Roaches are going to drive me out of home care!!!

Specialties Home Health

Published

I feel like I should be called the Orkin Nurse, and instead of a backback, I should carry an orificenal of roach-killing chemicals.

I need a roach repellant perfume or something.

Yesterday MONSTER roach appeared too close to my coat, and I swear I could barely focus on my new admit, and I admit, I skimmed that OASIs faster than fast to get the heck outta there!

Today, very clean house, in the midst of several abandoned ones boarded up in a drug-infested neighborhood, and I know that is always a bad thing, a draw for roaches and rodents, and it isn't the fault or lack of cleanliness of the people I serve but ...

People I have a serious issue, fear-factor, r/t roaches. I am not sure I could even get away w asking not to be sent there, it wouyld only mean some other poor nurse gets stuck w that many more roach motels.

Let me put it this way, if I were on that show fear factor and I could be given a million dollars to enter a room swarming w roaches, I would probably hurl at the thought.

Today, sitting in this clean rose among the thorns, and here comes da beast, crawling up the couch I was just sitting on, once again too close to my personal stuff. At least in the summer, I don't have a coat or so many pockets and stuff w me for the creepy critters to hide in.

I can't function like this, I get tunnel vision, and I do struggle to keep cool and remain non-judgemental, esp w the older folks.

Help me!! Should I seek deconditioning? I think this is NORMAL to not like roaches. Yesterday's man carried his med zippered bag in and tried to hand it to me w a monster roach on it!! I asked him to set it on the table and take out the bottles one by one so we could review it, I wasn't touching that freakin bag!!

I have been going into the dregs of the city w/o a roach-free home lately, and I can't take it much longer. I am not only afraid of these things touching me, or getting into my clothes, but of bringing them into my home by accident. My winter coat is still in my car b/c I was afraid to bring it inside. I am seriously stressing here!!!

What would you do? I have no problem w dogs, snakes, or other creatures, just bugs tarantula spiders, roaches, NASTY stuff.

Oh..and to all who mentioned adult protective....you are lucky to have an APS who responds appropriately....ours promptly goes out and investigates all complaints...and finds them all unfounded.

Originally posted by Furball

...There..are...CHICKENS...inside his house!!! No wonder we can't get his infections under control!!!!

I'm sorry Hoolahan...off topic. I can't think of any roach remedies except carry a can of raid with you?

Hey, I'll bet there were no roachs in his house!

Specializes in Home Health.

phn...OMG!!!! If one flew in my hair, the only reason I would be able to cling to life and not drop dead on the spot is b/c I would want them crawling on my dead body. But I would be having serious chest pain and probably drop dead just outside the door, or in that case, the line where they stopped. I have noticed two diff kinds, but three, and flying??

When my sister moved to Fla and she called me, she cried saying "They have huge roaches that FLY here!" She was ready to have a nervous breakdown.

I do have some reactive airway disease, maybe I can convince the doc to say it's adult onset asthma and to say I cannot work in environments known to have roaches??

If we all refused to go to home w roaches in our agency, we would prbably lose 50% of our biz and referrals. In cases like phn described, then absolutely we would not return. While I'm at it, I'll ask the doc to say I can't go to homes of smokers either.

Maybe I need to move uptown to a different agency. The fancy-smancy agency won't even accept referrals in the city where I work. But they also cover 5 counties, so not sure I am interested in that tradeoff, not til kids are out of HS. Then again....maybe not.

I am per diem, I go all over, wherever the need is. But can you imagine, several of these nurses have nothing but roach territories. They are also the most miserable nurses, and no wonder. It is not very fair when it comes to roach land, and I really feel for those girls. At least when I worked FT, I had a fair mix.

Now what yall need to do is move down here to South Mississippi and do home health!! We also have our fair share of roaches along with very large spiders. Sure is hard to concentrate on nursing care while worrying about some critter dropping down on you! We recently had one of our CNAs narrowly avoid getting bit by a possum while bathing a bed bound pt. Pt lived alone and kept several cats. Had a dog door for them to come and go and evidently possum had invited himself inside and hid under the pts bed!!

:eek:

Specializes in Home Health.

Nancy, I have a feeling you are right about that! :rotfl: :rotfl:

Snakes? Not in cages, around the necks of owners, that is what I have seen.

I have never seen chickens, but did see a LOL yesterday who basically lived in her kitchen. TV on the hutch, on the middle of the kitchen table a bird, and next to it a fishbowl w a fish. LOTS of clutter too, I think she stayed in there all day , oh yeah Bedside commode too, b/c there was toomuch clutter to move elsewhere in the house, she did leave each night to go sleep. That was a little like the adams family house! But, NO roaches observed there! :)

there was a pt who died not long after i started in home care, and whom i never got to see...they had a horse living in a second story bedroom...

oh...also had a pt w/pet scorpion...what redeeming qualities does a scorpion have?!!?!?!

OY!

Roaches chickens snakes. now" mammals and fur bearers?"

(Thats what they're called in my hubby's hunting guide anyway)

PREGNANT ROACHES????!!!

Ever see that movie "JOE"S APARTMENT"?

Specializes in Home Health.

NO, and if it involves roaches, I don't plan on renting it either!! :)

Sunny, OMG, a horse? I think I would rather see a horse, as long as I don't have to step thru horse dung!! Can you imagine the stench of that place?? But I'd rather smell like poo-poo for the day, (Cause you know when you've been somewhere w bad sewage, ya just know you reek all day, even if you finally got the smell out of your nostrils) that deal w roaches....at least I think, you know what they say, the grass is always greener.

Oh eayh, about the comment someone made earlier, after they drop nuc bombs, only the roaches will be left... Bwahahahahahaha!!! :rotfl: I think you are right!!

I'm still shuddering at the thought.

Specializes in OB, Telephone Triage, Chart Review/Code.

I once managed nurse aides for a home health agency. They would tell me their patients didn't care if roaches were around...they were used to it!

I used to tell them to carry everything in sealed plastic bags so as to not "transport" the nasty things......UGH!

Sunny- Emperor scorpions glow a lovely teal blue under black light They make a great halloween prop!

Joe's apartment STARS cockroaches- Very funny but I suggest you do avoid it hoolahan

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