Squeamish...

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I'll get straight to the point, I've never done well with foul smells, or vomit. I recognize that this is a huge issue and I'm looking for some advice. Have you ever felt this way? If so, how did you overcome it? How far into the program were you when you realized that you were finally comfortable with it?

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I've actually never faced this problem. While I certainly find these smells unpleasant, it's not to the point where I feel like I'm going to be sick. I used to participate in a summer program where we got to do dissections on animal parts, which I found fascinating. However, I have heard that after being exposed to these things for a time period, you become conditioned to it and no longer feel that anxiety and disgust that makes you ill. Make sure there's someone there to catch you on your first day if you feel faint, though! A cracked skull on the first day is not the impression you want to make.

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Haha, noted. I'm hoping that my fascination with the science behind the smells and vomit will overpower the uneasy feeling I have about it all.

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Specializes in Geriatrics.

I can't do smells and if it really gross and I have to touch it. I'm just grateful I have gloves on lol I breathe through my mouth and think happy thoughts when cleaning s**t or other bodily fluids. At the end of the day the patients probably more uncomfortable than you.

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I have a sensitive nose too! Bad smells actually make me start gagging. I mean real, trying so hard not to puke gagging. It's not just me being like, ew,, gross, don't wanna touch that. It's like a sensory thing I haven't figured out how to control yet. I'm hoping practice will desensitize me, but I'm also considering keeping some Vicks handy just in case I need a break in period.

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Specializes in Geriatrics.

Lol yea I heard that Vicks in a mask works

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Yes! So happy to hear that.

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Specializes in Emergency Department.

There are some odors that can pretty much cause me to retch for quite a bit. Those odors are, fortunately, few and far between... That being said, there are some seriously foul odors that don't bother me too much as I've gotten used to them over the years. In the past, I have used Vicks or pretty much any peppermint odor in a mask to dampen the most seriously horrible odors. In time, most people can accommodate to the odors and will do just fine, "fine" meaning no longer retching...

This is something we all have to deal with at some point. Those of us that have had kids remember the transition to solid food... and that's a very similar experience dealing with that odor and changing diapers.

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So vomit doesn't bother any of you? Am I alone on that one?

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So vomit doesn't bother any of you? Am I alone on that one?

Not alone at all. That was my biggest hurdle of parenting. I became a nurse after I had several pukeatoriums in my house (four kids with a stomach bug is no fun for anyone) so it doesn't bother me as badly anymore. Like Akulahawk said, you do get to the point where you're not gagging and retching. Peppermint oil is always a good thing.

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Can't do vomit and c-diff smell...OMG!!! I've been doing this for a while now and I still can't get past it! I eat peppermints a lot at work to help with the unpleasant smells!!

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Specializes in Neuro, Telemetry.

You are not alone and I am still figuring out how to deal. I keep forgetting to bring my peppermint eucalyptus ointment (natural version of vicks). But I have gagged and almost vomited a few times. Its not so much the smell, but the smell combined with sight. One example, I was cleaning a resident who messed her briefs. I was wiping and the poo on the wipes would just never end. I was mouth breathing to avoid gagging from the smell (the lady was dying any day and had a particular smell to her feces), and I pulled one butt cheek back to see her push one more mushy poo out and the smell with the sight had me retching. The the saliva trying to drip out of your mouth kind of retching. I felt terrible that it was in front of a resident but luckily she was pretty much unresponsive and hopefully didn't notice.

Another time I was assisting wiping a resident after she finished having a diarrhea BM in the toilet. The site and smell of what was in the toilet did me in while I was cleaning her behind.

I have found that if I feel that ick feeling coming, I just turn my head a bit so Im not staring directly into the residents face and if I gag a little, they don't see it. I don't want them to feel bad because they cant help it. GL

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