As a Nurse what are some things that make you sick?

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Hey all!

Just wondering what are some things that make you quezzy? ie body fluids, poop, ect? and as a nurse do you feel bad about it since its your job to deal with it? Just wondering if i should feel bad if i see something and say eeww ( not outloud of course)

Thanks for any comments

Josh.P

Specializes in OB/GYN, Peds, School Nurse, DD.
Hey all!

Just wondering what are some things that make you quezzy? ie body fluids, poop, ect? and as a nurse do you feel bad about it since its your job to deal with it? Just wondering if i should feel bad if i see something and say eeww ( not outloud of course)

Thanks for any comments

Josh.P

I used to faint at the site of blood and vomit when a patient vomits--oh yeah, I was lots of fun to work with in my early days. After 32+ years of nursing and 23 years as a mother(including the last 14 raising a severely handicapped child, diaper dependent, no self help skills,seizures, etc) I think I can take almost anything.

Anything except compound fractures, bloody facial injuries, exposed gray matter, blood clots, and sputum. But you can bring on the puke, diarrhea, pus and fresh bleeding. :yawn:

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seriously...the only thing that makes me feel queasy is...finding out who i will be working with...it largely determines how the shift will go... yes, i feel bad that I feel that way...and i go to work anyway because i am needed... but it is like phenergan when they tell me that i am on low census when i am scheduled with this one particular nurse...just the thought of working with her really makes me queasy...

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Specializes in Mixed Level-1 ICU.

Short staffing

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

OP, if you can't tell by the posts, it is certainly OK to say "Ewwww" to yourself. Every nurse I've ever met has at least one bodily fluid that he/she can't bear to deal with. With a good team on your floor, you all trade jobs and protect each other from their weaknesses.

Sometimes, things take you by surprise. I never had issues with respiratory secretions, even in nursing school. Until the day that the 110%-full cannister fell off the wall, spilling almost lime-green secretions onto the carpet (yeah, carpet. What a great idea that was). The mucous rolled around like mercury, not quite sinking into the carpet, just leaving a greasy green trail. You couldn't sop it up with towels, you had to chase it down and scoop it.

That was almost more than I could bear. But I got through it and so will you when you encounter your sore spot.

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Specializes in Med Surg; OB.

Trachs/vents the sounds of suction or if the pt coughs and dislodges the trach with secretions. OMG!

Brushing/cleaning someones dentures. EEWW

Washing someones feet. Gross

Oh inserting an NG tube.

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Specializes in MSP, Informatics.

anything to do with eyes bugs me right out! oh, and my mother in laws cooking!

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Specializes in Geriatrics.

Doing CPR on a 95 year old person who is all of 80# because "we want everything possible done for gramma". I HATE that. Breaks my heart, and gramma ribs....

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When I see people picking on sores, scabs or pimples I get queasy.

Nose picking and playing with the boogers is another one.

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During clinicals, I had a partner who was very immature. She would say "Yuck and EWWW" while doing patient care in a LTC facility. Yes, cleaning up after a BM, cleaning dentures, and doing bed baths which include cleaning crusty feet are no fun for ANYONE but suck it up, and do it! I was so embarrassed and I know the patients had to be too. I tried to be nice and say something to her privately about not degrading the patient because we could very well be on the other side of the bedrail one day. It did no good so I finally went and told the instructor about my partner's behavior. I think she worked with the instructor the rest of the clinical days.

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I'm a student nurse (prior to this I was a vet nurse for 5 yrs) and the only thing I've ever had make me feel ill occurred this weekend just gone at the medical clinic I do reception work for....

A woman maybe 35 brought in her child.... she had (in a fit of rage) broken his forearm in 2 (it had just splintered and was jutting out through the skin and his forearm was almost at a 90 degree angle)... the poor boy was 11 and looked like he was maybe 5 due to malnutrition and to top it off she had left him with this horrific injury for over 24hrs... his arm was almost black he had no sensation left in his hand and it appeared to be missing bone fragments :-(

For some reason she thought if she went to a GP clinic we couldn't say anything to police/child services (she flat out had refused to take him to ER when on the phone (I hadn't a clue of the situation before she arrived other than that a boy with a "possible" broken arm was coming in))

And to make it worse the police said it was likely the boy would be returned to her after his hospital treatment if the department of child services had nothing backdated on her... I'm left wondering how much abuse is needed before the separation is deemed necessary (We have had multiple cases of children dying at the hands of their parents because DOCS won't do their job properly :-( )

I can handle anything else really when treating animals I've had to clean up like 2-3L of blood in one go from a snakebite (blood wont clot.. dog (rarely but still occurs) removes drip and dog bleeds out), burns, maggots, faeces (Once you've smelt the faeces of an animal with parvo you have smelt the worst), any kind of infection really I'm fine with...

I probably wouldn't be fine with it if the job didn't have purpose but especially in people nursing you're just so damn focused on giving your patient through a horrid situation quickly with their dignity intact... no doubt they know their situation is horrible and most would be mortified that someone has to see them like this... you just get through it... the situation isn't about you :-)

Anyway point of the story... the one thing that makes me sick is abuse

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GI bleed smells

all things sputum

stroke breath

long dirty nails

and clanking loud high heels in the hallways.

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Specializes in Med Surg.

The smell of C-diff

A colostomy bag that blows out

The smell when the surgeon cauterizes blood vessels (goes through your mask)

The smell when the surgeon uses a bone saw (also through the mask)

The crunchy sound from a Charcot foot

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