Long story short, had 2nd clinical ever today and was assigned to a very edematous bed-bound pt with right-sided CHF. She had really bad skin breakdown and, as we were turning her to change the sheets, I felt like a lot of "debris" from the sheets went up into to the air. I could actually see it in the air. I wanted to slap the nurse b/c she wasn't being careful with them. Anyway, I feel like I definitely inhaled whatever "particles" these were and now I can't get the taste of "poop", for lack of a better word, out of my mouth.
Does skin break-down have a certain smell that mirrors feces? She had been using the bed-pan for her bowel movements, but I'm not sure if she had feces in between her skin folds or in the old sheets, b/c I wasn't on that side of her when turning her.
It is really rather unpleasant. I've tried brushing my teeth and mouth-washing and it has still come back on and off over the past few hours. UGH.
Am I crazy? What did I inhale? Should I be worried?
Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.
You also have the smell of gangrene to look forward to - when you're taking down foot dressings, and a couple toes auto-amputate into the dressing.
Now there's an odor that stays with you for days.
I'll never forget the first time that happened to me, during my first job at a SNF. I'd been out of nursing school for a whole 2-3 months so I was still very green, which was probably the color of my face when three of my patient's toes dropped into my (thankfully gloved) hands. They looked like raisins. I had a couple of CNAs with me at the time, and they just stood there, obviously wondering what I was going to do with the toes. I remained professional---I merely asked for a biohazard bag---but inside I wanted to hurl.
That's far from the grossest thing I've had to deal with in my career. Poop is the least of these. There's lots to look forward to, OP.
Wow, seriously you guys with all the hate? I was asking a serious question and NO IT'S NOT A DENTAL ISSUE. I floss every night and have perfect teeth and gums and have never had a cavity.
And YES, I wanted to slap the nurse, b/c we were taught that you are supposed to roll up the dirty bedding gently and so that the dirty side is on the inside, while having the dirty linens bin nearby, not just fling it all over the place and eventually onto the floor, causing debris to go everywhere.
The hate is probably because you said you wanted to slap the nurse for something that is incredibly common and, oh wow, would you look there? You just had your first experience of "what they taught me in school isn't practiced in the real world." Keep calm and put a mask on. Crumbs and "elder dust" and various other bodily secretions and shedding happen. And yeah, school vs. real world discrepancies are going to happen a lot. You need to quell that urge to slap someone real fast before you accidentally do it and get bounced from your program. Sheesh.
Specializes in Palliative, Onc, Med-Surg, Home Hospice.
Your experience sounds horrible but common however, to have the taste of poop in your mouth is alarming. Poop taste or breath is indicative of a renal issue (Elevated BUN) wait until you encounter a GI bleed patient a smell like cancer that uou will never forget. In a case like this with flying debri wear a mask
Head and Neck cancers are one of the worst smells. (I work Onc/Palliative). And GI bleed, it clings to you. You have to practically scrub yourself raw to get rid of that smell. Ah, the joys of nursing! Working palliative, I have dealt with some really funky smells. Some essential oils are your friend (unless, like me, you have asthma and can't tolerate them)
I think a gargle, swish, and spit with cheap red wine will help. Then drink the rest of the bottle.
Forty years ago an apartment neighbor left for a long vacation. I can't remember the details but she specifically asked the apartment manager to not turn of the electricity.
He forgot and did turn off the electricity. She had chicken in the freezer. I can still remember the smell of rotting chicken! She had to throw away the refrigerator, the smell never went away.
You will soon learn that what you learn in nursing school and what happens in the real world of nursing where you are often doing bed/diaper changes and such by yourself with one hand behind your back is what really happens.
You will learn to take reasonable precautions but if you spend all your time worrying about contamination and what you might have been exposed to you'll end up a patient on my psych ward.
^^ completely agree with both points and have those very points reiterated every time I work.. and I'm a firm believer that "you learn through what you go through".
Being a nursing student, you have to recognize your position. This is not an insult, but a reminder to look at every experience and situation with an open mind and not be so quick to place blame or become the victim. Your position as a student is to apply what you have learned from school 'as best you can' and to also learn more to help you in your clinical practice.. and even with all the preparation and learning, things still will never be absolutely perfect..that's life. Perspective is everything and I hope one day after you've been practicing for a few years that a similar experience is replayed so you can see that this is not the WORSE you will have encountered.
Your experience sounds horrible but common however, to have the taste of poop in your mouth is alarming. Poop taste or breath is indicative of a renal issue (Elevated BUN) wait until you encounter a GI bleed patient a smell like cancer that uou will never forget. In a case like this with flying debri wear a mask
Thanks. The smell has been gone for several days now, it only stayed with me for about a day.
You sound like you are new that this and blowing something that was no big deal into something huge. This taste is very likely in your head. If what you were tasting was actually poop, you would likely be vomiting. I have never tasted, but by smell alone I'm going to assume vomit would be inevitable if it got in my mouth.
Broken down own skin does not generally just float in the air unless her skin was super dry and she had been laying there for quite a while for it to have gotten enough to become airborne with a roll.
It was likely good crumbs. But as I get further into this answer, a few things come to mind. Did you actually see debri? You were on second clinical day ever and somehow feel experienced enough to want to slap a nurse over what you deemed an improper turning technique? Is this even real or are you trying to get a rise out of people? Just the ridiculousness of this whole thing is out there.
Regardless of whether she was out of line, Philly still has a poop taste in her mouth. Give her a break. I think it's more ridiculous to assume someone would lie about that to "get a rise out of people" than to assume she was simply frustrated that the other nurse wasn't paying closer attention to minding the bad-smelling patient debris in the air and where it was being spread. Just my two cents.
If particulate matter was inhaled into your sinuses, or got onto your soft pallet, it's theoretically possible that it could account for the taste. How about you try a neti pot to flush it out to see if that helps?
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VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN
22 Articles; 9,996 Posts
I'll never forget the first time that happened to me, during my first job at a SNF. I'd been out of nursing school for a whole 2-3 months so I was still very green, which was probably the color of my face when three of my patient's toes dropped into my (thankfully gloved) hands. They looked like raisins. I had a couple of CNAs with me at the time, and they just stood there, obviously wondering what I was going to do with the toes. I remained professional---I merely asked for a biohazard bag---but inside I wanted to hurl.
That's far from the grossest thing I've had to deal with in my career. Poop is the least of these. There's lots to look forward to, OP.