ahh

judy ann · Apr 2, 2002

Mario, why is it I who must discribe odors for you? Meconium does not smell too terribly bad. Smells kinda earthy and a little like hot tar (looks like hot tar, too) but isn't really bad, and doesn't spread through the air very far. It is easily covered up with baby products. On a scale of 1-10, "mec" is about a 2. The hard part about meconium is scrubbing it off those tiny, tender butts. I've often wished for an SOS pad.

General E. Speaking, RN, RN · Apr 2, 2002

While driving in the country in my grandmother's purple Corvair we would often pass large chicken coops. Oh! The smell! She told me to breath thru my mouth. Wha-la. Smell is gone. I use this trick on a day to day basis.

teeituptom, BSN, RN · Apr 3, 2002

Howdy Yall

From deep in the heart of Texass

GI bleeds and nasty trachs, and purulent wounds dont bother me at all. You can get used to them. Not really a problem,

Now a really rank one was a homeless guy the police brought in for a check up. No telling when he last bathed. He had been surviving on beer, pickled eggs and bar nuts for a few weeks. He also suffered from severe T.S.S.( toxic sock syndrome). On exam the doctor also found worms growing out of his rectum. This is not too mention that he also had lice in his hair, and beard. Nurse going in his room were turning green, one young nurse actually passed out. Of course with some of the flatus and other natural gases he was producing, you couldnt light a match or use electrocautery around him.No wonder the police sent him in by ambulance, they didnt want him in their squad car.Even we sectioned off a area of the Er to keep him from bothering our other patients. Simply amazing

We have decontamination room with a shower. Where we proceded to shower and scrub and shave this patient, then dressed him in paper scrubs we keep for occasions. He was actually presentable after we got through with him. To think this is what I went to nursing school for, My nursing instructors never prepared me for this.

such is life

keep it in the short grass yall

teeituptom

bestblondRN · Apr 3, 2002

Another nasty to add to the previous post:

During lunch, the SICU nurse manager was paged to come to the morgue, with lots of help for lifting. I was among the lucky 5 to be within arm's reach to go with him--my stomach was already churning 'cuz I HATE our morgue!

A patient had died several days prior, and the police had come to take him to the M.E.'s office, but refused to remove the body because it was lying in a pool of fluid. What kind of fluid you ask? Well......he had been a trauma, had a dead leg, and was about 20 liters positive when he died, so the fluid was what had drained out of his dead leg (roughly 2 or 3 liters). It smelled like an unplugged refrigerator full of putrefying meat.......What a sight we were--all of us gagging (one person puked), as we sopped up the mess with bath blankets and re-bagged him. I had the smell in my nostrils for days.......YECCCCHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! :eek:

mario_ragucci · Apr 4, 2002

Im so happy that only RNs have to do stuff like this, and happy they would never ask a CNA to do this, becaus RN's get paid more.

When Best blond taked about "getting a smell caught in turbinators" it scares me. I remember how some disection animals had a smell that stuck in my nose for at least 24 hours.

Hello everybosy and happy reading. Take care of your eyes!

TracyB,RN, RN · Apr 4, 2002

Ummm, Mario, hate to burst your bubble, but CNA's often are asked to assist with these "fun" chores.

mario_ragucci · Apr 4, 2002

Handling a lymphed out dead body, or being exposed to c-diff aromas, are only in an RN's job description. No RN would attempt to involve a hospital CNA with these tasks.

(humor)

bestblondRN · Apr 4, 2002

Mario,

Wanna' bet?????? :chuckle

We all share the wealth when situations like this come along.

Suzanne

moonchild20002000 · Apr 5, 2002

The smell of a tampon that has been "lost" in the lady parts for about a week. The smell just permeates everything!

donmurray · Apr 5, 2002

Ten years ago, I visited a new referral with my Consultant Psychogeriatrician colleague, John. A demented old lady who mistakenly believed that her husband and brother-in-law were still alive, and living with her, and spent her days endlessly cooking for them. Once the food got cold, she would clear the table, and start over.

The smell of rotting food met us at the garden gate! She cheerfully let us into her home, and hoped we didn't mind her preparing lunch for the "family" as we talked. The table was set for 3, with a cold fried egg on each plate, which she scooped into one of many plastic carrier bags around the room. The kitchen was full of steam from the furiously boiling saucepans on the stove. Condensation streamed down the window, and the wallpaper was peeling from all of the walls. During our conversation, John casually opened the fridge door to check she had adequate supplies, and the stench hit us like it was solid! Surrounded by stale milk was a large slab of rancid meat, literally moving with maggots. I'll never know why, (or how!) but he picked it up and put it in the sink, whilst explaining that he felt it might have gone off!! He then turned and took up a saucepan of boiling cabbage, and poured it over the meat! Suffice to say I have never been able to face Rice Crispies again! Neither of us ever wore the clothes we had on that day again, it was too much.

Heather56 · Apr 5, 2002

Unfortunatly (fortunatly) I haven't any sense of smell. Of course this does make me a candidate for lots of clean up jobs!

Once I admitted a patient to the ward and, while doing her history, asked her if she drank (standard question on our history forms) She told me she occasionally had a glass of wine. A few minutes later in the er nurse's notes I read that she absolutely reeked of booze. Had to ask one of my co-workers to go in and "smell" her and, sure enough, my nose had failed me again! Mind you, maybe she doesn't drink very much just baths in it!