Fixodent or Forget it!

NurseAlwaysNForever

I sat down to read allnurses yesterday evening at about 6 pm.

So, she arrived and we chit chatted all the way to the nursing home, having a good ole time. When we arrived the nurse was befuddled. She had no idea what would cause such copius amounts of secretions so suddenly. She had suctioned 300 cc's of clear liquid from the man's mouth.

My co-worker and I entered the room to find a man who was showing no s/sx of "distress" per se. He was sating at 95% on 2lpm via n/c. Neither of us had ever laid eyes on him before. His lungs were clear to all fields, but when he talked it sounded like he was talking through a snorkel.

We wrote an order for hyoscamine and he was given some out of the ER box. He swallowed the pill and the water with ease. He was suctioned again for comfort with a suction cath.

I could barely make out anything he said. All I could make out was teeth.

I said, "You want me to put your teeth in?"

He shook his head vigorously no.

"Teef" He gurgled.

"Do your teeth hurt?"

He said no, then pointed to his throat.

"Your throat hurts?"

He nodded his head yes.

His Adam apple was very enlarged. I looked at the long-term care facility nurse and asked, "How far did you go when you suctioned him?"

She assured me she had not gone any further than his mouth, I was doubtful. "Teef." He gurgled. I decided to examine his gums, maybe she had hurt them while suctioning. I asked him to open his mouth, he only would slightly.

I opened mine, stuck out my tongue and said, "Ahhh."

He opened him slightly. I repeated it, "Ahhhhhhhh."

Open your mouth wide. He kept pointing to his gums.

By now 5 minutes had passed. The man was just looking at us, fear in his eyes. Still showing no true distress. His wife was sitting in the chair next to him watching television.

Once again I told him to open his mouth and stick out his tongue, and once again I opened my mouth and stuck out my tongue.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."

He opened his mouth a little more than previously and I saw two front teeth sticking out from the back of his throat. I looked at my co-worker, dumbfounded and said, "I think he swallowed his dentures."

He started shaking his head yes vigorously and opened his eyes wide.

Without thinking I yelled, "Get me some pliers, forceps something."

The long-term care facility nurse headed out quickly. I lowered the man's bed because every time he opened his mouth they slipped down farther. I attempted to reach in and grab them, but every time I touched them they sunk in a little further. My co-worker who's hand is much smaller than mine reached in and was able to retrieve them.

We rolled the head of his bed up and asked him if he was alright. He said that he was and then he asked for a pain pill. The long-term care facility nurse returned with a pair of tweezers, holding them up in the air for us. My co-worker and I started laughing, as did the patient and the other nurse.

We advised him not to wear his dentures for a while, to eat a soft diet and to use Fixodent or forget it. So much for an uneventful night off.

Fixodent or Forget it!

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