Having a hard time with less hygienic patients

[Manatee111]

I know I am going to get scolded from everyone about this, but I have to share my issue. I've only been a nurse for a short time & the hospital I work for is in a rather poor suburb of Chicago.

My issue is patients who are admitted who are either homeless and haven't bathed in months or patients who come from home and haven't bathed in months. In the last week, I admitted 2 men who came to the ED & then to my unit covered in feces. Another was a homeless man who I had to fight with all night long to take a shower so that he could have a colon resection done the next day.

Last month I had an elderly female patient who smelled of urine so badly when she came to the unit that her roommates family complained. Thankfully, she was ambulatory so I assisted her with a shower before I ever even did her admission paperwork.

Scold me if you must, but really I'm looking to find out if every nurse expiriences patients like this or is it because I work in a low income area?

[CoffeeRTC, BSN, RN]

Regardless of WHY they haven't bathed, and no matter how compassionate the nurse might be, it doesn't make the smell any less tolerable.

Agreed. We had bottles of the peppermint oil also. Tent a paper towel and stick it into the top of the bottle, let it get wet, and it acts as a great wick for the scent. I also like the idea of replacing the Carmex with Vicks or using Burts Bee's.

I kinda thought the OP was looking for the how could someone let themselves stink that bad? or is this just because of the area she works in?

Anyway...

[CABG patch kid, BSN, RN]

May be a bit off topic, but if the pt has a smell d/t reasons other than hygienic (like necrotic bowel, or necrotic anything for that matter) we put charcoal in a bedside basin and stick it under the bed. There may still be a smell but not as bad.