Did you once feel uncomfortable with blood, needles,vomit etc?

TazziRN, RN · Oct 27, 2007

Vomit is my nemesis, I still have a hard time with that one. Blood and needles and other stuff never bothered me.

santhony44, MSN, RN, NP · Oct 27, 2007

I don't like needles; learning to give an injection was tough, and it's still not my very favorite thing to do.

Sputum can still really get me, and on occasion some odors bother me.

Reno1978, BSN, RN · Oct 27, 2007

I think when you're there to do a job, many things lose their gross factor. Sometimes odors can get to me.

Also, remember there are so many areas of nursing to specialize in and each brings with it its own amount of the gross factor.

RNfaster · Oct 27, 2007

I am waiting to get into nursing school, but I recently worked as a nursing assistant. During that short time, I actively worked to conquer my phobia related to MY vascular system. Years ago, when I was a young teen, I passed out and had a seizure of sorts several times after having blood drawn. Prior to the seizures, I'd never been scared, but the seizures and passing out scared me and it also made me tired. Over the years, I think my fear built incrementally upon itself. It got to the point where I would get dizzy just thinking about my blood vessels (I think when I did, I felt vulnerable.)

Anyway, I decided to work on fear related to blood and shots (not so bad, but I used to not look). It took me awhile, but I slowly and methodically watched all the procedures that I could (blood draws on others and myself). I am now phobia free!

By the way, I learned that the reaction I had as a kid might have been vasovagal syncope. There is even a related phobia: vasovagal syncope blood phobia. Learning about it helped me to distance myself from it and establish a game plan to attack it.

As for vomit, I do okay around it. Clean it up quick. I have done well with colostomy bags except for one. The other patient even ran out of the room. I don't know why it smelled so bad. That has made be not so thrilled about caring for more ostomy bags... Initially, I found some of them rather interesting. I think that the more I am exposed to something, the less it bothers me. You might find that, too. But if I am away from something for a period, even a few weeks, it is harder for me to tolerate it (I am thinking of odors, e.g., ostomy, etc.)

I think attempting to analyze the offensive item can be helpful, e.g., when I started thinking about gangrene smelling like rotten apples, or C-Diff smelling like horse manure, it helps me to reduce my disgust (I actually like horse manure, C-Diff is yucky.) And addressing the offensive item rapidly is very helpful...

Good luck!

Dad-2-3 · Oct 27, 2007

i have never felt uncomfortable about blood, needles or vomit, but i still am only a student with a few weeks until graduation. most of my classmates that had a problem with blood and vomit quickly got over it.

vomit is my nemesis, i still have a hard time with that one. blood and needles and other stuff never bothered me.

sorry, i had to do it. :lol2:

RNDreamer · Oct 27, 2007

I used to be scared of needles...I remember nearly passing out after having my blood taken at a clinic a few years back, (thank goodness, the chairs weren't too far away from the room. I wouldn't have wanted to faint and annoy the woman who pretty much called me a baby when I told her of my fear)..

then last year I took a CNA course, and we were required to get the whole work up: TB, tetorifice (sp?), Hep vac. I decided then that if I was serious about entering the healthcare field, I needed to get over this fear quickly..

I am now studying for my Phlebotomy cert exam and can't wait to start drawing blood..

texas2007, BSN, RN · Oct 27, 2007

I thought I was ok with blood but then I almost fainted in the skills lab when our instructor was showing us how to start an IV on the dummy arm with food coloring blood. How embarrasing. But it hardly phases me now.

RainDreamer, BSN, RN · Oct 27, 2007

I've never been too uncomfortable with needles, blood, vomit, poop, etc. Although where I work all that stuff comes in small amounts thankfully.

However, snotty secretions and mucousy stuff makes me gag!!

RNmom08 · Oct 28, 2007

I never had a problem dealing with any of it. I really think what helped me have such a strong stomach was being raised on a farm. I was in charge of the farrowing houses and even at a young age was helping with the laboring and pulling of pigs when the sows or gilts were having trouble. After the litters were born I also worked them over which consisted of giving shots and clipping teeth. I think I was 8 yrs old when I was taught to do that and the working of the litters were my "job". Later, probably 13 or 14 yrs old I was managing the house and teaching the hired men how to do things. We had a smaller operation but between my parents and us 4 kids, (the hired men helped during the day when we were at school) we still kept busy.

At any rate, I loved doing all the hands on stuff and knew at a young age that I'd be doing something along those lines - only now, it's on people instead of animals! ;-)

Natkat, BSN, MSN, RN · Oct 28, 2007

I'm so used to it now that I can't remember being bothered by it.

20 years ago when I first thought about a nursing career and took another path instead, I remember telling people I didn't want to go into nursing because of what I called the three B's - blood, BM and body odor. Looking back on it it seems so silly now; so immature.

Now that I've actually taken care of people, I realize that's the least of it. The WORST part of taking care of people is rude, demanding, impatient, abusive patients and family members. I'll take a code brown over having to molly coddle a high-strung family member any day.

newohiorn, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Oct 28, 2007

I literally cannot stop myself from gagging when the COPD'rs cough up gunk. It's so embarassing--I hope I get it over it soon because I'm transfering to a unit where I think secretions are going to be bigger issue. They're gonna love me if I'm in the bathroom gagging all the time!