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

NewYorkGirl · Apr 7, 2008

I was so worried about the poop thing when I started school (I'm graduating in 6 weeks with my BSN, finally!) that I got hypnotherapy to help me keep my nausea at bay...

I'm starting work as a telemetry nurse on July 7th, and I'm still worried about the whole Icky factor... but when I was doing my med-surg rotation we had a patient vomit, and I went in and cleaned it up no problem... but when the patient pooped, I was gagging... my professor admitted that while poop doesn't bother her, just seeing vomit makes her gag! So everyone has "something"... another nurse i met gagged at a patient's hangnail!! LOL

I do worry about how I'll be able to handle the smells of nursing when i get pregnant....

Smckee1009, LPN · Apr 8, 2008

Poop is a part of human nature and at time you may have to deal with it in your nursing career. You may have to focus on what you are doing but allow you mind to not look as you dealing with poop. Children poop is no different than adult poop it just in bigger form at times.

chevyv, BSN, RN · Apr 11, 2008

Cleaning a person up is nothing. If you're scared of poop in that regard, wait until your emptying a colostomy bag! Honestly, it does pass and there will be lots of other things that you'll have the chance to be grossed out about. The good thing is that you will hopefully have your first with a patient who can stand so you can wipe. Then they can't see your face and you'll have a moment to compose yourself. After a few times, you'll be a pro! Good luck to you:D

labrador4122, RN · Apr 19, 2008

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 . 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:

are you scared of your own poop??

rplf29 · Apr 21, 2008

I have read many articles , comments and issues (and still ryt now) here at this ALLNURSES.COM SITE.. and because i want to know many things about Nursing.. even though im not yet a nursing student (just graduated high school)... i am reacting nursing is a stressy but FUN course. i dont mean that a poop is a fun one but im saying that when you take up nursing ... it is an on-going learning process.. You learn everyday from the people around you.. thats why i want to take this up.. I am thinking of the many uncomfortable things behing Nursing... like the poop thing... but even though it is irritating, i see it as an experience.. and by the way.. cleaning those patient's p***, will be remarkable for them you made them happy at the end of the day.. you will also be the one to make your day..

my first impression, very irritating.. but i wish to help people.. so its fine for me.. ill take that opportunity but it is better if not. hehe

im scared too. but ill try my very best to serve patients..

but first of all i like to be a good nurse someday..:)

jayzoom1 · Apr 26, 2008

Consider this from the patient's point of view.
All your life, you've been a competent human being. You got potty trained @ the appropriate age, you were a useful, productive adult, raising your own children, holding down a job, contributing to society. Now, here you are, away from your family and friends, maybe you have to be fed by someone, you don't have anything interesting to do, maybe you can't talk, hear or see very well and WORST OF ALL, you can't even control the most basic of bodily functions. You have to wear a diaper, for heaven's sake. You are totally dependent on someone else to clean you after you soil yourself, perhaps even change your clothes/bedding.
Just how humiliating is that??? Granted, some patients are not exactly "with it", and maybe even seem to enjoy "making your day", but for many, this whole business is absolutely mortifiying.
Your job, as a nurse, is to be as empathetic as possible. Reassure the patient, clean them as promptly and gently as you can (sometimes caregivers lose patience, tend to be rough, and even abusive in this poop cleaning process).
There are tricks to decrease the odor--putting Vicks Vapo-rub under your nose for example--discrete spraying (don't over-do that, esp if pt or you have resp issues like COPD and asthma), etc. Bring as many supplies as you can, and if it's a 2 person job, round 'em up. Talk to the pt while you do it, just chit-chat stuff, so that they know you recognize them as a person.
Make it a good thing; it will serve you well. Consider it a "mitzvah" as the Jewish say, a "blessing".

i think that says it all...beautiful.

Ginny Weasley · Apr 27, 2008

Wow. That sucks. Maybe you should have become a CNA first to see what it was really like. I'm a CNA and I admit it took me a LONG time to get over my fear of poop. I naturally had to because changing diapers is part of a CNA's job and we have to do it a lot. It can take awhile to get used to, especially if you're not used to the smell (lol). What I learned to do was breath through my mouth and not my nose. Remember: Incontinence is not a choice. Just think about how humiliating it is for the person. They don't choose to defecate in a diaper or in their beds on purpose.

careerchoices · May 7, 2008

I'll tell you from personal experience, it is very degrading to have someone else clean you up after an accident.

I had been the care-provider first. I earned an instant good-guy rating with the CCRN's at our hospital because I was willing to jump right in and help with patient cleanup, though they were usually nice enough to give me the "hold the patient" job.

It seemed simple to me; we could not get to my part until the nurse was done with hers, so it only made sense to help. But a lot of people did not see it that way. And who wanted to see a patient lying in feces because it was "beneath" you to get them clean? It's "beneath" the patient to lie in s***, right? That patient has it worse than you do...at least you get to wear gloves.

When I gave up on a career as an MD because my Crohn's got so much worse (I often have to wear diapers), I began to experience the role more as a patient, and it is not a fun experience. I felt sooo bad the first time I had an accident where someone else had to clean me up. But I just could not manage anything else. I was exhausted to the point that I could not even stand, and uncontrollable simultaneous vomiting and diarrhea is a terrible state.

I was grateful to the nurse for cleaning me up, but I used what little strength I had to apologize over and over. She, being a caring professional, told me (nicely) to shut up and rest...that it was no big deal. She was probably pretty grossed-out (things get disgusting with malabsorption), but was skilled enough not to show it.

The very first patient I ever saw vomited all over me. That was my introduction to medicine.

I decided either I could either get upset, or ignore it and get disgusted later when the patient was gone. I decided as she was pregnant, post-MVA and totally freaked, the last thing she needed was me showing my emotions. So I smiled and kept on with the job at hand with her dinner all over my new tie and nice clean labcoat (before I wore scrubs). Kind-of like that ER nurse did for me eight years later.

I've also encountered lab staff who give me those looks of disgust when I hand over my 24-hour-stool sample. I want to scream, "Hey, it was not fun for me either". And how many patients are nice enough not only to use sterile-catch procedures to keep the outside of the container clean, but clean-double-bag each container in ziplock bags? I'm already dying of shame carrying that into the lab, the last thing I need is some fool 10-15 years my junior trying to make me feel worse.

NurseLyla · May 13, 2008

Honestly, throughout your nursing career you will get to the point where it doesn't even phase you. You can get up in the middle of your dinner break, clean it up, and go back to eating when you are done without blinking an eye...which I often do at my job actually. My advice would be just to breathe through your mouth and don't stare at it too much. Just focus on the patient being clean for their skin integrity. They can't help it and often don't realize that it's happened. If they do realize it, they feel badly and are embarrassed. I make a point to try to make them feel as comfortable as I can and never let on that it bothers me in the least. No one wishes to be incontinent. It makes me realize how many of us take for granted such simple things as being able to go to the bathroom independently and privately. It also helps me to think about how I would want nurses and staff to behave if they were cleaning up me or a family member of mine and I behave accordingly. That's someone's precious family member. Good luck in nursing school. :nurse:

cityandcolor04 · May 16, 2008

I just finished my first year of nursing. My clinical placement was at a nursing home and the first time I had to wipe butt i got sick on the floor. soo embaressing.. this summer I was offered a position at the same nursing home and It's a joke now. I love what I do there and it only took me 2 weeks to get used to the smell.. even urine made me puke last year. it does get easier.. even though everyone told me it wouldnt. keep your head up.

chocolateheals · May 19, 2008

Well... I am also a poop dreader. This advise comes from the heart, because I have the same struggle. I have just finished nursing school (My graduation was yesterday, YAY!!!) and here is the advice I have for you as a pre-seasoned nurse.

Don't put off cleaning up poop. Sure, there's always a chance that they will go again right after you have cleaned them, but it's better for everyone if you just tackle the beast and get on with your day. If you hate poop that much, chances are you will just feel dread starting when you find out your patient has gone until it's all cleaned up. Why not just cut to the chase, spend less time dreading, and get it over with? This really took me a long time to come to terms with, but it really makes my shifts a lot better since I realized this.

Sometimes it makes me gag. I can look at poop, talk about it, whatever. I have no problems with it mentally or visually... but the smell makes me gag despite any reasoning I try. There is no mind over matter when it comes to me and the smell of fecal matter. Maybe in time I will just happen to get over it. The worst thing is that I don't want other nurses to think I'm being silly, dramatic, and unprofessional if I gag, and I don't want the patient to feel worse than they already do. Carry Burt's Bees chapstick in your scrubs pocket, and if you know that you will have to clean someone up, put some on your upper lip and maybe a little bit in your nose before you enter the pt's room. It helps.

My favorite advise is from another student. As funny and gross at it sounds, it really helps. As you are reaching out to turn the patient, wipe them, or whatever, you will be looking down and extending your arms. Discreetly sniff your armpits if the smell is really bad. Sooo stupid, but it works, and you can laugh about it in your head. Humor always helps. (Just don't smile, keep your nurse face on) :nurse:

Double gloving is also nice when you are going to be doing something dirty.

Hope this helps

wachira · Jun 5, 2008

[]I here that and i was the same during my few first days of clinicals but i was able to get over it so quick.Stand tight