fear of vomit?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Are there any nurses out there who have a fear of vomit, the stomach bug, etc.? Are there other things that really gross you out that you encounter as a nurse?

I was on magnesium sulfate with my last pregnancy to stop preterm labor and it made me throw up and I swear the nurse was grossed out. She got out of there as fast as she could.

Anyway, can I become a nurse if I am afraid of vomit? I know I will see it a lot and have to deal with it and clean it up, but is anyone else dealing with this?

Specializes in Geriatrics.

I hate vomit. I get queasy when I hear someone wretching. Working in a LTC facility, I get paranoid when we have an outbreak of gastroenteritis (ie: Norwalk). I am so afraid to get it. I'll deal with blood, vomit, gross drainage, etc., but barf...can't do it!

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Geri, Ortho, Telemetry, Psych.

For me it's trachs. And it's not really the sputum, its the trach itself. It just scares me. It's so fragile that I am petrified to take care of it. And when suctioning when you insert the tube just to the point where they start gagging, ohhhh I just can't stand it!:icon_roll

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vomit on me

bleed on me

dripping pus from an infected wound

open abdomen from compartment syndrome with guts falling out dressing changing

cough up your trach at me

bitten off tongue

smashed fingers

hamburgler toes

poop running down the bed and onto my shoes

is all fine with me BUT.....

cough or sneeze and don't cover your mouth and i loose my mind.

it's the ONLY thing i can not stand.

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Specializes in LDRP.

I don't like to look at vomit. well, if its on a person's mouth or the like, its okay, because its not much. puddles of it, pools of it, all of it in an emesis basin-no way. i give them the basin, wipe foreheads with the cool cloth, helpt hem clean their mouth. When it comes time to dump the emesis basin and its "contents" and rinse it out, I do it without looking.

I look up or to the side while dumping and rinsing, and look every so often to make sure its well rinsed. Though, by then, most of the funk is gone. Of course, I do it subtely enough so that the patient doesn't notice.

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OMG I am SO glad this thread is on here. I HATE VOMIT! I am scared of it and will go to most any length to avoid throwing up. I've wondered how in the heck I'd be able to go to nursing school so I am so relieved to see I'm not the only one!!

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Specializes in HCA, Physch, WC, Management.

I'm much more bothered by myself vomiting than others. The only thing about throwing up that makes me kinda queasy is the sound! Yuckies!

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Specializes in Telemetry.
I've always had a fear of vomit. In my 30 years in nursing, it has never gotten any better. My biggest fear is having a noro virus run through my facility. It happened about 4 years ago and I'll tell you, it was a living HELL! After day two I had to call out sick not because I was sick, but because I couldn't stand it any more. People were vomiting everywhere and I hope to God it never happens again! When my kids were small and they would get sick, my husband had to take over because I was useless. As a nurse, that's pretty bad and I was ashamed of myself, but thank God for my husband and my savior.

your ematophobic like me ! LOL ......isnt it awful!!!!!!! :banghead: I WISH I COULD JUST GET OVER IT....BUT REALLY I CANT!:sniff:

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Thank goodness for this thread! I am a pre-nursing student and am soooo excited to become a nurse, but I HATE vomit! I am embarrassed to admit it, but it's true. Oddly enough I was at work today and saw a woman puking in the parking lot. My whole body started tingling and I was repulsed. I hear that you eventually become numb to this, so I really hope that that's partially true. I don't mind other bodily fluids, but there is just something about the sound, smell, and oh so unpleasant site of a puddle of puke.

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Specializes in ICU, nutrition.

Not a fan of icky smells and bodily fluids in general. :chair:

But I really hate feet (clean or dirty, doesn't matter, if they're not attached to someone less than a year old, I want no part of them). :paw:

And eye injuries...I think I just threw up in my mouth a little... :barf01:

Don't like respiratory secretions either if they are not contained. Ballard to a ETT or trach, no problem. Yankauer, ewwwww. Trach with flowby, gag. And BTW, if you cough up a loogie, don't save it for me. Just tell me, I'll take your word for it. :banghead:

Once upon a time I too was a sympathetic puker. :barf02:

I did almost throw up on the first patient I ever gave a bed bath to. VA hospital, Tuesday/Thursday clinicals. The patients on this ward were...I'm not making this up...on either the Monday/Wednesday/Friday or Tuesday/Thursday bath schedule. So on Tuesday, yes, those old guys were ripe, since they'd not had a bath since the previous Thursday. I just hope if they were incontinent or something they were cleaned up. In any case, I was about 8 weeks pregnant, lovely morning sickness, and when I pulled that gown off and got started...yeah, I RAN down the hall holding my hand over my mouth. There wasn't even a bathroom in the room, I had to go to the nurse's station. Came out, instructor asked me if I was OK. I told her yes and she said good, get back to that bath. I was mortified, but I walked back in, changed the bath water, since it was cold, and gave him a bath. Poor guy, it wasn't his fault...I hope he didn't think he smelled so bad I puked. I think I told him I was pregnant and having morning sickness. :cry:

The longer I'm in nursing the better I get at breathing through the gag reflex and not throwing up on the patient because they're throwing up or I'm smelling something truly awful.

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This is also the thing I am most worried about, sympathetic vomiter here and the only time I have tried to change a diaper, (though it was over 8 years ago) I puked.

I hate vomit. I get queasy when I hear someone wretching. Working in a LTC facility, I get paranoid when we have an outbreak of gastroenteritis (ie: Norwalk). I am so afraid to get it. I'll deal with blood, vomit, gross drainage, etc., but barf...can't do it!

lol you can deal with vomit but not barf?

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I hate vomit. I get queasy when I hear someone wretching. Working in a LTC facility, I get paranoid when we have an outbreak of gastroenteritis (ie: Norwalk). I am so afraid to get it. I'll deal with blood, vomit, gross drainage, etc., but barf...can't do it!

I also hate vomit but as you stated, I REALLY can't stand the wretching and associated noise. I don't understand why this has to happen. I hate to vomit myself and will try to put it off as long as possible but if you have the flu sometimes it just has to happen!

But when I vomit, I just do it, no noise involved. Why do people have to make the awful noise? My husband has an ulcer and every few months he throws up for about 24 hours and the wretching is unbearable. Is it really necessary to make all that noise?

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Specializes in Cardiac Care.
I also hate vomit but as you stated, I REALLY can't stand the wretching and associated noise. I don't understand why this has to happen. I hate to vomit myself and will try to put it off as long as possible but if you have the flu sometimes it just has to happen!

But when I vomit, I just do it, no noise involved. Why do people have to make the awful noise? My husband has an ulcer and every few months he throws up for about 24 hours and the wretching is unbearable. Is it really necessary to make all that noise?

I am SO LOUD!!! I try not to be, but honestly, I can't be quiet. I've tried. Truth.

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