Does blood make you feel sick?

[HartlessRedhead1]

Okay well my newborn got a circumcision yesterday and any time i change the gauze it bleeds. Well of course he is swollen and bruised. Today hubby and i were changing the bandages and we both walked away feeling a bit sick....I wonder if that is something you can get used to....

[Atheos]

My blood gets me sick. I imagine the blood of a child would too. Anyone else's blood is fine. You probably get used to it. Vomit still makes me gag occasionally but not in a manner to affect my work.

[CT Pixie, BSN, RN]

Blood doesn't phase me at all unless it is coming from my children. If thats the case I do become a bit queasy but I am able to have my senses kick in and take charge.

Not long ago, we were all sitting at the dinner table, my daughter said to me "is my nose bleeding?" I looked at her and nearly lost my cookies! Her nose wasn't bleeding it exploded in blood!! In a matter of seconds she was covered in blood, her plate was covered, and as she ran to the bathroom there was a trail of blood that looked like someone had been murdered!

The sight of my "baby" bleeding along with the sheer amount of blood nearly put me over the edge for 10 seconds. Then "nurse" mode kicked in and I was fine.

I think alot of us might become a bit sick when our children are the ones bleeding, but when its a patient, it doesn't bother us.

(Congrats on the new baby boy!)

[JettaDP]

Maybe you felt sick just because he is your child. Maybe when you get around patients who are strangers you will feel different. But if seeing blood continues making you queasy you'll just have to find an area to work in that works with a minimal amount of blood.

[HartlessRedhead1]

Thanks ya'll, this makes me feel so much better. I still did what I had to do even though the sight was terrible and he was kicking and screaming. I was thinking for a while that this might mean that I might not make it as a nurse....LOL.

[9livesRN, BSN, RN]

i dont mind... just just hate to smell poop! i can clean ass, but, just hate that tart warm gassy smell!!

[AOX4RN, MSN, RN, NP]

Blood doesn't phase me at all unless it is coming from my children.

Me too! I get clammy, vision gets spotty... oy, I'm totally useless. Thankfully no one else's blood bothers me-- I'm a midwife so it's part of the job! :chuckle

(never mind mucus... )

[XB9S, BSN, MSN, EdD, RN, APN]

I hated blood as a student, in fact I fainted twice in theatre watching an appendicectomy and ones in a lumps and bumps clinic wathcing the removal of a cyst.

You do get used to it, I now have no problems which is just as well because I have to do some of the invasive procedures myself and assist with others.

It is different when it is your own child so don't worry too much.

[Angel@MyTable, RN]

I never, ever thought I could become a nurse!

It used to take like 5 people to hold me down for shots when I was little. I would faint at the sight of blood, gag when someone was throwing up, etc.

I became a CNA in the late 80's, and after years of being exposed to blood, sputum, vomit, pus, having urine thrown at me, cleaning up after a resident has finger painted with their b.m., seeing decub's to the bone, assisting nurses in packing wounds, it becomes easier to stomach.

I once had a resident who had a hiatal hernia, and vomited ALL of the time. I was getting her ready one morning, (I learned to always be prepared for an episode of vomiting with this particular resident), any way, the charge nurse stopped in (I don't remember the reason off hand) and well, my resident needed to vomit! I didn't have the basin pulled out yet, and what else could I do, but use my hands? I calmly went into the bathroom and dumped it into the toilet, all the while the nurse was gagging. After washing my hands to go back to my resident, the nurse said she couldn't believe that I could do that, and that she could never have.

I have taught myself to stifle those instincts, but every once in a while, when I have to clean up sputum, I can't stifle that reflex. I have to walk away for a moment, take a deep breath, and come back to finish the job.

[HartlessRedhead1]

I hate to ask, but what is sputum??

[MsOptimistic]

I often wonder if i can be a nurse b/c i have VERY WEAK STOMACH. Im glad to know that im not the only who started out like that.

[Angel@MyTable, RN]

Sputum is a fancy name for someone who coughs up lung junk, really gross when you have a confused (or inconsiderate) resident/pt that will just spit it out anywhere (on the floor, the wall, themselves, etc.)