look at her, she has feces smeared all over her arms and hands... (and even her face!)

And of course, now so did I!

[annie_mitchell]

Gross one, I've had a few patients that have been confused and have had incontinent bowel movements, in which they decide to put their hands in. Usually have to wash their hands and whatever else they touch. However one confused gentleman was quick before I could wash the stool off his hands, he put them in his mouth! He ate his own stool, I cringe thinking about this. I did my best to clean him up and swab his mouth with mouthwash.... Yuck!

[nitenite]

I think I have something that's far worse than anything here.

Not my own experience, friend sent me this a month or two ago.

Warning: Language, horrible imagery. An experience I wouldn't wish upon anyone, and you can start reading with the green lines.

Holy mother of all things blood and guts! EEEEEW!

[Jay_LPN]

Holy mother of all things blood and guts! EEEEEW!

The imagery is just great isn't it?

"The attending nurse from the IMCU walks to the room, weeping.She reaches into her purse

and pulls out a small plastic spray bottle from Bath and Body floral body spray

and attempts to try to cover up the horrible smell of blood and **** with flowers."

[brillohead, ADN, RN]

The imagery is just great isn't it?

"The attending nurse from the IMCU walks to the room, weeping.She reaches into her purse

and pulls out a small plastic spray bottle from Bath and Body floral body spray

and attempts to try to cover up the horrible smell of blood and **** with flowers."

Ah yes, who doesn't appreciate the smell of shcitrus!

[Twinmom06, ASN, APN]

Ah yes, who doesn't appreciate the smell of shcitrus!

you saw that on FB too didn't you *giggles*

had a GI bleed in a shlake last week....OMG the entire FLOOR stunk! The guard that was with him (he was from a corrections facility) nearly threw up! Fortunately we're in an old hospital so you could actually open the window in the room!

[nitenite]

I had to handle a homeless man with necrotizing fasciitis. It literally ate his testicles and his member was infected too. Rolled him over and it was all over his thighs, butt and probably up into his rectum too. Yes, there were maggots everywhere, too, just to make me not want to eat rice.

I'm bringing rice in tomorrow because I'm evil.

[LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN]

I had to handle a homeless man with necrotizing fasciitis. It literally ate his testicles and his member was infected too. Rolled him over and it was all over his thighs, butt and probably up into his rectum too. Yes, there were maggots everywhere, too, just to make me not want to eat rice.

I'm bringing rice in tomorrow because I'm evil.

Oh, gross...gaggggg...I'm having rice tomorrow...:barf:

[whill08]

We had a patient on our geri-psych unit that chewed tobacco. He had pretty severe dementia and got pretty agitated without it so he was allowed to have his dip a couple times a day (this is no longer allowed, but at the time it was). Well, the fella was sitting out in the dayroom enjoying his dip and spitting into a styrofoam cup. The next thing I know I see another patient reaching for his spit cup. Before I could get to him he took a big swig and then set it back on the table totally unfazed. Yep, I about lost it, ick!

[Leonca]

LTC resident s/p total hip replacement, almost totally healed, just a small 'pmple' at the inferior end. Charge nurse figures he would be smart and pop the pimple...did so left the room...next thing I know anothe nurse is yelling my name and the word hurry behind it. I hustled needless to say, get in the room and there is this mans 'pimple' playin Mount Vesuvius. Now understand this is not oozing, this is acttually erupting. So I tell her to get the doctor..the doctor says stay here and when it stops flowing see if any more can be 'milked' (didn't know they still did that on the floor). Needless to say the leg did not stop erupting its greenish/brown/bloddy, pseudomonas smell for well over and hour and it took every linnen, towell, pad and chux in that 2 bed ward to soak and keep that stuff off the floor. It did not bother me, what bothered me was the 3 doctors wretching evertime they walked in and the fact that my bladder which was full to start with(I was on my way to the facility) was now well extended past my natural abilities. Needless to say, he went to surgery for a 5 hour I&D, healed, went AMA.

How does an abscess get to that size without being detected and treated sooner?

That story reminds me of a relative’s cat I treated once. Indoor/outdoor intact male, constantly coming down with cat bite abscesses and they didn’t have the money for vet care. This was before I got my Vet Tech certificate, but I decided to use my schooling to see what I could do. Due to the looseness of their skin, cats can develop abscesses of impressive size.This guy had one starting on his hip, extending across his side and ending near his shoulder. It took several minutes to drain. Maybe it is just my poor sense of smell, but I didn’t find that pus the least bit stinky.

[FranEMTnurse, CNA, LPN, EMT-I]

How does an abscess get to that size without being detected and treated sooner?

That story reminds me of a relative’s cat I treated once. Indoor/outdoor intact male, constantly coming down with cat bite abscesses and they didn’t have the money for vet care. This was before I got my Vet Tech certificate, but I decided to use my schooling to see what I could do. Due to the looseness of their skin, cats can develop abscesses of impressive size.This guy had one starting on his hip, extending across his side and ending near his shoulder. It took several minutes to drain. Maybe it is just my poor sense of smell, but I didn’t find that pus the least bit stinky.

Poor kitty. That must have been very painful.

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

My co-worker Michelle was VERY pregnant, and you could see her baby kick through her belly all the time. One night, she was changing out suction containers, and set the used- quite full - one on the edge of the sink. Just then, the baby kicked the canister she was up against, and that canister hit the floor at EXACTLY the right angle- kaPOW!

So poor Michelle is standing in the middle of Lake Suction, and we are laughing ourselves into incontinence. We ended up laying a bridge of towels so she could get out. But the mop we fetched out of the utility closet just pushed the quivering mass into an ever-widening lake. We ended up having to scoop it up with a dust pan. While Michelle was in the bathroom puking.

I have NEVER had a night like that- and hope I never have another! :)

[Leonca]

Poor kitty. That must have been very painful.

He was a bit wobbly when we let him go. Very sweet cat. He has since passed on from some unknown illness, possibly due to the constant fights with other males. One of the best examples I've seen of the benefits of spaying and neutering.

My co-worker Michelle was VERY pregnant, and you could see her baby kick through her belly all the time. One night, she was changing out suction containers, and set the used- quite full - one on the edge of the sink. Just then, the baby kicked the canister she was up against, and that canister hit the floor at EXACTLY the right angle- kaPOW!

So poor Michelle is standing in the middle of Lake Suction, and we are laughing ourselves into incontinence. We ended up laying a bridge of towels so she could get out. But the mop we fetched out of the utility closet just pushed the quivering mass into an ever-widening lake. We ended up having to scoop it up with a dust pan. While Michelle was in the bathroom puking.

Wow! I wonder if that will turn out to be an unusually hyper kid.

That reminds me of the biggest mess of blood I've ever helped clean up. The patient was a German Shepherd Dog, hospitalized for about a week following a dog fight. Some of the arteries and veins in the inner hind leg were exposed, and there wasn't enough skin left to close the wound. It was rotting despite daily bandage changes with antibiotic cream, and sometime right before we opened up for the day one of the vessels ruptured. I had to hold a towel over the wound while the receptionist called the vet to tell him to hurry over. The dog's tongue was gray. She died within minutes of the vet beginning to treat her. I'll never forget how the blood collected into several slimy pools on the floor. It looked like someone had spilled raspberry Jell-O all over the treatment floor. It took at least one full mop and mop water change to clean it up. First time I've had a patient die while I was touching it. Kind of a surreal experience.