Creepy Crawlies

[0.adamantite]

Anybody have any good stories of insects, vermin, etc on patients? We have seen bed bugs, cockroaches, head lice, scabies, and lots of maggots. On EMS reports many of our patients are reported living in squalor (hoarders, elderly unable to cope, to sick/debilitated to care for oneself, homeless, etc). EMS having to climb over pizza boxes and trash to get to patient, patients reported laying on urine and feces soaked mattresses / recliners for days. Maggots infesting wounds. Makes me itchy.

[mluvsgnc]

No personal stories, but I've read about some pretty gross situations in the PDN forum (think cockroaches crawling on pediatric patient's trach and IV pole). Ew.

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

650-lb male. Open wounds. Maggots. 'nuff said.

[chiandre]

Home care visit where the entire house is covered with different varieties of snakes of different colors and sizes!!! The snakes were all over the furniture, walls even on the patient.

I took one look and ran out. I called 911 from my truck, and went home to shower for what seemed like eternity!!!

To this day, I can still hear the hissing and the entangled, slithering snakes!!! I think they took out more than 800 snakes.

Ewwwwwwwwwww!!!!

[Elle23]

Several years back an RT relayed how a patient on a different floor had just hacked up a giant worm into her ETT.

Also, my husband is a public school teacher and a few years ago a student vomited up a ton of live worms in another classroom.

Considering I have a severe phobia and hatred of worms, either scenario would have sent me over the edge...

[anon456, BSN, RN]

Patient came from home with black mold in the PEEP valve of their home vent. No wonder they were sick!

We get our share of lice and bedbugs.

I have done leech therapy on two patients. That was fun.

Honestly the biggest creepy crawlies that freak me out are the ones I can't see-- all the germs.

[poppycat, ADN, BSN]

There are a few threads about critters in the PDN forum. My worst one was caring for a 6 month old at home with a trach. There was no nurse in the home for about 3 hours before my shift & the parents had something against keeping the HME on the baby. When I would get there, there were gnats, ants, cockroaches, you name it, crawling on & IN the trach. Parents saw nothing wrong with this since the critters were all over the house. I brought absolutely nothing into that house that couldn't fit in my pockets. I worked 3 shifts there & then told my supervisor I would not go back in the home any more.

[kbrn2002, ADN, RN]

I have seen maggot infected wounds and head lice a few times. The one though that was totally cool was performing maggot therapy on an advanced pressure ulcer. Pretty awesome!

[LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN]

No personal stories, but I've read about some pretty gross situations in the PDN forum (think cockroaches crawling on pediatric patient's trach and IV pole). Ew.

Yep, had experienced that in home care.

Pedi trach pt (seems like a trend here); spent the night battling cockroaches from getting to the vent and trach; they rerouted their route and decided to attack my coat...ugh.

My bag was spared.

I went home and decontaminated and let the office know I will NOT return there.

Another roach story was when I worked at a medical daycare, one ground zero pt had such a wild infestation from the I bag pack and MAFOs that a generation ended up taking space in one of our baby scales; I had the unfortunate incident of leaving my bag next to it and found one in my bag scurrying at top speed.

Maggot infested wounds are tolerable; however, I draw the line with bedbugs; I've had the unfortunate encounter of being bit by a few while on vacation, so I'm more inclined to be vigilant about not spreading the infestation.