Smelly Body Wipes

Nurses General Nursing

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Specializes in SICU.

Is it just me or do the body wipes at the hospital smell FOUL!!!!

i NEVER feel the pt is clean after a 'bath' w/ that smelly excuse for a body wipe....lol....

good old soap and water for me.... although the wipes for cleaning up a bowel movement smell rather nice...must be all that eucalyptus....

Randomness i thought i'd share....:)

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Some of them really do smell awful. I would rather have the B.O.

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Specializes in ICU.

We use soap + water and washcloths for all baths (warm water and washcloths + cream for cleaning incontinent patients)...the only wipes we have are alcohol wipes for wiping down equipment.

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Specializes in PCU/CICU.

None of my patients ever get a "bath" with wipes. For poo and the like...the wipes are fine. I think what comes around goes around and I NEVER want a wipe down with those nasty wipes. Ick...

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Ours smell pretty good; we give patients the option of soap & water or using the wipes; many chose the wipes. Our wipes do leave a lubricating film that the older people like. We also use different wipes for cleaning the peri-area than we do for bathing.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Cardiology, Geriatrics.

I swear those wipes do nothing but move the dirt around the patient's skin! I refuse to use them. My patients get real soap and water baths. It gives them their dignity/sense of humanity back and makes them feel soooo much better; and when they feel better, I get to have happier shifts! :)

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What do you think that bar of soap and water on a washcloth does? Check out the latest lit on basin baths.

If the cloths have CHG in them it kills the bacteria, not "pushes it around". Don't have any comment on the smell, though. :)

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Cardiology, Geriatrics.
What do you think that bar of soap and water on a washcloth does? Check out the latest lit on basin baths.

If the cloths have CHG in them it kills the bacteria, not "pushes it around". Don't have any comment on the smell, though. :)

I take giving bed baths very seriously, and I am quite proud of how clean I keep my patients. I give very wet bed baths, so it all gets rinsed off. I use a second basin of clean water to do the rinsing, and for the soapy water basin, several washcloths are used for different areas of the body - I never put a used washcloth back in the soapy water (you know, how we were taught in nursing school, before the cheapos in administration decided that smelling like a hobo was fine for patients in order to save a buck). Sure, the bedding absolutely has to be changed, but it makes the patient feel fresh. There is usually no rinsing the dirt, etc. off with the smelly cloths. Water is absolutely essential (for rinsing the crap off), or you can't say at all that the person has been washed. Killing the bacteria doesn't make you clean. It just means the dirt is disarmed, if you will. You're still dirty! The cloths are cheap and lazy substitutes for real nursing care (yes, they cost a lot, but they're meant to save money on staff labor time, because it costs more payroll-wise to give a real and proper bath). Just MHO. :nurse:

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Specializes in Hospice, ALF, Prison.

A bit to the side of the topic but I had a interesting experience after a bed bath (not my bath but my patients).

The complaint was made that I had done a poor job, that the patient continued to smell. Yes I was told the patient smelled.

Well after a bit of research, I was interested to find that alot of medicine and health conditions make a individual have an odor. Like Diabetes, vanilla, etc.

No wonder dogs can smell cancer.

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Specializes in ICU, Float RN , Quality & PI.

Soap+ water = clean!!!!!

Go back to the basics!!! ;)

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Is it just me or do the body wipes at the hospital smell FOUL!!!!

i NEVER feel the pt is clean after a 'bath' w/ that smelly excuse for a body wipe....lol....

good old soap and water for me.... although the wipes for cleaning up a bowel movement smell rather nice...must be all that eucalyptus....

Randomness i thought i'd share....:)

What is the name of the wipes? What company is listed on the label?

What kind of hospital would waste money on nasty smelling wipes?

Is there a phone number for the company that makes them? You could call and ask them why the product smells so bad or even make a complaint!

Is the smell like chemicals or disinfectant?

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
QUOTE=AnaCatRN;4253234]I . . . . .Water is absolutely essential (for rinsing the crap off), or you can't say at all that the person has been washed. Killing the bacteria doesn't make you clean. It just means the dirt is disarmed, if you will. You're still dirty! The cloths are cheap and lazy substitutes for real nursing care (yes, they cost a lot, but they're meant to save money on staff labor time, because it costs more payroll-wise to give a real and proper bath). Just MHO. :nurse:

Yes! Strike up the band! :) Maybe people forget that the soap and crud are rinsed off? My little secret? I hate sanitizer gels for exactly that reason. It neutralizes the ick, and when I rub my hands together, I feel like I'm massaging the ick into my skin, eeewwwwww. . .

Sure, they are great as a back-up method, and for poop and other body fluids, but not all over- I'm glad most places have been using mild soap/shampoo/moisturizer combos in place of the old pink bars of soap, and we don't need to always do the endless uncovering and recovering each body part as we were taught, but a proper bath makes the patient feel so much better. I really applaud nurses like you, AnaCat for taking the time to do that even if the powers that be can't appreciate how important it is. :up::up::up:

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