Medical words that make you cringe.

[~Mi Vida Loca~RN]

I was just attempting to study and came across a word that makes me cringe. I know it's probably weird. Some words just evoke something in me, not all medical, I can't stand the words curd or moist.

Anyway, I was curious what some of yours were, or if it is only me that cringes at certain ones.

Since starting nursing school, Fistula is one I can't stand. Makes me want to gag just seeing it!

[~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN]

What is the deal with moist? It was even on a show not too long ago.

I hate calling patients clients. Or any other PC phrase we have to udder.

lol I don't know but I hate it! I won't say client. I had that too.

[ImThatGuy, BSN, RN]

I hate the terms "perineal" and "perineum" as well as the phrase "peri. care."

They seem like words made up for nurses and nursing students to make it seem less demoralizing when you're actually tending to someone's genitals or orifice. Document it like it is: "cleaned orifice and applied skin protectant cream."

Also, for whoever mentioned fistula... I've known what a fistula was for years, but I had never heard or read of a fistula between a lady parts and orifice much less the cleaning of one. That was probably the most disgusting thing I have ever heard of and would walk off of a job before I ever had to deal with it.

I've walked in liquid poop as deep as the soles of my shoes were thick, I've worn sputum, I've had amniotic fluids on my bare forearms, I've reached into a bloody toilet and scooped out a placenta, I've slid and fallen in a splattered human brain, and I've had a used, bloody 18 gauge IV stylette buried to the hub in the back of my thigh. None of those encounters seem nearly as disgusting as the fistula in question.

Sick sick sick. :barf01:

[my3suns]

NG tube drainage gets me!

[cschoppe]

I hate the word 'angina' lol...everytime I hear it I mistake it for lady parts lol...can't you just say chest pain? lol

Also, the textbook description of the smell of lochia (earthy, musty) grosses me out

[tokyoROSE, BSN, RN]

Not a medical word, but I noticed some professors pronounce mature "ma-TOUR" which sounds really off to me. I say "ma-chure."

[~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN]

Not a medical word, but I noticed some professors pronounce mature "ma-TOUR" which sounds really off to me. I say "ma-chure."

We have an instructor and he always got embarrassed it seemed going over the male sexual health drugs and female drugs, which was shocking in itself because he was a long time nurse and a really good nurse, but I guess teaching those topics in front of a bunch of woman was intimidating, anyway, he would always pronounce angina like ang-ena, it's hard to type it out, but we were convinced he did this since the regular way you say it sounds like lady parts. lol

[Caffeinated RN]

This isn't so much a word that makes me a cringe, but a funny terminology moment. An ER doctor once verbally stated to me that his patient's clinical impression was "DMF." As a pre-nursing student, I didn't want to be seen as dumb, given that the doc had said it so non-chalantly as if I should know its meaning automatically, but I finally had to chalk it up and admit that I didn't understand the diagnosis. The doctor laughed, and said, "DMF stands for dumb ....."

[ImThatGuy, BSN, RN]

This isn't so much a word that makes me a cringe, but a funny terminology moment. An ER doctor once verbally stated to me that his patient's clinical impression was "DMF." As a pre-nursing student, I didn't want to be seen as dumb, given that the doc had said it so non-chalantly as if I should know its meaning automatically, but I finally had to chalk it up and admit that I didn't understand the diagnosis. The doctor laughed, and said, "DMF stands for dumb mother....."

Nursing students always seem so shocked when they hear "professionals" say things like that. It's reality though.

[AOx1]

Globe rupture. I love a nice, gory, adrenaline-pumping trauma, but NOT if it involves eyeballs. Amputations, ok. Not overly fond of degloving trauma either, but stuff involving eyeballs makes me cower. To me, nursing hell would involve LASIK or eye traumas.

[~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN]

Globe rupture. I love a nice, gory, adrenaline-pumping trauma, but NOT if it involves eyeballs. Amputations, ok. Not overly fond of degloving trauma either, but stuff involving eyeballs makes me cower. To me, nursing hell would involve LASIK or eye traumas.

This reminded me of something and I don't even know why I am describing it again because it seriously makes me feel like I am going to throw up.

I had to do a small PP on Autonomic Dysreflexia, it was supposed to be visual. So I was googling imaged and googled goosepimples. This picture of an eye popped up and someone photoshopped like all these tiny balls into the eye, like it looked like micro warts in the eye. I have this thing about little things clustered together. It was one of the most disgusting things I have seen although technically their wasn't much "gross" about it. But man that image still haunts me.

[NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN]

sputum. Thick yellow sputum.

[Madre-of-four]

Love this thread!! Thanks for asking...

This isn't a cringe word, just my favorite medical term: rhinorrhea

Love that it sounds so nasty and "bad" for something as simple as a ~runny nose~