Sometimes, it just Stinks

Nurses General Nursing

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All Nurses have dealt with strong and/or offensive odors at some point in their careers. There are many things you can do to help prepare yourself in this situation. Here are just a few:

#1 Mask odors by placing a little menthol-containing products (like Vicks) on the upper lip; use scented lip products with peppermint, lavender, etc.

#2 Try breathing through the mouth (although, if you have a strong gag-reflex, this might not be such a good idea).

#3 Identify certain illnesses that have characteristic odors ahead of time and get yourself mentally prepared.

#4 Some Nurses have even tried hypnotic therapy.

What has worked for you??

Thank you NurseCard for the winning caption. You won $100!

Specializes in Med nurse in med-surg., float, HH, and PDN.
"To keep your nervous system from exhausting itself with continuous stimuli, the receptors experience temporary sensory fatigue, or olfactory adaptation. Odor receptors stop sending messages to the brain about a lingering odor after a few minutes and instead focus on novel smells."

The above is a quote from Mental Floss a magazine article. I know about 20 years ago I heard similar advice from a legitimate doctor call in show. It may be because I believe it that it works, (placebo effect?), but I take a few intentional deep breaths through my nose. It seems to work.

Mental Floss is a great magazine; I get it on line now, but I much preferred the printed issues, which they don't do anymore.

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Specializes in Med/Surge, Psych, LTC, Home Health.

I won!! Ahem... I would like to thank the academy.... ☺ but seriously, thanks a bunch to everyone who voted!

Smells... The only thing that makes me gag every single time, is MOUTH smells... Bad breath... Ugh... Other than that, I can tolerate most of the bad smells pretty well.

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Mouth breathing + a mask and I am fine against any smell!

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Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
All Nurses have dealt with strong and/or offensive odors at some point in their careers.

What has worked for you?

I believe my desensitization to offensive odors is the result of, as a kid, having to drag odious, rotting, maggot-infested carrion out of the yard that the adopted stray dogs we had drug in.

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That, and a coma-causing closed head injury helped.

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Specializes in Education, FP, LNC, Forensics, ED, OB.
I won!! Ahem... I would like to thank the academy.... ☺ but seriously, thanks a bunch to everyone who voted!

CONGRATULATIONS, NurseCard!!! :)

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Specializes in ER, STICU, Neuro ICU, PACU, Burn ICU.

For me it's pus.. I can take anything else but that smell just makes me want to yak.

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Specializes in LTC, Rehab.

To me it's almost like trying to ignore pain. When a sudden strong offensive odor hits my nostrils, I try to just kind of shut down the brain's reaction to it, and whether consciously or unconsciously, just think 'It's only for a minute'. I said TRY - I'm not always successful. :^)

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Specializes in Case Manager/Administrator.

When I first started out I had a patient with Elephantitis, that smell I will never forget. It was like wow just putrid yucky and it stayed if you did not take out the garbage. I was working as an Army Nurse we had a group of people we treated, did I say putrid yucky I would rather smell the GI track any day. Vicks and a face mask helped.

Thank you to whom ever started this thread brings back smell memories......

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Another mask wearer here. Started it when I was pregnant and just kept at it. Primarily use it to hide my gags.

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Specializes in Flight, ER, Transport, ICU/Critical Care.

When you arrive to a call and the state police is in the yard on their kness puking - that's a sign you are going to need speciality equipment.

I've used SCBA in the field. And always used a thick moisturizing minty lip balm (double duty!). Gotta wonder why we don't have some abbreviated version of that for use in the hospital? Lol.

It would protect against badness (germ warfare and funky).

MY TIPS!!! Essential oils (peppermint, eucalyptus) just a drop on a on 2x2 in high end N95 filtration (rigid) masks. Used on helo. Suck on an Altoids. I also had success with a pair of nose clips like you use in the pool under the mask (cut straps off, bought several pair -- straps breach mask) left in back of drug box.

It's just the nature of Mother Nature that things smell bad. We are aerobic beings. Oxygen plus disease equals funky badness.

~*~*~*~*

My WORST !!!

I nasally intubated a patient on Thanksgiving in 1995 (yes, I remember the day) - I "hit" an area of abscess in this patient's lung and approx 300 ml of infection the consistency of buttercream frosting started coming out that Endotrol tube (I made a practice of squeezing on it a bit to assure I was NOT in the esophagus as the esophagus would create suction/collapse and stick to the end of the tube - a quick secondary confirmation technique, as nasal placement is "blind") - I was sure I was "in" as my patient all but sucked the tube out of my hand, but, ever deliberate me ----

Anyway.

Now I have this FUNKY FROSTING flying out of this nasal ET tube. And it smelled worse than funk, noise & death. And I've smelled lots of death. Even funky noisy deaths. I grabbed a specimen bag and contained most of it, I sure as hell wasn't going to try to suction whatever this was and I just pulled the tube. Tossed a 100% Non-rebreather Mask on my patient for a bit as they start to look a bit better. Cause I am NOT ventilating that FUNKY FROSTING back into that patient's lungs even if I could, which I could not - which now, I'm vomiting in the wheel well of the ambulance. It seemed like it took forever, but prolly less than 30 seconds including my puking.

I would still need to tube my patient as their respiratory effort was failing, but getting that abscess out likely saved their life. Had been sick for a couple weeks, refused to seek care, hit the wall. I had never pulled a patent airway before - but, FUNKY FROSTING fixed that.

The patient and their family had known me most of my life - after I got my patient ventilated/oxygenated, their mental status improved for the 40 minute transport. I was so freaking sick from the smell, I spent most of the transport intermittently puking, gagging, with a wet wash cloth on my face - it was bad. The patient even held my hand. I was kinda embarrassed. Only slightly though.

The ER nurse at the hospital acted like I killed someone - "you are not allowed to pull a ET tube, never". I just stood there, let the freak out stop after I gave report. Ok, whatever. Here, let me get that one ET I pulled for ya! I went and dug it out of the ambo's trash and laid it on the nurses desk. Enough said. Any questions? Didn't think so. Have a nice day. My medical director winked at me on the way out the door.

I was still too green around the gills and peaked to bother.

:angel:

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The worst smell I have had to overcome is STINKY FEET. Man feet. Patient husband feet. I can't believe some people can live with a mate and not notice or fix their rotten stinky feet. We have had to put an air purifier outside the door of some patients' rooms because we can't offend them and put the unit right in the room. I usually just mouth breathe to keep from smelling nasty stuff but woah I don't get some people.

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Please y'all don't tell anyone but one day that stinky feet odor was so terrible. It kept following me wherever I went. Then I sat down and crossed my leg and the smell suddenly became stronger. Is it called a woof of air? Oh noo, it was me! OMG! Time for new shoes!!! I was shocked too! :wideyed:;):scrying::blink::stinkyfeet:

You know they get a point where the funk just won't wash out anymore!

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