Patient's who STINK

[nurse_1993, LVN]

Hello all,

I work in a walk-in clinic setting (urgent care) and I had a few questions about this topic.

We clinic nurses and fellow medical assistants are stuck with a patient in a room while we vital and get down pertinent information down. I have only a handful of patients who come in and they STINK, as if they have not taken a shower in months. Like the minute you walk in, you want to barf kind of stink. I've had to splint someone's leg and foot and it was the nastiest thing I have ever smelled. (I previously worked LTC and seen/done/smelled a lot of nasty things and it's nothing compared to it).

At this point, are we able to tell the patient somewhere along the lines like, "I'm sorry, I can not finish my job, do not take it personal but you stink. Here's something to clean yourself off with." but in a nice way?

Thank you for any clarification.

[Emergent, RN]

I encounter this in the ER. You can always wear a mask with a scent on it. Those types are clueless, it wouldn't dawn on them that it was because of their BO.

[Slipping CMA]

Try breathing through your mouth. Sometimes it works, but sometimes the smell is so bad that you end up tasting the BO.

[egglady, LPN]

Vicks under your nose and a mask. It works. I've done this for decades.

[xanderx]

Ummm no. Come on now.

[Snatchedwig, BSN, CNA, LPN, RN]

How about you assess the patient and see why said persons have hygiene issues? Financial? Lack of resources? Your job as a nurse is to treat the patient in its entirety. I would be trying to find the root cause and treating that person with compassion.

Maybe Ms. Sally has to prioritize buying food than deodorant.

[chick4carolina]

Yes this happens quite often. A lot of times patients have financial issues. Sometimes depression can play a huge part in this.