cleaning poop

suzy253, RN · Apr 25, 2006

after i do the first initial wipe, i get that pink peri-spray and start spraying. Helps me (a bit)

burn out · Apr 25, 2006

If you really want to make me puke let me see you suck up that runny diarrhea with a yankeur suction and then leave it in the cannister for me to clean up. Or use a spoon to obtain a stool specimen. Things that go in your mouth should not be used to clean poop or touch poop.

tprashad · Apr 25, 2006

are you guys cna or lpns? do RN have to do these kinda of work?

EMS/ICU/SRNA · Apr 25, 2006

are you guys cna or lpns? do RN have to do these kinda of work?

Haha! This is exactly what I thought when I was going through nursing school. The instructors/professors did nothing to correct this misconception either (probably thought they would have a lot of dropped out students). The cold reality is that if you wait for the cna's (dont know about the lpn's, dont work with them) to "clean up" your pts the poo will have tatoo'd by then. Trust me, you have a long, brown road ahead of you. Again, this is why I'm in grad school.

HvnSntRN · Apr 25, 2006

You could always opt for maternal-newborn care or NICU. Baby poop is at least tolerable. :chuckle

RENAISSANCE RN · Apr 25, 2006

I just think of it as if this was me....or my family.. everyone has stuff that grosses them out. And it may gross you out forever.. I have an instructor that still gags during suctioning...

The only stool (thank god) that gags me is C-diff. Smells so awful.

grentea · Apr 25, 2006

poop happens. at this point, i'm over it. mouthwash helps a lot in cutting down on odor while cleaning up surfaces and sometimes even bottoms. oh yeah and that peri-spray helps a whole lot too. poop is a pretty easy problem to solve, it's the other stuff I really worry about.

transducen, BSN, RN · Apr 25, 2006

oh no! I thought the CNA'S did all of that, boy am I in for a shocker! :idea:

chadash · Apr 25, 2006

You guys need better CNA's..

Yeah, oral care will gag me quicker than pooh....but then if you get obsessed with the prospect of a secretion free mouth, it will carry you through. Ah! Minty fresh! Use a tooth brush as a hook to get that lovely stuff that hangs in the back out....

Don't your aids do this stuff?

catmom1, BSN, RN · Apr 25, 2006

I have been reading posts at allnurses for weeks and have never posted, but this subject is near and dear to my heart. I am an RN who is working on completing my refresher course after being away from nursing for 6 years.

Anyway, when I first started nursing school, I was sure I would have a really tough time handling poop. I had worked for a vet when I was in high school so animal poop never bothered me. Now, people poop was another matter. :eek:

After I had worked day shift in med/surg for just a few months, I was amazed at how I could take the dreaded "people poop" in stride. It helped enormously that my care partner was a wonderful LPN with tons of experience. We would always go together to our patients' "code browns" whenever possible. Shared work is light work!

Our other little secret was that we would each pop a couple of cinnamon Altoids before going into the room. It really helped block out the smell.

It is amazing what you can get used to if you need to.

Catmom

all4schwa · Apr 25, 2006

suck up that runny diarrhea with a yankeur suction

are you serious? i'm still a student...but it's not a wet vac, or is it?

catmom1, BSN, RN · Apr 25, 2006

are you serious? i'm still a student...but it's not a wet vac, or is it?

Yummy....only nurses could chat with great interest about this stuff!