Jp, Ostomy and Trach smells OH MY!

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Hello, I am a new CNA working on a med/surg/Trauma floor in a large hospital. Things are going GREAT! I absolutley LOVE what I am doing and the patients I am meeting etc. My ONLY problem so far is some of the smells I am encountering LOL! Any tips on emptying a JP that smells without passing out or puking in my own mask? I had a patient with a incredibly stinky infection and nearly projectile vomitted in my own mask while emptying his JP. Luckily I was in the bathroom when I lost it so he did not see but I am SO afraid to start gagging or something in front of a patient! He asked for a mask too BTW it was that smelly :(

Any tips?

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Specializes in LTC.

Don't look directly at the source of the smell. Keep it in your peripheral vision.

Don't think about what it is.

Cover/flush it as soon as possible.

You will get used to it eventually. The only smell that bothers me at this point is really dirty hair. One time this guy (alert and oriented, but non-compliant) refused to wash his hair for over a month. I finally got him to do it one night but in his room, not the shower. The smell of his scalp had me gagging to the point where I thought I was going to throw up a couple times but luckily I was standing behind him. It helps to stop and focus on something else in the room like the nightstand or whatever- just stare at it for a minute and clear your mind.

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I agree with not looking directly at the source of the smell.

Putting a little vicks under your nose can help a little, too.

The only smell that still really bothers me is that of a bad wound...and nothing helps that for me.

On the plus side, I used to be repulsed by the smell of trachs. Now, all 18 kids on my usual wing have trachs and I barely smell them anymore! You get used to a lot of it. :)

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Thanks for the quick replies... It is a bad wound smell in fact you can smell it ALL over his room but when you open that drain WHOOOO look out LOL! I feel so sorry for the man having to smell it all day!!! I will try and focus more and think less about it next time. Maybe it was just looking at it that sent me over the edge it wasnt until I looked at it to measure that I started heaving :p

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Specializes in Cardiac.

The only things that get to me anymore are people vomiting in front of me and then smelling it and some particularly bad wounds... I never gag or anything... it's just unpleasant. Oh, and yeast infections! ahh! Those are terrible.

Any who... my advise is to chew some really minty gum while doing the unpleasant task, if possible. Also, if the ______ (fill in the blank, ie: wound, drain, ostomy) is stinking up the room, I have been told to bring some fresh coffee grounds into the room and that'll neutralize the odor. I haven't had a chance to try that one out, but I bet it'd help.

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The only things that get to me anymore are people vomiting in front of me and then smelling it and some particularly bad wounds... I never gag or anything... it's just unpleasant. Oh, and yeast infections! ahh! Those are terrible.

Any who... my advise is to chew some really minty gum while doing the unpleasant task, if possible. Also, if the ______ (fill in the blank, ie: wound, drain, ostomy) is stinking up the room, I have been told to bring some fresh coffee grounds into the room and that'll neutralize the odor. I haven't had a chance to try that one out, but I bet it'd help.

Charcoal also works to control odors. Vomit doesn't bother me but feces makes me sick to my stomach.

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