Smelly question

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I am very much looking forward to starting the nursing program this spring (I got my acceptance letter not too long ago). :) I have a genuine love for people and their well-being and am so thankful to FINALLY have the opporunity to pursue this goal. I am not squeemish to the sight of blood, internal organs, or even excrement.

I do, however, fear I am going to have an issue with smells. LOL I know it sounds contradictory... the SIGHT doesn't bother me at all... but the SMELLS of nursing, I am guessing, cannot be easy to deal with all the time. Can any of you experienced nurses offer any advice or relate to this? I am confident I will adapt, but am just curious of other people's experiences.

Thanks for your comments in advance!

Specializes in LTC.

Alcohol wipes.. put a bit under your nose and all you smell is alcohol.

Vicks makes a vapo-haler. Its the size of a tube of lipstick and you "snort" twice and all yucky smells are gone.

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Specializes in Med/Surg.

I guess I should be thankful my sense of smell is near extinct thanks to countless ear and sinus infections when I was younger. However certain smells still get to me. My favorite remedy is taking a good co-worker in with me. It helps to distract me. For extreme or constant offending odors I keep a migraine stick in my locker. My dad bought it for me when I started nursing school years ago. It is a rollerball that I can put under my lip smells like lavender and peppermint and blocks everything else out.

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I wish I had had these suggestions years ago. I'm about to retire, and I still get really sick at some odors... like a festering putrid decubitus, or an open cancerous ulcer. I decided to end my career here in psych nursing. Not near the odors! :D

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Specializes in ortho, hospice volunteer, psych,.
i wish i had had these suggestions years ago. i'm about to retire, and i still get really sick at some odors... like a festering putrid decubitus, or an open cancerous ulcer. i decided to end my career here in psych nursing. not near the odors! :D

but you still get that lovely half digested red wine smell on its round trip visit and that flaky crusty yuckky toe funk in psych and addictions...:eek: :barf02:

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Specializes in OB/GYN, Peds, School Nurse, DD.

Vick Vaporub will be your new best friend :yeah:

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

"My favorite remedy is taking a good co-worker in with me. It helps to distract me. "

The last code brown that I was involved in also involved my favorite male co-worker. It was one of those continuously-occurring code browns, where the end didn't seem to be in sight (if you know what I mean). We cleaned and we cleaned, sometimes catching new "occurrences" as they happened. We were on opposite sides of the bed, bent over the patient, our heads almost touching, as he said "Man, I could really use a ham sandwich right about now."

Cracked me up.

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Specializes in Gerontology, nursing education.
Vicks makes a vapo-haler. Its the size of a tube of lipstick and you "snort" twice and all yucky smells are gone.

I've seen similar inhalers at aromatherapy shops and websites. I have one filled with a stress-relieving essential oil and another with lavender. You could also dab some essential oils on your wrist but make sure that they are okay for direct skin application.

Love the comments about bionic noses. I have a nose like a animal-smiley-079.gif. Woof!

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"My favorite remedy is taking a good co-worker in with me. It helps to distract me. "

The last code brown that I was involved in also involved my favorite male co-worker. It was one of those continuously-occurring code browns, where the end didn't seem to be in sight (if you know what I mean). We cleaned and we cleaned, sometimes catching new "occurrences" as they happened. We were on opposite sides of the bed, bent over the patient, our heads almost touching, as he said "Man, I could really use a ham sandwich right about now."

Cracked me up.

HAHAHAHAHAHAH

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As a wound care nurse in LTC I have plenty of experience dealing with the smelly side of nursing! What Ive found helpful is to cool the room, either crack a window or turn the fan on low to get the air circulating. Working in a stuffy makes the smell worse. Also, be sure to blow your nose before you go into the room. The last thing you want is to be in the midst of your task and get a case of the sniffles!

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Specializes in Acute Care.

I keep a small bottle of lavender essential oil with me at all times. The stuff is fantastic at covering up odors when dabbed under the nose or the inside of a mask. Even works with c-diff and bad GI bleeds. Just don't do it within sight of the patient.

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Smells don't bother me anymore. I don't know if I'm desensitized or just manage my reaction better. The menthol cough drops are a great idea.

One day you will be able to recognize many different smells. You'll get off the elevator and automatically know there is someone with c-diff or gangrene.

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There have been a few times I have gagged and actually thought I was going to throw up over smells but the worst thing I have encountered so far (I'm just in my first semester of nursing school) was one of my residents has had this nasty cough with green and yellow sputum for MONTHS now. He has an emesis basin he keeps by his chair to spit in.

One day, I went to dump it and wash it. When I was trying to dump it, the phlem was sticking to it and FLAPPING! I nearly blew chunks for real and just thinking about that sound is grossing me out right now!

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