CRAZY / GROSS / NASTY

Nurses General Nursing

Published

It's no secret. We all know that nurses see a lot of crazy/gross/nasty things when on duty. Would anybody be willing to share their story with us? Please, don't spare any details.

I'm interested in your stories because I know that it's not all rainbows and kittens. There must be things that sometimes you'd wish you could un-see or un-experience (I know that's not a real word). Whether that be sticking your fingers in a patient's wound (for whatever reason), or having phlegm coughed on you, etc. Don't be shy.

I'm very curious to know some of the things I might see and/or experience once I become a nurse. Being a nurse is so exciting!!!!! 😃😃😃😃

Thank you.

I had an ICU patient with a ruptured esophageal varice that was projectile vomiting huge amounts of blood and clots as long as my arm. Blood was literally running off the walls.

Some time later, in the same room, a post CABG patient had a complication that required his chest to be reopened in the room. There was a surgeon, with his hand in the patient's chest, manually clamping the bleed. The ghoulish thing about it was that they were talking to one another during all this. I left ICU nursing soon after.

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An elderly dementia pt.disempacting herself and eating and offering her "chocolate"

A woman who denied she had breast cancer, both breasts were rock hard and the tissue was sliding off at this point.

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A patient who had a abdominoperineal resection (removed the orifice, rectum, and part of the colon and 'rerouted' it to a ostomy). Patient had been complaining of a strong desire to defecate, despite the former "exit" was now securely (SO I THOUGHT) sutured shut.

Day 2 postop and the ostomy was already looking good, making stool and passing flatus. I figured he was just puffed up with air from the procedure (it wasn't laproscopic) and that the sensation would pass along with the gas.

About 20 minutes before shift change I hear him groan and the sound of what could best be described as someone ripping a sheet in half quickly. I hear his monitor alarm and look up at the central monitor to see his usual NSR is now 130s...briefly...and drops back into the 80s. Just as I am crinkling my brow thinking *** is he doing in there.....THE SMELL HITS US ALL. This smell was the lovechild hate-brew of all smells unholy. Fearfully I approach his darkened room, I can hear him snoring softly. Can't be too bad I think to myself, he didn't even wake up.

As I enter the room, I see the unmistakable shadow of moisture spreading across his gown. I press the call light to get someone to bring me fresh linen as I turn on the light to see....OMG IT'S [redacted] EVERYWHERE! The gown - soaked. The sheets - soaked. The bedrails, splattered. The floor, puddles forming. Pulling back the gown I see the ostomy appliance best described as blown off his body, still puffed full of air like some old school bag of jiffy pop. Stool soiling his abdominal dressings, dripped down into a bottomless, vile lake of greenish-black chunky stool over his genital area. Meanwhile the sheet under him is utterly saturated in an almost clearish green fluid that is literally dripping off the edge of the bed. These two fluids are clearly different. WHAT THE HECK!? The patient looks up at me and says, "you know, I feel a LOT better".

I now have fresh linens, but the aide is cowering in the corner trying to look busy rearranging items on the sink. 15 minutes to shift change. I sop up all I can see on the front. I rip off the surgical dressings, there is no saving them. I clean the everlasting you-know-what out of the incision area and redress them. Coax my terrified aide into helping me do a quick linen change, spritz the air with some air purifier spray, wash my hands, and walk out just in time for day shift to come out.

The oncoming nurse walks up to me and says with a voice too cheery and bright, wow it's kinda stinky in here today. I try not to throw up in my own mouth reliving the horror of the stench that was.

To this day I can only conclude he had a total blow out - from both ends. The thick nasty stuff out of the stoma, and the liquid out of the "sutured" remnants of his orifice. The man poo'd out of a surgically closed butthole. A LOT. Who knew you could poop out of a surgically removed former orifice. Sadly, I do. Now. -shudder-

[h=3][/h]

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After working six years in ER/level 1 trauma I learned never to conclude that I'd seen it all. But, the guy who cut off and ate his member (so it couldn't be reattached) is still the most, I don't even know what word to use, extreme perhaps, thing that I'd ever seen. Very sad. 20 years old. Was just released from another facility after trying to cut off his arm; he couldn't get through the bone. Someone hopefully took some responsibility for that as he was clearly a danger to himself. Prior to heading to surgery the anesthesiologist asked him the last time he ate or drank anything...everyone just kinda stared at him, that one goes on the "stupid question" thread though.

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Upper GI bleed pt coded ... coffee-ground emesis spurting from mouth and nose with each chest compression I did.

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Specializes in OR 35 years; crosstrained ER/ICU/PACU.

As an OR Nurse, I've seen some really nasty stuff. Perforated bowel with peritonitis, GI bleed, peri-rectal abscess, shredded fingers from lawn mower stupidity, lung cancer, etc. Thank God we keep scented essential oil to dab in our masks, or we'd keel over! The worst one though, was a homeless man brought to the OR for a debridement of a gangrenous leg. There were towels wrapped around it, but we still knew the smell of gangrene all too well. Imagine our surprise when unwrapping g the towels: there were live maggots squirming on the dead tissue of this guy's leg. OH MY GOD! That's got to be the worst thing I've seen in 33 years of OR Nursing! Other than the usual blood, guts, bones, & brains!

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Geriatric psych patient aggressively flinging his feces at and on Nursing staff... That was so much fun, such a learning experience :brb::spit::banghead::nurse:

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Wow. Too many stories and I've only been an RN for 8 months!

all time favorite....

Upon completing a very thorough skin assessment on a 450 lb woman that was just admitted, I noticed an AWEFUL smell. Lifted her one of her multiple abd folds,found a spoon that was pretty much embedded in her skin. NASTY infection. Lots of pus. Almost made me gag...

that and the time I forgot to clamp the tubing to a g-tube when giving meds and nice pretty GI juice splattered on my lip

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Many years a go, when I was just out of nursing school, my first job was at a nursing home. This was back in the days before psychiatric consults or anything like that. We got a new admit, and the patient had dementia. After we gave him the evening meal, I tried to get the tray, only to discover that he had barricaded himself in his room. Eventually a coworker and I pushed the door open, but as soon as we did, he began throwing balls of feces at us. It became a regular ritual. Every night, we would take turns. That night's lucky nurse would throw a sheet over their head, everyone else would force the door open, and the lucky nurse would run in, under fire so to speak, and hug the patient's arms so he couldn't throw anything. The rest would then come in and he would get a shower, and put to bed. Good times.

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Specializes in Trauma, Orthopedics.
Many years a go, when I was just out of nursing school, my first job was at a nursing home. This was back in the days before psychiatric consults or anything like that. We got a new admit, and the patient had dementia. After we gave him the evening meal, I tried to get the tray, only to discover that he had barricaded himself in his room. Eventually a coworker and I pushed the door open, but as soon as we did, he began throwing balls of feces at us. It became a regular ritual. Every night, we would take turns. That night's lucky nurse would throw a sheet over their head, everyone else would force the door open, and the lucky nurse would run in, under fire so to speak, and hug the patient's arms so he couldn't throw anything. The rest would then come in and he would get a shower, and put to bed. Good times.

I'm sorry but I cannot stop crying and laughing reading this. The image in my head is just unbelievable.

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Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.

that and the time I forgot to clamp the tubing to a g-tube when giving meds and nice pretty GI juice splattered on my lip

A similar thing happened to me while I flushed a stubborn G-tube. All over my face/eyes/nose etc. Off for a few days, come back to find voila! Pt on contact isolation for MRSA in g-tube. Warm and fuzzy!

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Sooooo I've noticed a trend after reading all of your wonderful stories. 1⃣Poop. It's going to happen. Brace for impact. 2⃣get yourself some vicks vapor rub or essential oil. 3⃣did I mention poop and more poop? 4⃣maggots/bugs/gangrene/puss/phlegm are a common occurrence 5⃣bring an extra pair of scrubs to work 6⃣remain professional when dealing with such situations.

Thank you for giving me an idea and opening my eyes to the sort of things that I'll be faced with once I become a nurse. These stories haven't scared me away or deterred me from my goal.

Keep your stories coming! And thank you for sharing. 😃

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