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?
