Help! Masking Wound Smells?

[seeConnienurse]

My friend just took a job in a wound care clinic, yesterday was her first day. She called me on her way home because she wants to continue, staff great, patients sweet, hours good, but the smells are overwhelming and she vomited 2 different times during her shift. 

Suggestions for essential oils or anything else she can put under her nose or in a mask to cover the smells?

[offlabel]

Peppermint oil seems to be popular. I'd be surprised if the clinic doesn't have something like that already. She'll get used to it, but in the meantime just tell her to breath through her mouth when it's truly gag worthy. Dries your mouth out but works pretty well. Sucking on a Life Saver helps.

[Erin Lee, BSN, RN]

The cheapest option, with supplies available in the facility, is a dab of toothpaste on a facemask. 

Alternatively, peppermint oil is another great option, as @offlabel mentioned. Peppermint oil sticks or balms are a bit less overpowering than straight oils. 

[NurseRatchett2]

I've always used vicks vapor rub under my nose and or inside my mask. I use a small makeup sample vial in my pocket at all times.

[Tommy5677]

A little Vick's vaporub under the nose with a mask usually does the trick. I think I was told this by an oncology nurse.

[mrphil79]

NOT coffee - for the love of god NOT COFFEE. 

Because then you end up with a room that smells like C Diff flavored coffee,

it doesn't cover the smell, only adds another layer

You should throw 2-5 drops of peppermint or lavender oil into a nebulizer with like 5ml from a flush - run it at like 1LPM. It works quite well

[Andrew Forbes]

In 20 years as a nurse I've never worked anywhere that had peppermint oil, etc, available that wasn't brought by individual nurses themselves. Plus, most wound nurses don't bother because you get used to it.  

However, before I became a WCN I worked Peds Hem/Onc. I learned this tip from a GI doc while he and I we were manually dis-impacting a kid who had not pooped in several weeks, and we had been abandoned by every other nurse on the unit. If you are wearing a mask drop in a couple of alcohol swabs, then reload as necessary. If no mask, and/or dealing with a particularly nasty wound/stench, put a rolled up alcohol swab up each nostril. It burns a bit initially, and may make your eyes water, but it'll block even the nastiest gangrene or C-Diff.