my first poop/ nasty experience... just wanna share

Nursing Students General Students

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Ok...

I was assign a client c/ esophageal cancer, liver disfunctions, obese, pej tube, acute/chronical renal failure and so on...

Well... i got in the room early am, and OMG that room stunk so bad, but no like poop, or that "disease" smell, it was a nasty, sweaty, dry lack of hygiene smell...

so i washed my hands, put my gloves on... and took my vitals, then came back to gime him a partial bad bath and told him to wash his genitals, well... as soon as the pct started it, what a stench :barf02:

so i just kept on handing him new wash cloths, and they were coming back full of loose dead skin, and that smell was terrible!!!!

I almost vomited!

.... well we got over that part, made the bed, changed him, and everything was better... none had given him a bath in the longest!!! and he had poop under the nails:barf02:!!!

after everything set up, a colleague came and asked me for help doing peri care on a man, since it was her first time, so i went over there and washed my hands, got my gloves on....

the room was so warm it was like 90 in there, no kidding! then we got him ready, all supplies and it all, then i went to lift his testicles that were stuck on the midle (close to his knees) of his legs, and i was talking to him and my frind... when i lifted it, surprise :D i just noticed that cloud of smell right up my nose... and my hands were full of poop since he had poop on the back of his testicles...:barf02:

well, i turned around real quick, since i dod not want to make a face!!!! took a deep breath, told my friend change of plans, let me go get supplies!!!!

the smell was nasty, real nasty, and warm!!!!

so i got back on the room with everything, and we cleaned him, changed the bed, and rotated him... OMG there was so much poop!!! yuck!

we were able to keep it down c/ a straight face... but it was chalenging!

we got it all done, and we had to put ointment on him since he was getting sore, and stage 1 pressure wounds, we finished it up, and even gave him a back rub!!!

it was a great experience since it was the first time for both of us, and we did such a fine job... and i did not through up...!!!!

blah, vicks on my pocket for next time!

Specializes in med/surg/ortho/school/tele/office.

One trick is to keep a jar of vicks and put a little on under your nose before you have to do anything with unpleasant smells. Just a trick we used to use when we had to work on cadavers.

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Regarding the questions on jar size - they do have the small little tubs (for lack of a better word) that are about the size of carmex containers, and it should fit in your pocket.

The pp is correct that the vicks doesn't completely block out the smell, but covers a lot of it and can make it more bearable. I got this trick from an experienced nurse who used this until she "got used to it". She did say that to this day she keeps it in her pocket (has been practicing for 15 years) because you just never know when you are going to encounter something that for some reason "knocks your socks off".

Good Luck everyone!! :typing

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Specializes in med/surg/ortho/school/tele/office.

They actually now have vicks in a tube that is more like cream, not greasy. Kind of like a lip gloss tube just a little bigger. Won't give you that shiny runny nose look.

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Specializes in med/surg/ortho/school/tele/office.

However, if it's GI bleed poop just breathe through your mouth! Once you smell that & C Diff, you will think nothing of regular poop. Somedays even us "vets" get grossed out by the smells. I would smell anything rather than look at sputum or have to suction it, YUK!

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Great job! The poop never bothered me. I always look at is a fact of life... people poop! I remember when I started clinicals, it seemed like everyone had bowel issues. Once lady was bowel incontinent & kept pooping while we were bathing her. Talk about the longest bath ever!

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Both my Mom and my MIL were hospitalized last year and had poop "accidents". They were both SO grateful that the person who cleaned them up was so nice about it. In fact, I think my Mom was in love with the guy who cleaned her up; she talked about him for days! LOL So maybe that can help us all feel better about cleaning up poop. The patients really do appreciate it and we are there to do it in a way that minimizes their embarrassment (and gets them clean again, of course!).

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love it!!!

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Specializes in Telemetry.
Somedays even us "vets" get grossed out by the smells.

I have to say that the WORST that i've come across so far was an end stage renal patient that had toxins just seeping out of his pores. He couldn't even have a roomate because the room had a noxious smell to it. I felt so bad for this poor guy- wondered how he was able to get passed the smell himself :(

It's funny- i read the whole poop story, but couldn't figure out what the big deal was. At almost any given time, at least a few of my patients have poop under their nails (hence why i ALWAYS have rubber gloves on lol) and poop gets into much more creative places that just the underneath of testicles. Then i remembered that it was just a couple of years ago that i had the Vicks in my pocket and worried about every new smell and poop that i might encounter (i was especially anxious about decubs). But, like another person said- you really do just become so immune to it- and much faster than you would have thought, too. I always had a fear that a patient would see a reaction on my face, so i put a huge effort into never letting it show if a smell was getting to me.

I also learned, early on, how to breathe through my mouth- and that has made all the difference! lol

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The more you do the easier it get! Toothpaste works better than the Vicks!

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Specializes in Critical Care, Clinical Documentation Specialist.

Yeah but mochabean, isn't the white bit with the green stripe really noticeable under your nose? LOL ...sorry, it was the first picture that came to mind. :chuckle

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Specializes in E.R., post-surgical.
i start my nursing classes this fall and i have to say that i am so scared:bluecry1: Of the poop!!!!!!!!!!!

if you are scared of poop then i suggest you find another profession.

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Specializes in Telemetry.
if you are scared of poop then i suggest you find another profession.

I couldn't disagree with you more. There were ALOT of things i was scared of in nursing school. I was even scared of blood, needles and bodily fluids before i started NS, BUT, i got over it. Luckily, i had a stronger sense of what i could do when i put my mind to it, than to just throw in the towel because something seemed scarey to me. They'll get over it too- especially if they're not discouraged from the field d/t a personal hurdle that they need to overcome.

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