Nose plugs?

[Still Riding]

I was wondering why it is not common practice to wear nose plugs when dealing with the really stomach turning smells? Syncronized swimmers have the ones that fit inside the nose and are clear, so that you can't realy see them.

I would invest in a pair if we where aloud to wear them. I'm one of tose poeple who vomit at the smell of vomit, I can see it, hear it, but the smell just does me in.

thanx SR

[RN92]

Speaking of bad smells...wounds with maggots have to be on the top 10 list!!

[Indy, LPN, LVN]

Some things you need to be able to smell. In postpartum, you have to know if the discharge on a peripad smells normal (earthy, fleshy, whatever you wanna call it) or foul; a foul smell can indicate infection. It's not pleasant but you need to know so you can pay more attention to other assessment findings.

[kevcam]

I was wondering why it is not common practice to wear nose plugs when dealing with the really stomach turning smells? Syncronized swimmers have the ones that fit inside the nose and are clear, so that you can't realy see them.

I would invest in a pair if we where aloud to wear them. I'm one of tose poeple who vomit at the smell of vomit, I can see it, hear it, but the smell just does me in.

thanx SR

Nose plugs are not allowed at the hospital I work for. Offensive odors lose their power after awhile anyway. You'll either get used to it or you won't. For the patient's sake though try to keep a neutral face so as not to embarass them too much. They know where the smell is coming from and it won't help if their nurse is wrinkling their nose and saying ewwwwwww........

[boggle, ASN, RN]

No offense taken, Still Riding.

I've wished for something to block odors many times. It's so hard to keep that supportive, accepting manner with patients when your own gag reflex is kicking in. When the nurse gets sick, the patient feels doubly bad. Fortunately, when you keep focusing on the patient and their needs, you can deal with lots of unpleasant stuff.

[NewbieNurse2005]

I've heard that a little mint essence under the nose works wonders for nasty smells. Pts would think you were chewing gum.

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

Peppermint oil is terrific. A little dab below the nares goes a long way, and it smells more like breath mints. I'd rather use that instead of Vicks, whose antiseptic aroma is a dead give-away to alert & oriented patients. They already know what they smell like, and it's not 'nice' to be obvious in attempting to avoid the odors.

We keep some around the nurses' station for these situations. Usually, however, we just deal with the bad smells.......you really do get used to them after a while. GI bleeds are the worst, IMO.......that rates a big "EEEEEEEEEWWWWWW" even from most of us old-timers. :uhoh21:

[eak16]

I agree that somehow it becomes worse to have to mouth breath those smells. Remember, you are smelling them because the molecules are entering your airflow :) :) I typically wear a mask for things that are absolutely unbearable, but I have found that most unbearable things (GI bleeds, grossly infected wounds, etc) necessitate a mask anyway when dealing with them directly becuase of the splatter/ infectious risk.

Trust me, you will eventually get used to most smells no matter what you do. My roommate used to complain our refrigerator stunk before we found a bottle of fermenting alfredo sauce- she was gagging but I never smelled a thing! :rotfl: :rotfl: