Scared Of Poop!!!!!!!!! Help!!!!!!!

Nurses New Nurse

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I'm starting my nursing program on Jan.25th, and i'm really, really excited. Ever since I can remember I've always dreamed about being a nurse. I'm a medical assitant at a cardiologist office and I love working hands on and I love my patients to the point that I can't wait until I become a RN and work at a hospital. During orientation we were told that our first practice cite will be at a nursing home :uhoh3:. One thing I'm actually not looking forward to doing is looking at poop!!! I could deal with blood, I can deal with pee, but i'm actually scared of my reaction to looking at poop and changing patients, I'm scared I might:barf01:

I've changed a childs diaper before and i've had no problem...but I have never changed a adults diaper nor smelled or been up close and personal to it. I'm so afraid of how i'm going to react to it...does anyone ever felt this way? Does anyone have some advice or suggestions??? Is it true that it's just like changing a child. I'm scared of the smell and how i would react to it. HELP!!!! i feel recidiculous...:trout:

Ha Ha, yes the poop is not fun, but u just do it cuz you don't want the patient to feel embarrassed, I just try and think of other things. The above posts are correct, everyone has a THING. Mine is sputum, it just makes me want to vomit, when people have a productive cough, or just clear their throat , it makes me queezy...good luck :)

Specializes in Aged care.

I can handle most bodily fluids, but the one thing that made me want to vomit was seeing what came out when a pt had their ears drained. I still can't look at it to this day without feeling queazy!

When I entered healthcare cleaning up poop was my fear too. Sure you'll have some bad messes to clean up now & then but it's not so bad over all. At least we have gloves and disposable wipes to make it easier. As seen in earlier posts, use Vick's vapor rub under your nose if needed. I've heard of that being used in much worse situations than cleaning up poop! And just put yourself in your pt's shoes....it would be worse for them. You may find that it's not as bad as you thought. I've gotten over that fear and haven't found anything that grosses me out, yet.

Specializes in Maternal Child.

Hey there, I used to be feel the same - and I know everyone in my clincal group was the same. There are not many people who are born eager to clean poo! My first "poo experience" was in a nursing home and it was quite easy. The lady used the toilet and I cleaned her after with tissue, just as I would myself. Most of the elderly patients there pooped very little due to age, meds, etc. The real challenge came when I was assigned to a medsurg unit where most patients were catatonic and had diarrhea. Most of them also were on contact precautions so we were able to use surgical masks which can help mask the smell. You will definitely get over this. Obviously its not appropriate to wear a mask in other situations but you could use other tricks in the beginning like rubbing some kind of medicated balm/scented perfume around your nose before enter the room, until you feel better about this. A couple of people in our clincial group used tiger balm on their temples.

You'll be fine and I'm sure there are others feeling the same of you who will appreciate your post.

Good luck!

Specializes in student nurse.

thats a natural thing feces isnt something nice even if its ur childs but a childs poop is easier to deal with because we have to do it....the same goes for a nurse, my 1st clinical semester was also @ a nursing home and we learned to change linines, diapers, bed bath, along with other nursing task once u do it the 1st time it becomes 2nd nauture espically if nursing is what u want to do. when i had to clean the patients i thought i would freak out about cleaning there genitals but when i saw that demented woman in the bed so sweet and innocent i was pleased to clean her & she seemed much more content even thoug she put her hand in her diaper and her feces all over her i was more concerned about her getting in her hair or putting it in her mouth than her getting it on me or the smell if this is what u want ur poop fears will subside.

Your reaction is the very same to most that have met that "new friend". I don't like pooh either. Ask a friend to help you and tell them that it is difficult for you, be honest. The more experience you get the better you will become at disassocition. You will learn to see things as objects or a job and not the gross, funk nasty, I am about to really gag, worst bowel movement I have ever smelled, perception you currently have of pooh. I highly recommend getting a job in an area that doesn't focus on pooh. Dr. office, cath lab, special procedures, day surgery, PACU. There are many areas that reduce the possibility of a Code Brown. Remember, you don't have to clean pooh..... you can ask for help and you should get it, if not someone has that responsibility. As a student you don't have to do anything you feel uncomfortable with....regardless of what people say, your clinical has people that perform that job and if they don't then they eventually will. like I said i don't like pooh but I am the nurse and therefore it is my responsibility and I do my job, like it or not.

Specializes in Psych.

I hope that no one else has said this but if they have sorry! I tried using vicks but actually found something much better. There is a med called tiger balm that is used for muscle aches and has a similar smell to icy hot but it has a cinnamon hint. I know that sounds weird but I liked it much better. Just don't put too much because the tingling will kinda get weird in your nose!!! I bought mine at walgreens!!

Specializes in Aged care.
I hope that no one else has said this but if they have sorry! I tried using vicks but actually found something much better. There is a med called tiger balm that is used for muscle aches and has a similar smell to icy hot but it has a cinnamon hint. I know that sounds weird but I liked it much better. Just don't put too much because the tingling will kinda get weird in your nose!!! I bought mine at walgreens!!

Hey, that's a great idea- you can use it on your nose and then rub it on your poor, tired muscles at night! :yeah:

Specializes in Psych.
Hey, that's a great idea- you can use it on your nose and then rub it on your poor, tired muscles at night! :yeah:

haha I didn't even think of that! I let my cats smell it once and now when I even hold the jar they run away. It is potent but after a while the smell becomes quite pleasant. I did use it once for muscle aches when I started doing p90x!

JMO, but I think it's reaching a little to say 'if you don't like it, you should not be a nurse'. Who in the world likes it? Never saw anyone going into a room to change a diaper with the attitude they were going to a party. My professor in school, an RN for 25 years and now on her PhD, hated suctioning trachs. She would gag and absolutely hated it. She overcame it, but still to this day, hates to do it. Just think it's more beneficial to give encouragement to fears like this (didn't we all have one or another?) instead of saying someone should not be a nurse.

Nursingstudent424...it's okay to have these fears. I used to have an EMT on my truck (I'm a medic, too) who had responsive vomiting! Every time a pt would vomit, he would vomit, too! We analyzed it, and realized that he was just too into what the pt was feeling and we worked with just 'task orientation'...he was NOT sick, we had a 'task' to manage, and he realized that if he chewed gum, he didn't vomit. Weird, but we worked through it. You will get through this, too. I believe you will get used to it and as another poster said, it's way more uncomfortable for the pt than for you. Good luck!

Don't worry about that, just when you need to... take a breath through the mouth it helps.

Good luck!

Specializes in Psych.

OMG, I realize you are likely almost out of school now - but reading this made me laugh so hard my stomach hurts. I agree hands down though - poop in its most disgusting forms has NOTHING on a GI bleed... I have a 4 year old on the autistic spectrum. I have had to clean up his artwork. UGH.

I had a patient during my second semester of clinicals who was an older man -late 60's - owned a construction company, very proud... truly awesome guy. Anyway, he had a GI bleed for as yet undiagnosed reasons and had lost enough blood to risk passing out on us when he stood up. The doc wanted him on a bedside commode, the patient refused... adamantly. I was assigned to him, for the day, and the doc said that he could use a regular toilet as long as he had someone with him.

I armed myself with Vicks and made a deal with my pt that I would wait on the other side of the door as long as he did not shut it completely... he got privacy, but still had someone to catch him if he started to go down, because as I told him a GI bleed with a head wound or a broken hip would mean more, not less, dependence on others. That poor man was gagging, and he actually cried when I went to empty his hat because he said no one should have to deal with his mess... I told him I was paying for the privilege and if I didn't want to, I didn't have to.. he thought I was nuts, I think - but he let me help keep him safe.

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