Scared Of Poop!!!!!!!!! Help!!!!!!!

Nurses New Nurse

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I'm starting my nursing program on Jan.25th, and i'm really, really excited. Ever since I can remember I've always dreamed about being a nurse. I'm a medical assitant at a cardiologist office and I love working hands on and I love my patients to the point that I can't wait until I become a RN and work at a hospital. During orientation we were told that our first practice cite will be at a nursing home :uhoh3:. One thing I'm actually not looking forward to doing is looking at poop!!! I could deal with blood, I can deal with pee, but i'm actually scared of my reaction to looking at poop and changing patients, I'm scared I might:barf01:

I've changed a childs diaper before and i've had no problem...but I have never changed a adults diaper nor smelled or been up close and personal to it. I'm so afraid of how i'm going to react to it...does anyone ever felt this way? Does anyone have some advice or suggestions??? Is it true that it's just like changing a child. I'm scared of the smell and how i would react to it. HELP!!!! i feel recidiculous...:trout:

I would like to thank all of you for your quick response. I appreciate the advice...I still can't wait to become a nurse and I know I'll be a damn good one:D. I would never let poop get in the way of my dreams even though it was a concern of mine because i don't know how I'll react to it...but my priority will always be to make sure the patient is comfortable. I'm sure i'll be ok and I guess I'll get used to it. By the way the vapor rub trick is something I will give a try if poop cleaning gets to be a problem :)

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Specializes in Rodeo Nursing (Neuro).

This is such a universal concern among new nurses, and especially prospective nurses, that I'm making it a "sticky." So now we have a more-or-less permanent place discuss concerns about poop, puke, and other bodily fluids (whether or not they are sticky) and hopefully share some tips for dealing with them. Ah, yes--the glamorous life of nurses!

By the way, I'd be very cautious with the Vicks under the nose, because you run a risk of aspirating the salve. A similar measure that has worked for me is a Hall's cough drop. Of course, you have to be careful not to gag and aspirate it, too.

Some of the experienced aides I work with use shaving cream as a cleanser for messy BMs. Smells nice, gentle on the skin, and it works.

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Specializes in Peds.

OK so look, I was the same way except I hated smells, blood, poop, pee, vomit, or anything else. I made it through nursing school and have been a rn for 6 months. I just thought about it as something I have to do to get through. It is not fun, but it is do-able. I made it through without throwing up at all. If I can do it, just about anybody can. Good Luck

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I'm starting my nursing program on Jan.25th, and i'm really, really excited. Ever since I can remember I've always dreamed about being a nurse. I'm a medical assitant at a cardiologist office and I love working hands on and I love my patients to the point that I can't wait until I become a RN and work at a hospital. During orientation we were told that our first practice cite will be at a nursing home :uhoh3:. One thing I'm actually not looking forward to doing is looking at poop!!! I could deal with blood, I can deal with pee, but i'm actually scared of my reaction to looking at poop and changing patients, I'm scared I might:barf01:

I've changed a childs diaper before and i've had no problem...but I have never changed a adults diaper nor smelled or been up close and personal to it. I'm so afraid of how i'm going to react to it...does anyone ever felt this way? Does anyone have some advice or suggestions??? Is it true that it's just like changing a child. I'm scared of the smell and how i would react to it. HELP!!!! i feel recidiculous...:trout:

I suppose we pre-nursing or nursing students, we all have a fear of some sort. I am sure you will do fine. Pardon the expression, but grin and bear it. You'll get through it. :). I suppose being a mother of 2 and seeing some other pretty gross stuff, it wouldn't be that scary to me. But, we'll see how I react as well!

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Specializes in Utilization Management.
poop is part of nursing, if you don't like it then you shouldn't be a nurse.

I don't like poop, and I'm a very good nurse. ;)

Try bringing some Vick's vaporrub and dab a tiny bit on your top lip when you have to change someone with poop. It'll help.

My trick was always to take a deep breath outside the room, change the patient as fast as possible, and then take my next deep breath outside the room. I got really good at holding my breath.

Also, I would try to put myself in that person's bed. There you are, you've pooped yourself, and there's a new student making the most horrible faces at you. I'd feel pretty bad. I'd want to bless the person who could clean me up and manage to keep smiling and making small talk with me to lessen the personal embarrassment.

After awhile, you see the person under all the poop.

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I would like to thank all of you for your quick response. I appreciate the advice...I still can't wait to become a nurse and I know I'll be a damn good one:D. I would never let poop get in the way of my dreams even though it was a concern of mine because i don't know how I'll react to it...but my priority will always be to make sure the patient is comfortable. I'm sure i'll be ok and I guess I'll get used to it. By the way the vapor rub trick is something I will give a try if poop cleaning gets to be a problem :)

Of course you'll make a good nurse if you want it that badly! I used to always tell my children (and I can still see them rolling their eyes! ha), if you want something bad enough, you'll work had for it and achieve it! Now, they are telling me that since I have decided to return to school to become a nurse! Full Circle I suppose!! Good luck with everything!

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Specializes in Utilization Management.
Of course, you'll always have to wear gloves, so don't worry about it getting on your hands.

Good luck!

Not to gross anyone out or anything, but be thankful for gloves.

Back in the Dark Ages when I started (before Universal Precautions) we were not allowed to wear gloves; it was considered offensive to the patient if we didn't actually have skin to skin contact.:o

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It's funny to see this thread b/c I just finished my first semester which was on a subacute floor (basically, geriatric hip fx's all day, every day). About 6 weeks in was my first pt that I had to help with the commode. When she was done, I went to rinse it out and I thought I was going to THROW UP. :eek::barf02: The smell that came out of that little old lady was pure evil. Nothing I had ever smelled before or wish to smell again. Still gives me the chills. In fact, now I can't even smell my own "stuff" without wanting to puke.

Vick's is gonna make a ton of $$ off me....

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poop is part of nursing, if you don't like it then you shouldn't be a nurse.

I don't think so. In fact, I think something would be seriously wrong with me if I enjoyed cleaning a grown adult's behind and feces.

OP - You will probably get over your aversion to poo. I clean it on a daily basis at work. Sometimes it is just regular old poo, and sometimes it has c.diff or something else and is really yucky. I always try not to gag, etc. if it is really gross b/c that makes the pt feel bad, but you are only human. I had a fully lucid pt one time and I was gagging left and right cleaning his poo. Well, I felt really bad about it and we both ended up laughing in hysterics over it.

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I was just as worried as you when I started nursing school about the whole diaper thing and I'm just gonna be honest with ya. When someone tells you that changing an adults diaper is just like changing a baby's, they're full of it. I have changed MORE than my share of baby diapers, but when it came to my first adult I almost lost it and after all this time it hasn't really gotten any easier. Every nurse has that one "button" that sets off the gag reflex. That's normal. Here's a tip for ya though that has helped me out on many occassions. Vicks! Just get a small container of Vicks and keep it in your pocket. When you're afraid the smell might overwhelm you just step behind the door and put a little in your nose. It really does help. As for the sight of it, that is something that seems to get easier with time. So don't worry about it. Tell yourself it's no big deal. Go in with that attitude and you'll be suprised at what you can handle. Good luck!

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I'm not full of it...that's just the way I feel. I've been a CNA and I have two children so I have wiped plenty of poopy bottoms in my time.

I think it's a only a big deal if you make it out to be one.

When someone tells you that changing an adults diaper is just like changing a baby's, they're full of it.
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Ah poop. I just finished my first semester of nursing school at a geriatric facility. I'm not grossed out very easily, but I wasn't exactly thrilled about cleaning poop, but on my first day of actual clinical me and another student changed a pt.'s diaper that was quite full...ya...made me get over it since we just went in head first. Aside from introducing myself it was the first thing I really did in clinical so it made me get over any prexisting stigmas I had. I guess its just something to grin and bear. There are worse things. Oh and for those who say if you don't like poop get out of nursing...isn't it kinda weird if you like it????:uhoh3:

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