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?
Sani-wipes! (I’m not sure if that’s the actual name but we use them to wipe down reusable supplies like BP cuffs etc)
In going through our stock room we discovered a bunch of expired Sani-wipes. They were going to be thrown out so me and an MA were fighting over who got to take them home.
Me wasn't fighting. I is the proper word, not me. I was fighting.
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
On 9/24/2019 at 12:10 PM, JKL33 said:
Closed OB units. They smell like clean. Clean linen, clean baby stuff, even the p&p is of the sweeter-smelling variety.
Funny you say that. I have seen many a nurse float up to OB and say the smell is awful. They literally cannot handle the smell of amniotic fluid and OB-related blood. Never bothered me.
A smell I love is those Chlorox wipes used to wipe down computers, desk tops and other surfaces not needing bleach or other strong cleaners. They smell clean to me.
Also love the smell of a newborn baby. They smell so.....oh I don't know "innocent" and sweet to me.
i love the smell of isopropyl alcohol and the way certain bandages smell. Also - the clean smell of the OR when it's closed and whatever they were cleaning the floors with a while back - so fresh!!
Kooky Korky, BSN, RN
5,216 Posts
Me wasn't fighting. I is the proper word, not me. I was fighting.