Nurse with Body Odor

[prettyinblu]

Happy Holidays! I have a fellow nurse who is awesome! Heplful and always willing to teach but she has a very strong body odor and it seems to be gettting worse sadly. The shift starts at 7am and at 0630 she smells. Does anyone have suggestions on how to tell her in a nice way if thats even possible?

[Batman25]

I would never go the note route and I would rather be told directly via a co-worker then know someone complained about it to management versus coming to me directly but that's me. Simply go to them and tell them as gently and kindly as you can.

"I noticed recently an odor coming from you. I don't know if you haven't been feeling well or perhaps changed diets or deodorants but wanted you to know as I would want to know. I would never discuss this with anyone else and wanted to tell you personally."

You can even use yourself as an example for comfort if need be.

"I know when I used x brand of deodorant it didn't work well for me so maybe you have been using it as well."

This gives them an out. Throw in a smile and how wonderful womanhood can be and have a chuckle. If you handle it normal and natural it will be best for them.

[Super_RN, BSN, RN]

I've really only had this happen once, when a nurse I worked with always cames in reeking of garlic. When I say always, I mean every single time he came to work, which was 5 nights/week. It was SO strong, there was no mistaking it.

One night I couldn't take it anymore and just straight up asked him why he smelled like garlic. Turns out he was taking garlic "supplements". He stopped taking them--he said he didn't realize he smelled that way, and thanked me.

Whew! Granted, the approach I took may not work in every situation, but when it got to the point that our patients were noticing, I had to ask.

On the flip side: If I were a patient and my nurse smelled...not good...I don't think I would want them taking care of me. Why? Because the thought runs through my head "if they can't take care of themself, how can they take care of me?"

I'm sure I'll flamed for that, but it is my opinion.

[AddisonLawrence03]

If she is smelly when her shift is almost over 6:30 pm, maybe it's because she's been doing a lot of hard labor and has worked up a sweat which is really normal. I mean can you fault her for that? I wouldn't say anything. I can understand if she came to work early in the morning smelling bad, but after a long day, its understandable.

But if she is coming to work smelling bad, I would kinda lie and say that I once had a odor problem, and tell her about all the trials and errors you went through until you found one that worked best to eliminate the odor. Keep stressing the brand name of the deodorant that worked best, maybe she will try it. When you take this approach she won't feel like you are attacking her, but that you are trying to relate to her and help her at the same time.

[pedicurn, LPN, RN]

Just asking respectfully ....

In Sydney, where I live ... we have a lot of Italian/Greek/Indian/Asian staff.

Hence garlic and other spices are added liberally to their food ... and a mild body and breath odour is not unusual here.

We really don't make a fuss about it.

I have noted a few threads on this board and have picked up that in the US people would be offended re mild body odour.

This appears to be a cultural difference.

Wondering if there is variation within the US?

For example ....in Italian areas ... is garlic smell such a no no?

In New Mexico .... what about chilli smell?

[pedicurn, LPN, RN]

If she is smelly when her shift is almost over 6:30 pm, maybe it's because she's been doing a lot of hard labor and has worked up a sweat which is really normal. I mean can you fault her for that? I wouldn't say anything. I can understand if she came to work early in the morning smelling bad, but after a long day, its understandable.

But if she is coming to work smelling bad, I would kinda lie and say that I once had a odor problem, and tell her about all the trials and errors you went through until you found one that worked best to eliminate the odor. Keep stressing the brand name of the deodorant that worked best, maybe she will try it. When you take this approach she won't feel like you are attacking her, but that you are trying to relate to her and help her at the same time.

Well I relate to a slight smell after a busy 12 hr shift ...especially when those plastically yellow gowns are involved !!

[APRN., DNP, RN, APRN, NP]

It's getting close to Christmas.

How about putting together a beautiful gift basket of all sorts of different deodorants, fru fru-ey body washes and some perfume. You can make it look very pretty and presentable and gift it to her anonymously, or go ahead and gift it to her with your name on it if you like.

If you do tell her it was from you, you can wait until after Christmas, and if the situation still does not improve, you can say "I love the way (insert name of product here) smells, and I've noticed that you're not using it" This will be your foot in the door opportunity to bring up her body odor in an indirect way without insulting her.

[Belle Epoque]

I worked with a nurse who stank and in her culture they don't wear deodorant. She was told.

If we can't go walking around with greasy hair and dirty ripped uniforms then neither should we smell like ***

[pockunit, ADN, RN]

here's another thought also- I've had this problem- had to change up deodorants , and sometimes use the alcohol sanitizers in between if there is a bad day. noticed it does seem to be related to hormones. but take into consideration that the persons uniform has stains/ smell on it - i have thrown out my uniform shirts as there was no way to wash the smell out- seemed fine after being washed, but all it took was one sweaty shift to activate it again. they say spraying vinegar in the armpit area of the shirt before washing helps .

i agree someone close to the person should bring this up.

I use a product called Bi-O-Kleen Bac-Out on diapers and it's fantastic. It even got tomcat urine out of some fabric (we have a stray who is setting up shop at our place, apparently).

[DesertRN2, MSN, APRN]

I worked with a nurse who stank and in her culture they don't wear deodorant. She was told.

If we can't go walking around with greasy hair and dirty ripped uniforms then neither should we smell like ***

I agree, We have a nurse who not only smells of B.O., has horrible breath, and wears the same unifom every day (and its about 2 sizes too small) Men should not have camel toes! This issue has been brought up with the nurse manager and still no resolve. I feel sorry for the patients. How is it possible they don't have mirrors and have lost their sense of smell?

[Leelee2]

Telling her quietly and kindly is the best approach.

Before I was diagnosed with Graves disease, I had increased sweating, (I had thought that my deodorant just stopped working) I had no family history of Graves, and was always up and down in weight, my blood pressure/pulse typically run quite low so that wasn't a huge indicator...so it took some time to figure out the issue. Tell her kindly, you just may enlighten her to an underlying medical issue.

[JeanettePNP, MSN, RN, NP]

Just asking respectfully ....

This appears to be a cultural difference.

Wondering if there is variation within the US?

For example ....in Italian areas ... is garlic smell such a no no?

In New Mexico .... what about chilli smell?

Interesting question... from what I understand Americans have a "dairy" smell which some Asians find unpleasant.

[Bortaz, MSN, RN]

I once had to address this issue with a fella i supervised. His peers were complaining about his stinky pits and it fell to me to address it.

Hardest thing i ever did. I straight up told him there had been complaints, and that he was going to have to fix the problem.

He was mortified, of course, but he took care of it. He blamed it on walking his dog every day after showering for work.

A management trainee that sat in on the meeting was all brash and bold beforehand. "man, if i wuz u, id just tell old stinky to bathe!"

After the meeting was over, he'd become a bit more humble. "man, how the heck did you get through that? God, that was rough!"

I hope to never have to do it again. Felt terrible for the guy.