I almost fainted!! Need advice please!

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Ok... so I am in my second year at a private college taking my required classes to get into the nursing school. Last weekend, I went with my boyfriend to urgent care because his brother had a severe nose bleed that had lasted for about 2-3 hours. He lost a lot of blood... it was so bad that it was runny down his throat and making him gag while trying to spit it out in a cup. Anyway, I watched the doctor instert a "nasal rocket" (what the doctor called it) into his nose. Then he said it would have to be left in for 3 days... etc. Well, as he was finishing up I started to feel a little dizzy and my legs felt limp. My vision went fuzzy, my ears were ringing, I started sweating, and I felt like I was going to throw up or pass out. I barely made it out of there on my feet and went to the bathroom incase I did throw up. Then I went outside to get some fresh air and I felt much better. I'm just wondering why this happened because I've seen this kind of stuff before... for example, I'm taking Anatomy and we have been studying off the cadaver, I've seen people bleeding and watched them get stitches. It's just very strange to me. I felt the same way as I did when I went into shock after I had knee surgery and ended up throwing up. I'm just wondering if this will be a problem when I get into nursing school and start doing clinicals or when I get through nursing school and am taking care of patients. Any advice would be great!!

Thanks for reading this I know it's long :)

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Sometimes this happens. Doesn't mean that you're not nurse material. Also doesn't mean it will happen again. There are many factors that could contribute to this.

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Thank you so much for your support! I hope that it won't happen again because the feeling is horrible!

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Specializes in SRNA.

It's hard to explain this....for me, before nursing school, the sight of stuff like blood definitely had an eww factor. Now, the sight of blood or trauma makes me think about what I need to do to help the person. Your role changes. Of course, if it were a family member or someone close, I'd probably still freak a bit!!

Don't let that think you aren't nurse material!

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Specializes in ER.

Bleeding and clots from the nose hit my gag factor too. It's too much like mucus, and a lot of nurses have a problem with that.

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Like Tazzi said, there are many factors that can contribute to this. Like others have said, that doesn't mean you aren't nurse material.

My mom knew that she wanted to be a nurse all of her life. She was very concerned when she was in HS that she'd never be a good nurse because she couldn't stand the sight of blood. She went on to have a successful nursing career for a combined total of nearly 30 years before she retired.

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Specializes in Jack of all trades, and still learning.

Could it also be because you knew the person it was happening to? It's amazing how that can colour your feelings...

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Specializes in Trauma,ER,CCU/OHU/Nsg Ed/Nsg Research.

Ok, this might be gross, but I'll pass on what an older nurse told me when I was a newbie. She said, "Girl, you see blood once a month- get over it." She was right, and I never got queasy at the sight of blood again.

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Were you overly tired? Had you eaten recently? If you had, was it full of sugar? Did you have something full of caffeine prior to that? Could you have been dehydrated? Things like that, along with it being someone you know, could have been a part of the reaction you had.

Side note - Baptized By Fire, I hadn't thought about that, but that's priceless.

Tiffany

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Could it also be because you knew the person it was happening to? It's amazing how that can colour your feelings...

Indeed. I can tolerate all levels of ick... but when my daughter was injured, I nearly passed out. It was nowhere near the worst thing I've ever seen, but it was my kid :)

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

I almost fainted when my daughter slammed a finger in door, losing an entire finger nail. Oh I might add, I have been a nurse since before her birth. And a good one, I think.

It's different when it's someone you care about bleeding/hurting or dying. Believe me.

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While doing my rotation in the ER in nursing school, I had a vasovagal response to watching the RN *dig* in a patient's arm while trying to place an IV. The guy pulled the needle out almost to the tip several times and kept reinserting, the patient was obviously in pain and I just couldn't take it. I left the room and promptly threw up half in half out of a garbage can in the hallway.

The rest of the night the RN kept reminding me that I would have to put in IVs after I graduated.

Well, I've worked in ICU, ER and still draw blood without a problem. Even sticking kids doesn't bother me as long as I see/feel a vein.

You might have been more in tune to what was going on because it was a family member. It might never happen again. But then again, every one of us has moments where *it* gets to us (whatever *it*i may be).

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