That's not what that's used for!

[cracklingkraken]

Just wondering, throughout your nursing career, what things have you seen patients use incorrectly?

I thought this could be an entertaining subject. I'm not a nurse, but I always love hearing from you guys. And students as well!

[Jensmom7, BSN, RN]

My patient had the call bell shoved up her nose for oxygen

Ow.

Just...ow. 😱

[Princess Bubblegum]

My mind first went to those big call light paddles that also have the TV controls and lights and three different lights to press to call someone. And ouch.

[Jensmom7, BSN, RN]

This isn't as colorful, and one of my pet peeves. Watching people on the street pick up their walker/cane and walk. Ugh. If you are able to do that, you don't need the darn thing.

I used to think that too, until my dad developed idiopathic peripheral neuropathy.

When it's really bad, he says its like walking on pillows. Some days he starts out ok, but then it flares up the more he walks.

He carries a cane with him-when the neuropathy isn't too bad, he doesn't really need it, but if it flares while he's out, he loses his balance easily. So sometimes you would see him using his cane, sometimes he would just be holding it, just in case.

And, yes he has a permanent handicapped placard for his car, but he hates to use a handicapped spot. Says there are others much worse off than he is.

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

Can't even count how many times I've walked in to a patient room to find some well-intending visitor wiping their loved one down with the Cavi wipes.

Or cleaning up spilled juice with peri wipes.

My personal favorite was the patient trying to watch TV on the cardiac monitor.

[icuRNmaggie, BSN, RN]

Years ago I had a patient who had lice. I had the tech take him for a shower. I gave him the kwell or lindane in a medicine cup and said you have to rub this all over after your shower. When he came back to the icu i asked him

about the kwell treatment and he said. "I drank it"

Poison control thought this was hilarious and thankfully the patient was fine.

[Hygiene Queen]

My patient had the call bell shoved up her nose for oxygen

My mind first went to those big call light paddles that also have the TV controls and lights and three different lights to press to call someone. And ouch.

Ooooooof!

Actually, our call lights were but a light switch with a string attached. On the end of the string was a little plastic piece shaped like a bell. The bell merely made the string easier (not really) to find and to add some weight to the string so that it could be wrapped around a bed rail and stay. The patient would just yank the string and this flipped the switch which triggered the call light/bell.

Anyway, it was that little plastic bell-shaped piece on the string she had shoved up her nose. Not as horrific, but still makes me laugh to think of it especially when she complained her oxygen wasn't working.

[ambr46]

Just yesterday I had a patient that had his toothbrush out and was applying bacitracin ointment to it. I said where did you get that? He looked at me all puzzled and then said isnt that toothpaste?

[nrsang97, BSN, RN]

We had a confused elderly woman at the desk one night and she kept asking for a phone specifically her cordless phone so a nurse gave her a thermometer to use and she tried it. Then put it down and said it was not the right one. We have rovers that look like an iphone and she gave her one of those to use and she said that was not the right one either. It kept her busy for a little bit.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

Wow -- mine is rather tame. Blowing into the IS, which results in loud conversations along the lines of "SUCK, don't BLOW!" "Suck harder, suck harder!" And then, if we give them an acapella, it's "BLOW, don't SUCK." At change of shift, one can hear twelve nurses yelling at 12 hard of hearing patients, "SUCK! Suck, suck, suck, suck! BLOW!"

[ClearBlueOctoberSky]

Or cleaning up spilled juice with peri wipes.

The ones we have are actually quite absorbent. I keep a clean package at my cart for cleaning Resident hands and faces. The other day, one of my Residents spilled her Prune juice and I grabbed a handful to clean up with. It beat making five trips back and forth for the useless paper towels we have.

[Lev, MSN, RN, NP]

My favorites are

the confused patient trying to make a phone call with the tv remote/call button

Urinating into a drinking cup - ewww

Patients throwing large wads of tissues into the bedside commode - and they are on strict Is and Os.

[doctorwhofan]

Confused patients that think their sat probe is a cigarette. At least their doing some pulmonary toilet, right?