Game: Name that smelly drug

Nurses General Nursing

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Hey a question about a med. I am talking to a friend on the phone that is working as an aide waiting to get her papers to test. Last night the LPN she was working with brought a liquid medication in the room, and told her to smell it, it smelled terrible (worse than rotten eggs). The patient had c/o nausea and she wondered if it was for that. She didn't write down the name and after a terrible night forgot the name, she thinks it starts with a c. Any ideas as to what this could be, it is driving her crazy trying to remember it. I told her that all the great nurses here (and the hundreds of years of combined experiance ) could probably come up with it.

Thanks guys

Sounds like Mucomyst to me - my floor uses it in nebulizers rarely, more often for Tylenol OD and pre/post IV dye infusion. But for nausea? I'd think it would exacerbate the problem!

Had a pt who'd served years abroad in the army tell me that his Mucomyst / regular Coke mix tasted just like a Coke you'd get in Egypt. I wasn't aware until then that it's formulated differently in many countries to accomodate local palates. Had a diabetic tell me that it was more palatable in diet Coke (we'd run out of the diet and had to use reg as a last resort for her).

And I tell all my non-OD pts who take this oral to let the young ladies they know just how nasty it smells, how awful it tastes, and how often they'll be made to drink it if they decide to be drama princesses and take too many Tylenol.

that stuff stinks so bad.

how about ceftazidime?

compazine?

KEFLEX (antibiotic) smells SOO terrible! Exactly like rotten eggs.

And the generic name for that begins with a C... Cephalexin=Keflex. Do you think that could be it??

Yep, mucomyst is the worst, but I also agree that Fortaz just plain stinks-like cat pee.

Had a patient with a metabolic disorder which I had never heard of and I can't remember the name. I think it has something to do with cystine (sp?). The patient has a buildup of cystine in the body. They wait for the kidneys to fail, transplant and then start them on this med (also can't remember the name). OMG!! It makes their breath smell. Not just a little! The whole room smelled. Could smell it in the hall even with the door closed. Had to go in and give him meds during the night. I rubbed everything under my nose. But the minute I walked in there I started to gag. Had to get another nurse to give the meds. Poor guy. I'm sure he couldn't stand it either.

OMG I just had one of my residents take 20 tylenol tabs.... said it was to get high (yeah right)

anyway she was admitted to the hosp for a few days, to be given the mucomyst every 4 hrs...

the dr in the ER told her that some people like it, but that even if she didn't she'd need to take it or she'd get it in an n/g tube.

She'd just gotten charcoal in a tube... and was not impressed.

Gawd that stuff stinks... they put it in a small amt of pepsi... she wanted to ad more pepsi to it.... but i suggested she just chug it, because the more she added, then the more she'd need to drink.

she did it with a straw.... but ended up bringing it back up about 40 min later.... even with reglan IV minibag.

Specializes in Geriatric/LTC, Rehab, Home Hhealth.

I have never given anything stinkier than a Cedax (ABT). We have to crack the cap open and mix with applesauce or liquid for those that can't swollow whole pills. It smells EXACTLY like rotton eggs. It wouldn't have be given for nausea but could account for why she was experiencing nausea.

The rotten egg smell made me also immediately think mucomyst......

Initially when i get a script of Keflex, it doesnt smell at all....

But within 2 -3 days, it has a foul odor....

Any idea why?

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