I know our profession has a reputation for some pretty gnarly smells, but does anybody have specific work-related smells that they actually enjoy?
My biggest is tincture of benzoin. We use it on preemies underneath tape to help protect their fragile skin, and I absolutely love the smell. Every time I use a benzoin swab, I feel like I stop to take a deep inhale. Maybe it's because the compound is also used in the creation of perfume and scented candles...
I also love the smell of a freshly-bathed NICU baby, especially when we get to use nice soaps. After giving baths, I love the "clean baby scent" when you smell the crown of the baby's head while you're holding them. I worked at a hospital that got rid of our baby shampoo and made us use hospital hand soap for baths, which was awful. You'd bend down to smell the baby and get a huge whiff of hospital antiseptic smell (not to mention how horrible it was for their skin). The nurses would actually buy bulk baby shampoo and hoard it at the nurses station.
We also have a few products that I enjoy the smell of. I worked in a hospital that used a locally-compounded skin protection ointment with a smokey smell just like bacon. Another used a diaper cream that smelled exactly like frosting (although that was a strange combo with a dirty diaper).
Anybody else have any guilty pleasure work scents?
Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.
This is weird, but...the smell of brand-new IV tubing. (I like plastic of all kinds, especially new placemats and shower curtains.) I also like the odor of alcohol swabs.?
Omg this is something I always think about but never have voiced lol. When you first walk in to the hospital and its that lotion smell mixed the overall clean smelling air? Mind you this smell changes from clean to not so clean as you advance lol
Specializes in Pediatrics, Pediatric Float, PICU, NICU.
The orange adhesive remover 2x2 swab pads that smell like citrus. I actually use these to mask any diaper or foul smells I might encounter while doing patient care - just swipe the adhesive remover pad on the inside of your face mask before putting it on and it smells like citrus during your patient care.
There was a housekeeping cleansing solution that was used when I was in grammar school. Every now & then I ran across that smell in the hospital. Loved it!
Anybody else remember that old timey smell from the ancient mimeograph machines that went obsolete with the dodo bird??? I could sniff that all day!
Whiteboard markers, alcohol swabs, and PDI wipes/Sani-wipes. ? And definitely benzoin! And definitely NOT the smell of Mucomyst (aka "swamp water" as my paramedic partner called it, lol).
VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN
22 Articles; 9,996 Posts
This is weird, but...the smell of brand-new IV tubing. (I like plastic of all kinds, especially new placemats and shower curtains.) I also like the odor of alcohol swabs.?