Meds. off floor taste YUMMY!

kadokin, ASN, RN · Sep 13, 2005

well, i must be a terrible nurse, because i have picked up pills from off the floor. generally, it depends on what the pill is, and where it fell. when i was in school i broke a vicodin in half, and dropped half of it on the floor while popping it out of the blister pack at a pt's bedside. i was like, "oh dear, i'll have to get another one, you don't want this do you?" he was an older man, and was like, "i don't care, i'll take it!" i was so happy, i did not want to have to go back to my instructor and say that i needed to get another vicodin. now, if it is just a vitamin, or something easy to just go back to the cart and get, i will get another one, especially if it fell in someplace disgusting. i have taken pills off the floor myself, never at the hospital, but the dirtiest place was at a hotel. i had the worst h/a, and i dropped all the motrin on the floor. i picked all of them up, took two without a second thought. also, one good thing to remember is that most people don't practice good handwashing, if you've ever watched pt's in the bathroom, most don't wash hands or only rinse, so they are very germy anyway, and the occasional pill off the floor is not likely to hurt them.

I have to give you credit for your honesty. I KNOW you are not the only one.

kadokin, ASN, RN · Sep 13, 2005

you've made a good point about the food thing. i don't want you to think that this is a regular practice of mine. as i stated later, i have a hx in ltc, and at times when a pill has fallen on the floor in the presence of the pt/resident 9 times out of ten, the resident will insist on taking it, generally i think it has something to do with them having a hx of wartime rationing, and the depression and all. i'm not saying this is something i would do in front of a state surveyor, but any nurse that has been practicing longer than ten minutes has practices that they would not do in front of the surveyors, it does not mean that that person is trying to or in fact harming the pt. we all have shortcuts, and things that we do in healthcare to save time and money, this is just something that i have done.

Yeah, no kidding. I am sure this will be flamed, but what kind of conditions do you think prevail in the 3rd world, et. al. If all you have for a pt is 2wks worth of an antibiotic that they desperately need and there is no way you are getting anymore, what would you do in THAT situation if you dropped a pill or 2. I know this is not relevant in most American hospitals, but I am SURE there are MANY places in the world where a dropped pill is a moral/ethical dilemna as opposed to an automatic waste. Not everyone, everywhere has unlimited supplies. Just a little food for thought.

kadokin, ASN, RN · Sep 13, 2005

So I think it's almost unanimous that "pill off the floor" is bad! But what about a pill in the wrapper that fell on the floor, is that safe? Wouldn't you get the germs from the floor on the wrapper, then on your fingers, then they're everywhere?

good point

kadokin, ASN, RN · Sep 13, 2005

And you don't have patients in on m/s that have hep or HIV? Does urine not get on the floor there? Do the ER nurses with nasty shoes not bring patients up to your floor, or do you have door mats before entering the unit (which is a whole nother thread right there-carpet)??? -andrea

Do these nastys really live that long outside of the body? See previous reference from CDC. I don't think anyone is proposing taking a dropped pill out of a puddle of urine, licking it off and then giving it to the pt!

mandykal, ADN, RN · Sep 13, 2005

giving meds that fell on the floor....humme.. just as bad as getting water from the bathroom sink. Yes, in assisted living, there is no pitcher of water, no med cart, some residents do have a sink in their room and some don't. But that's the practice when you have individual med boxes in the residents room and no accessible water.

krisssy · Sep 13, 2005

I am always washing my hands and worried about germs. I even shower when I get home from the hospital. BUT think about eating in restaurants. Who touches the food? Who drops it on the floor and puts it back on the plate? Does the salad maker wash his hands after using the bathroom? A few weeks ago, my friend found a piece of glass in his food. My son told me that he had friends who worked as waiters, and if someone complained the waiters would spit in the food! How disgusting! But I would still never give a pt. a pill I dropped, and I still showeer when I get home from the hospital. So who knows???????????????????? At least hospital workers are trained in all this, but restaurant workers-not really!

kadokin, ASN, RN · Sep 13, 2005

giving meds that fell on the floor....humme.. just as bad as getting water from the bathroom sink. Yes, in assisted living, there is no pitcher of water, no med cart, some residents do have a sink in their room and some don't. But that's the practice when you have individual med boxes in the residents room and no accessible water.

Call me stupid if you will, but what is wrong w/getting water from the bathroom sink. Just curious. :rolleyes:

elthia · Sep 13, 2005

Call me stupid if you will, but what is wrong w/getting water from the bathroom sink. Just curious.

Well, I have seen confused patients "lick the faucet" to get a drink after brushing teeth (one reason I will NEVER drink out of a water fountain), or their hands touch the spout of the faucet before they wash and have had many a confused pt urinate in a sink.

pyxeduhst5282 · Sep 14, 2005

As tempting as that may be...I would NEVER do that...because these hospital floors are QUITE nasty....I would pick something up off of the floor in my HOUSE....because I know that it's clean...but never off of a nasty, germy hospital floor. And...I would hope no one would ever do that to me as a patient...I guess...you should do what you would want done if you were the patient! Let that be your guide!! Denise

So, just curious as to what everyone else thinks about this. I've seen several nurses drop meds on the floor in front of their patients, pick them up, and give them anyways. Is this common? I asked one nurse about it and she said that it saves the hospital money... but I was taught that's not proper practice. So what do you think about this and what do you do when you drop meds?
~Crystal

elizabells, BSN, RN · Sep 14, 2005

Soooo, today was the first day on the floor we were allowed to give meds. I was so cool, with my little souffle cups, checking wristbands, explaining what each med was for...and the norvasc flies right out of my hand out of the blister pack.

The best part was the pt was a former hospital administrator and I argued w/him for a good five minutes that NO, I was NOT going to give him the pill, no matter HOW much it cost, I was gonna get another one! :rotfl:

NurCrystal22 · Sep 15, 2005

Soooo, today was the first day on the floor we were allowed to give meds. I was so cool, with my little souffle cups, checking wristbands, explaining what each med was for...and the norvasc flies right out of my hand out of the blister pack.
The best part was the pt was a former hospital administrator and I argued w/him for a good five minutes that NO, I was NOT going to give him the pill, no matter HOW much it cost, I was gonna get another one! :rotfl:

Good for you!

~Crystal

honeyz · Sep 18, 2005

:rolleyes: hmmm... the way nursing homes are now, and how much is so "budget" money, i would give it to them. afterall , it's hard to get another pill quickly from pharmacy if needed. just wipe it off and give/:beercuphe

So, just curious as to what everyone else thinks about this. I've seen several nurses drop meds on the floor in front of their patients, pick them up, and give them anyways. Is this common? I asked one nurse about it and she said that it saves the hospital money... but I was taught that's not proper practice. So what do you think about this and what do you do when you drop meds?
~Crystal