nurses with bad breath

[MarRN2012]

Have you ever taken report from nurses with offensive breath odor/bad breath?

[GitanoRN, BSN, MSN, RN]

many moons ago i had to deal with two cases on the issue on hand. the first one was one of my nursing instructors she liked to get in your face and trust me it was like something crawled up inside of her and died!. furthermore, she was the type of instructor that was big on hygiene. however, her halitosis was the death of anyone who was exposed to it. therefore, all of her students got together and bought a large mouthwash bottle and typed a little note that said "please use me", i know it sounds cruel but we were students and couldn't take it any longer. the 2nd. individual was when i was a charge nurse at med/surg. there was this fantastic male nurse never had any trouble with any of his peers maintained and professional appearance although his breath was the killer!, i had to sit down with him and explain the situation which for me and him made us a bit uncomfortable however, he understood and from thereafter he always brushed his teeth after every meal and incorporated mouthwash in his daily routine. btw, my instructor got offended and asked who was the party responsible for the mouthwash. needless to say, no one would admit to it so i volunteered, which from there on i was on her radar, but to be honest i didn't care the problem was solved and her breath was minty fresh for the rest of semester

[OnlybyHisgraceRN, ASN, RN]

Oh yes. The only nurses' I've worked with that had bad breath were smokers. I've worked with some nurses where I had no idea that they smoked, they always stayed fresh. However, there are some that their breath is really bad. I usually offer gum. If that doesn't work, I pop gum in my mouth and mouth breathe.

[Biosciencegeek]

ROFL @ GitanoRN. I read your first two sentences while taking a sip of coffee and now all of my sinuses are filled with Folger's. Hahahaha. That is my absolute biggest "pet peeve." I hate when someone gets in my face and talks anyway, but when it smells like they just snacked from a litter box, well, that's just the worst, I agree. I deal with smells from the patients just fine, it does not bother me in the least, but I have low tolerance for colleagues with bad breath. There are plenty of items on the market in this century to keep people from melting the paint off the walls with funky breath.

[annie.rn]

I hate when someone gets in my face and talks anyway, but when it smells like they just snacked from a litter box ...

What a hilarious descriptor. Cracked me up!

I have experienced a bad breathed co-worker or two but have never had the nerve to address it with them other than nonchalantly offering them a piece of gum or a mint.

When I was in the military there was a co-worker that suffered from terrible halitosis. We had big white boards above all the med carts where we would write down all the treatments and appts. for the day for the pt.s on the team. One if the med techs wrote under the appointments column "Ssgt. Smith: Halitosis Clinic @ 1400". It took him a while to see it but when he did he got a big laugh out of it. (Hopefully he wasn't crying inside) I know he worked on his breath but had trouble getting it under control. Sadly, there was no "Halitosis Clinic" b/c he may have benefited from it.

[annie.rn]

Just realized this thread is two years old. Oops!

[Biosciencegeek]

Hahahaha! "Halitosis Clinic."

[babybums]

We pass out "report" gum