What can you tolerate the least?

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Jun 24, 2014

Bones sticking out and eye injuries. Just no.

AmyRN303, BSN, RN · Jun 24, 2014

I'm okay so far with everything I've seen. But I cannot pull my kids' teeth. Blood, stool, urine, mucus, vomit, no problem. Ask mom to pull out a baby tooth and I delegate to dad.

erinberrin, CNA · Jun 24, 2014

I don't mind open wounds, watching stiches be removed, stoma's, foleys, everyday stuff..bm's, etc..vomit at a moments notice still sends me for a little loop..have to like compose myself quick and turn the patient and get the bucket..still throughs me for a little loop..don't know why.lol

Cuddleswithpuddles · Jun 24, 2014

- Displaced fractures and bone marrow aspirations. I get sympathy pains. I think the only time I have felt woozy during patient care was when I saw the doctor putting his back into a bone marrow aspiration. I could swear I heard the needle grind into the bone.

- Getting drool on me. There is just something about thick, wet and cold oral secretions that gross me out. I used to work with a lot of kids and it would gross me out when they drooled on me. I have no issue with respiratory secretions though. I love, love, love suctioning and seeing mucus plugs come out. But when a gooey line of drool comes out of a baby or a profusely salivating kid I internally yell out NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Cuddleswithpuddles · Jun 24, 2014

Oh, another one:

Breaking glass ampules.

It makes me mad. We can send man to the moon but some drugs still come in packages that basically threaten to lacerate you. WHY? After you free your patients' medications from its GLASS CASE OF DOOM, you have to make sure you filter out glass particles that threaten to swim around in your patient's bloodstream.

My hospital once switched manufacturers of a certain medication that I had to give often during my shift. These ampules were gigantic. They were so hard to break. I finally asked my non-wussy coworkers to break it for me and even they had trouble. It was maddening.

flyersfan88 · Jun 24, 2014

Vomit. Ive been emetophobic for all my life and I feel always will be. Completely irrational, but when I was little I would scream and cry and run away of I even heard someone puke. I'm 26 and still cant deal with the sight of it.

Been there,done that, ASN, RN · Jun 24, 2014

Been peed on, pooped on, bled on,and vomited on. Irrigated nasty wounds, suctioned a gazillion trachs.

Noted a patient had excessive ear wax and took a good old q-tip to it.. :barf02:

stickit34 · Jun 24, 2014

Blood, guts, open fractures, vomit, the works.

Give me someone hacking a loogie or any type of sputum, and I vomited in my mouth. Disgusting.

Cuddleswithpuddles · Jun 24, 2014

Been peed on, pooped on, bled on,and vomited on. Irrigated nasty wounds, suctioned a gazillion trachs.
Noted a patient had excessive ear wax and took a good old q-tip to it..

This reminds me of the time when I took a Q-tip to a snowed and intubated homeless patient's bellybutton. In the semi-darkness, it looked like the patient had an "outie" bellybutton. Several Q-tips later, patient had a rather deep innie... and a very aghast nurse.

T-Bird78 · Jun 24, 2014

Been peed on, pooped on, bled on,and vomited on. Irrigated nasty wounds, suctioned a gazillion trachs.
Noted a patient had excessive ear wax and took a good old q-tip to it..

Argh. Don't make me give the Q-tip lecture!

Anyway, I can't handle snot, which is funny since my first nursing job was with ENT. The only thing that made me feel woozy was watching an epidural during my OB rotation during nursing school. The CRNA used the local then put the larger needle/catheter in, and left it dangling from her back as he reached for the next part. That was enough to make me go weak in the knees.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Jun 24, 2014

I am tolerant of most things....maggots in wounds...that's a NO!

I simply cannot stand a huge lugie/hocker/goober. I just can't stand them. Have someone cough up or suction out a huge thick tenacious mucous plug. I don't eat lunch.... :wideyed: