I was working a night shift on a tele floor as a new Nurse.
We had this one poor old lady who was confused and was restrained as usual for her safety. She was our designated resident nightmare geri from hell, so she was placed near the Nurse's station.
So we are chilling out at the Nurse's station, chatting and trying to get through another night...
Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I see our lady in question standing in the dimly lit doorway of her room!
I instantly leap out and run to her. As I approach her, she appears to be falling towards me, so I meet her in a bear hug...my arms around her waste, and her arms around my shoulders.
As I catch the lady, I notice a very strong smell of feces, and I feel something warm on my hands, arms and shoulders...
My fellow heroes come in behind me, and as the lights are turned on, my worst fears are instantly realized.
Yes, I caught the poor old lady with a good old bear hung football catch, but I was also covered in the lady's feces.
As I look at her, she has feces smeared all over her arms and hands... (and even her face!)
I can't believe I had forgotten about this one (speaking of demented patients)...when I was working on the dementia floor of a LTC facility we had this one lady who would wander around getting into/touching everything--very intrusive. She also reminded us of a little kid the way she acted etc. Anyway, one day I was at the med cart and saw her blow her nose into a tissue as she was wandering around. Next thing I knew, she was "cleaning" the nurses-station counter--with that snotty tissue!!! Gross. Needless to say, we immediately got out the disinfecting wipes.
Specializes in onc, M/S, hospice, nursing informatics.
A couple of weeks ago I had a patient who was not very, um, "mentally balanced" shall we say. Anyway, I went in to give her some pills and she must have missed her mouth with the water cup and had cold water spill down her neck and shoulder. I didn't realize what had happened until she asked me for a towel to dry herself off. Well, there on her table sat her cell phone right on top of a dry washcloth, so I picked up the washcloth and handed it to her... with my bare hands. She says (after I firmly had it in my hand), "Oh not that one, I wiped boogers all over that one!"
Geesch, thanks for telling me! I couldn't get out of her room fast enough to wash and sterilize myself!
FYI my dear nurses: when someone leaves a tampon in for 3+ months, do not send the tampon in a cup for a culture. Just swab the green, yellow, black, & gray mucus off of it and throw it away; because that is what the lab is gonna do anyway. It smells to high hell.
I can second that... I'm not even in NS yet, but I worked at an OB medical clinic and we had that happen. I can still remember the smell just thinking of it. No words can describe...
Is it bad that this thread actually makes me even more excited to start NS? :uhoh21:
We had a woman with a colostomy and "short gut syndrome." After she would eat, her body would shove the food through her gut so fast, she couldnt' get nourishment, and they were trying various things to try to make her gut hold onto the food.
On the day I had her, she was eating humugous high calorie meals. About an hour later, she would put on her call light because her gut had finished "digesting" and sending out the food. She would empty her colostomy into two or three water pitchers. All I did was measure them and empty them into the toilet, but I had to fight not to gag. The colostomy contents included colorful bits of undigested food mixed with bits of soft brown, liquidy stool. The texture was that of vomit. The smell was a mixture of vomit and diarrhea.
I was truly thankful she emptied her own colostomy. I hope they figured out how to fix her as it was a horrible thing to live with.
I wonder if dietary washed and reused these pitchers?
:barf01:
When I get put into a home, I will stop drinking water the SECOND I taste something "special" in my pitcher. Give me a PEG tube instead.
Specializes in LTC, CPR instructor, First aid instructor..
beachmom, short bowel syndrome and ibs are very similar. i know, because i have ibs, and for a while, it had me confined to my home. since my system is now used to cholestyramine powder, i have very little problems now thankfully.
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Angie O'Plasty
164 Posts
I can't believe I had forgotten about this one (speaking of demented patients)...when I was working on the dementia floor of a LTC facility we had this one lady who would wander around getting into/touching everything--very intrusive. She also reminded us of a little kid the way she acted etc. Anyway, one day I was at the med cart and saw her blow her nose into a tissue as she was wandering around. Next thing I knew, she was "cleaning" the nurses-station counter--with that snotty tissue!!! Gross. Needless to say, we immediately got out the disinfecting wipes.