I have the Stink Gag

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I am a 3rd semester nursing student and I am really enjoying it thus far...however, I gag sooooo easily if I smell an offensive smell. When emptying a bed pan to pour into a measuring cup...I hurry to the restroom :idea:so I don't gag in front of the patient! I think the ostomy bags are probably the hardest to not gag in front of :eek:! Do any of you guys have any advice for me on my gag issue? Thanks in advance!!!:D

Specializes in LDRP.
I just don't breathe through my nose when something stinks.

ive tried that, then i feel like i can TASTE it. :barf01:

however, as a pca and a nursing student entering my 3rd semester of clinicals, im pretty used to normal poop and pee smells... c. diff, or someone who just had a nice serving of go-litely-- thats a different story..

my biggest concern is mucous right now... that gets my gag reflex going pretty quickly. :cool:

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I'm so used to everything now i just don't gag very often...thats the benefits of working at an animal hospital before nursing school ;) and being a groomer ;) even today, right before lunch, i was shaving a sedated cat, and when i got to his rear end it was covered in fresh poop, but the viscosity was odd and gelatin like so I told a vet about it, so they did a fecal, well i had to physically check for worms/blood and such, and i just breathed through my mouth (cat poop is the WORST most horrid smell known to man...it will beat a newborns poop anyday! lol) plus the gelatin like viscosity was interesting so I was kinda looking at it to understand it....i'm weird like that, but its also my job (you've never worked in an animal clinic until you've done your first internal anal glands and sprayed them in your face.. :)

So my advice, volunteer at a local vet clinic or even a kennel, and go in very early in the morning before they clean....the instant fecal/urine/blood/pus smell will get rid of that gag reflex eventually!

I used to gag at everything before i started this job 2 years ago, now im near immune...the occasional pus filled hole full of maggots gets me sometimes, but mostly, i can eat around anything...lol

Hahaha, I've worked at an animal hospital, too! I feel pretty confident with gross stuff considering I have picked maggots out of a dog's butt and open wounds, and cleaned up the most foul smelling liquid, bloody feces from a dog that had stomach cancer. I have also had anal glands squirted in my face numerous times lol. I just worry that I might think about it differently when it comes from a human, I guess we will find out!

Oooh, and don't forget parvo explosions! yuck, haha.

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It is funny how just last night I dreamed about having to clean a HUGE amount of vomit off a floor and while cleaning it someone asked me how I could stand the smell, and I just looked up and smiled and said..I breath through my mouth! I'm still a pre-nursing student but I'm always thinking about different situations that I'll face once I'm a nurse...it's funny that all my worrying made it into my dreams! LOL:lol2:

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Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.
ive tried that, then i feel like i can TASTE it. :barf01:

Kinda like when you uh expel gas in the shower and you can just feel it on you. That kind of thing?

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Mouth breath as someone else said. Just becareful you don't splash :D My stomachs gotten weaker since Nursing and I don't know why. So if I feel the gagging start to come on, I breath through my mouth and think of something while I'm disposing of the poop, etc. Like sing a song in my head or scene from a movie. That way it makes it seem like I'm really doing something normal/everyday (well it IS normal for nurses but you know what I mean) and makes it easier to do.

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Hahaha, I've worked at an animal hospital, too! I feel pretty confident with gross stuff considering I have picked maggots out of a dog's butt and open wounds, and cleaned up the most foul smelling liquid, bloody feces from a dog that had stomach cancer. I have also had anal glands squirted in my face numerous times lol. I just worry that I might think about it differently when it comes from a human, I guess we will find out!

Oooh, and don't forget parvo explosions! yuck, haha.

I LOVE that others have experience in Animal Medicine! :yeah: Parvo explosions are DEFINATELY the worst smell. I worked as an emergency vet tech for a 1.5 years, and do PRN stuff now while in school. I feel very prepared for what nursing can throw at me after working at an ER vet. Trauma, death, poo, puss, and puke; love it. :bugeyes:

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Hahaha, I've worked at an animal hospital, too! I feel pretty confident with gross stuff considering I have picked maggots out of a dog's butt and open wounds, and cleaned up the most foul smelling liquid, bloody feces from a dog that had stomach cancer. I have also had anal glands squirted in my face numerous times lol. I just worry that I might think about it differently when it comes from a human, I guess we will find out!

Oooh, and don't forget parvo explosions! yuck, haha.

yeah parvo explosion are CRAZY...but just yesterday we had this poodle with explosive diarrhea and everything in the surgery room was covered in this dogs ****...it was CRAZYNESS...

also Untreated mange is always fun....When I first started, i'm talking 2 days into working, the give me this 120 lb malamute in full coat, to shave down as it had demodex...well i was expecting normal demodex, yellow crusty yeasty smelling skin with redness, etc...but underneath this full coat of fur, was deep pus filled pockets, dead chunks of skin that i had to pull off, deep bloody pockets that i kept catching with the clippers and ripping open (unknowingly of course) all through this the dog WAS awake, just sitting there on the table letting me do this...then was the fun job, after peeling off the skin, to clean out the puss filled pockets which involved squeezing, and sticking my fingers down into the holes with 4x4's, + lots of Betadine....after that...i'm immune to anything...lol

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This post is cracking me up!!! All of the replies are hilarious ! :yeah:

I haven't started Nursing clinicals yet, but I did go through CNA clinicals... once I had a woman have a major poop explosion and rub it all down my arm.. that was amazing :eek: I found that I just breathe regularly through my nose and I get used to it. You kind of have to become "immune" to the stink! If I feel like I am going to gag, I swallow and breathe out slowly through my mouth. But I'm always afraid to breathe through my mouth because ... well... what if something splashes in there?!?!? And yes.. I also feel like I can TASTE it... :eek: As for vicks, it didn't do much for me, as I felt like instead of smelling poop, or vicks, I smelled poopvicks. Wasn't really better.... :lol2:

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Specializes in Psychiatry.

Deep suctioning a trach with a strong pseudomonas odor... I don't think anything is worse than that smell... at least for me.

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Never expected to hear about Vet Tech experience! The dog stories are hilarious and reminds me of my beagle and yes, the anal glands. AND the time she ate her own poo and projectile vomited all over the bed. Comforter went into the dumpster. Dog stayed. Her personality saved her life many times.

Seems that while the animal smells are horrendous, the pooches don't care about your reactions. Thought I was completely tough. As a student CNA, I volunteered to change an ostomy bag for the staff. My gag reflexes totally kicked in and my eyes started watering.

It was all I could do to make it to the bathroom so the patient wouldn't see me. I even had a few barf reflexes in the bathroom. I felt awful for the patient and realized I shouldn't be overconfident.

Good post about a realistic topic.

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