Story time! And the grosser, the better. Kudos to the first person who makes me throw up a bit in my mouth.
My story - I'm a burn nurse, relatively new. Anyway. I'm helping with a dressing change on a massive (90%+) burn who was also massively fluid resuscitated. Basically, that means that this guy is putting out gallons of insensible fluid loss. Plus skin sloughing. Picture this thick, partially congealed grey-brown liquid - like a poorly made Thanksgiving gravy - that is just sitting in the patient's bed.
Now, we do dressing changes in water proof gowns, hair nets, gloves (duh), and masks for a reason.
So we're turning the guy and, of course, a wave of fluid flows over the bed, coating my shoes and advancing upwards to soak through my scrub pants. I'm in the room for about an hour like that. We're almost done, turning the poor guy butt-towards me, when he starts to liquid stool everywhere. ("Burn poop.") It hits the wall behind me. I duck, manage to only get poop in my hair net. However, the turn buddy on my side who was holding up the patient's leg....drops said leg in order to get out of the way. Splat. (Splash?) I ended up getting a tidal wave of burn goo ALL OVER MY FACE. None in my mouth, thankfully.
Thank goodness for lock rooms and showers.
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At the time I was with the patient it was nothing worth noticing, just a few lesions on his chest, but I was too focused on keeping him safe and comfortable to worry about such things. Few weeks later? Yeah, grossest thing ever. I bet some of you crusty old bats know where this is headed. Yep, scabies sucks. I itched so bad I thought I was going to freak out and light myself on fire. The thought of those little buggers crawling around was disgusting.
Welcome to home health, eh? I did PPD for a while and managed to come home with both bed bugs (but, hey, we needed a new mattress!) and fleas from two different patients.
That post re: CPR reminded me of something that kind of grosses me out. That pink to red mist that comes up the ETT during prolonged CPR when it's getting to be time to call it is pretty nasty. I can only imagine what the lungs would look like after getting beaten on like that.
before i went to nursing school, i was a case manager in community mental health. when i worked in the adolescent program, i went to so many homes that made me want to bathe in lysol (and maybe raid) lots of the kiddos had lice, and in turn so did many of my colleagues, but i managed to avoid it somehow. you learn very quickly that if you have to sit, you do so at the very edge of the seat.
oh, and something again not gross but really creepy and freaky happened at this job: i was do a home visit with a family who had a couple of cats. now, i am a huge animal person, been around animals, esp cats, most of my life. this day however, i sat there while one cat came up and with no provocation, bit me (don't remember that it actually broke the skin) then i looked across the room, and i kid you not, the other cat was staring at me and it's normally green eyes wereglowing red. i valiantly tried to come up with a plausible explanation (light reflection?) but nothing made sense. i was so freaked i got outta there asap and drove back to my office and told a supervisor (who if i remember had herself been a nurse) and she agreed it did sound completely freaky. was so not psyched about going back there...
I've obviously titrated my alcohol intake well, as I just had a brilliant thought! Zombies are fomites! They are nonliving and capable of transmitting infectious organisms!
I've obviously titrated my alcohol intake well, as I just had a brilliant thought! Zombies are fomites! They are nonliving and capable of transmitting infectious organisms!
Nothing like a good gross Zombie Flick!! "The Night of the Fomites"Tagline: . . .spreading Mayhem, and Scabies!
One of the creepier experiences I had was wound care on a patient s/p eye removal. When the dressing was removed you would look thru the eye socket into the oral cavity.
Oh this was just priceless! Thanks to everyone for making my morning, I really needed a good laugh. (Especially the fomite zombies).
Me...the terminally ill man who's scrotal sac "opened" while I was providing wound care, The poor CNA on a Christmas day shift who was projectile vomited on (from head to toe, even her hair was soaked), Having liquid feces drench my scrub pants while helping a CNA transfer a pt..
We used to joke about that show "Dirty Jobs", that we topped all of the shows, but couldn't write to him because of HIPPA.
Specializes in Gerontology, Med surg, Home Health.
Two nasty episodes stand out for me in all my years of working:1. Guy with metastatic lung CA started to cough. I was walking by his room and heard a splat. It was on the floor. I grabbed the doc and asked "What IS that?!?!" The doc poked at it with his shoe and said "He coughed up a lung." ewww2.We had a guy who was very psychotic and even more paranoid. He had basal cell carcinoma on his ear but he had refused treatment. His doctor went along with his refusals even though the guy had a guardian. The smell was bad enough, but one afternoon I saw him walking down the hall. He made a funny face, shook his head, and off came his ear...a blackish/green foul smelling ear on the floor. He stepped over it and went outside for a smoke as if nothing unusual had happened.
Specializes in Trauma, ER, ICU, CCU, PACU, GI, Cardiology, OR.
story time! and the grosser, the better. kudos to the first person who makes me throw up a bit in my mouth.
my story - i'm a burn nurse, relatively new. anyway. i'm helping with a dressing change on a massive (90%+) burn who was also massively fluid resuscitated. basically, that means that this guy is putting out gallons of insensible fluid loss. plus skin sloughing. picture this thick, partially congealed grey-brown liquid - like a poorly made thanksgiving gravy - that is just sitting in the patient's bed.
now, we do dressing changes in water proof gowns, hair nets, gloves (duh), and masks for a reason.
so we're turning the guy and, of course, a wave of fluid flows over the bed, coating my shoes and advancing upwards to soak through my scrub pants. i'm in the room for about an hour like that. we're almost done, turning the poor guy butt-towards me, when he starts to liquid stool everywhere. ("burn poop.") it hits the wall behind me. i duck, manage to only get poop in my hair net. however, the turn buddy on my side who was holding up the patient's leg....drops said leg in order to get out of the way. splat. (splash?) i ended up getting a tidal wave of burn goo all over my face. none in my mouth, thankfully.
thank goodness for lock rooms and showers.
unquestionably, your description it's pretty darn good! i can almost see and smell your entire story... this reminds me when i use to work in oncology, with stage 4 ca pts. that came to us with inadequate care of their open lesions and wounds. on many occasions i would go and change these pt.s and their rectum would be oozing with the rotting of their flesh, & million maggots would get all disturb,not to mention the disturbing smell coming from all of their orifices. i recall a new shadow nurse that was eager to help me, once i removed the diaper her projectile vomit came out of the corners of her mask hitting the pt., as she ran out of the room yelling "omg that's gross" :barf01: come to think of it i never saw her again.
dirtyhippiegirl, BSN, RN
1,571 Posts
Welcome to home health, eh? I did PPD for a while and managed to come home with both bed bugs (but, hey, we needed a new mattress!) and fleas from two different patients.