Checking Out

[vanagonnurse]

]Hi, I'm a LPN student with ADD and here is my question. The second night on level one clinicals I was lucky enough to be initiated with a peri care procedure. The patient was a bilateral non-functioning stroke victim who would not stop pooing once I started to clean the patients orifice. OK now I have set-up the situation for the question.

For you who don't know anything about ADD or ADHD one of many symptoms is the ability to check out while you are doing something and boot something else up in your brain. ADDers also have a very keen sense of smell.

Here is the really weird part. ]That weekend I was working in the garage having a cold one, when I was flooded with all of the emotion and sensory input that I was able to check out from that Thursday night. I almost blew chunks. I mean I could literally smell the poo and pee and everything else that was in the room that night. Is this a ADD thing or does this happen to other students or practicing nurses? It wasn't very pleasant and I would like to manage this. Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Christine2009]

I also have ADD and do my clinical rotations on a sub acute facility. Everyone on the floor is in a persistant vegative state with trach's or vent's that need to be suctioned routinely.

Every night when I get home, I can not for the life of me get the smell out of my nose! I was told by one of the nurses that she has to put Vicks under her nostrils so she does not smell the stinch....I have not tried this, but thought it might be helpful for you.

HTH!

[Roxyann57]

I do not have ADD and when you smell horrible smells some of them stick with you. I had a patient with C Diff the other day and even after I showered and washed my clothes I still smelt it for weeks. Same thing happened with a patient who I had who was vomiting. I think it's just a nursing thing.

[shamcd]

My husband is a somewhat new PCT and he's told me about the C Diff issues. Apparently it's a smell that is unmistakable and he was advised by the nurses he works with to use the Vick's method as well. I know this doesn't address the issue of delayed reaction, but it may assist in alleviating the 'power' of the sensory memory when you do check back in. Good luck with this; it sounds like it may take a bit of creative thinking to deal with this.