Things that make you go "EEEWWW"

Nurses General Nursing

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

Stevielynn's thread about the nursing home with the signs on the food carts brings up (oops, no pun intended:D ) something that happened at work yesterday that turned even MY cast-iron stomach. I was the PRN helping with admits, and as I was charting vitals on one new pt., this lady came running up to me holding a patient gown literally dripping with fresh emesis and hollering that her mother was throwing up, and would I come quickly?

I followed her to the patient's room (even after she refused to give me the gown so I could deposit it in the linen barrel and NOT have a trail of slightly used vegetable soup running down the hall) and found a very confused elderly woman sitting up in bed, naked, with vomit EVERYWHERE--all over the bed, on the floor, even in her hair. Worse yet, she was just about to start eating again, apparently having already forgotten being sick, and seemingly unaware of the fact that she'd baptized the tray along with everything else!!

Well, it was all I could do to hang onto my own supper, and I had no choice but to deal with it alone because even the aides were too busy with vitals on the fresh post-ops we'd just gotten. Half an hour later I emerged from the room, smelling ghastly and feeling somewhat under the weather, but by gosh that little lady was nice and clean and her daughter pleased as punch with the service. At least I got a thank-you out of it.....but I hope I don't have to deal with anything like that again any time soon.:eek:

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

A patient last night was admitted to our floor with nasea and extreme abdominal pain. She finally threw up when she got to her room. her last meal was apparently spagetti, and she's not the type to chew her food 25 times before swallowing. Looked like a worm puddle in the bathroom.

I miss a whallop of an incident last night evidently. Someone had apparently had a bowel movement, and "painted" it all over the walls, the bed, the nightstand, the phone, the floor, the bedside table, the chair, and finally decorated the bathroom walls and floor. The room was so messed up it was just easier to move her to another room than it was to clean it all up and get her settled in the same room.

I have a strong stomach but that one would have made me think twice about holding on to dinner.

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Specializes in ICU.

sometimes i think there shoudl be a warning pop-up as you sign onto this bb.

warning to all non-nurses!! do not read any thread with the words gross, yuckky, disgusting or eeeeuuuwww, in the title!!:rotfl:

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

Yanno I remember an incident with a horrendous GI bleed (yea a very messy one) when floating to ICU once.....

made you wonder how much blood a body can lose at one time and how far it flies....

It convinced me I am not an ICU nurse, let us just say. It was without doubt the most horrendous, bloody and stinky thing I have ever witnessed. YEWWWWWWWWWW.

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Wow, y'all are amusing me, but also scaring me! What am I getting myself into?!:eek: :chuckle :roll

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Specializes in Everything except surgery.
originally posted by gwenith

sometimes i think there shoudl be a warning pop-up as you sign onto this bb.

warning to all non-nurses!! do not read any thread with the words gross, yuckky, disgusting or eeeeuuuwww, in the title!!:rotfl:

\

:rotfl: :roll :rotfl: :roll ...

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Specializes in Step down, ICU, ER, PACU, Amb. Surg.

I am sitting here, belly laughing because I am having flash backs of all the "fun stuff" I used to have to deal with when i worked in the civilian sector of life. However, I discovered that i am getting older and my cast iron stomach is getting weak when I had the opportunity to watch a chest tube being placed. I t had been a while since I had seen one so I thought i would watch and when the surgeon punched through the chest wall my stomach did flips......of course tere was the very cool WHOOOSH! as the air from a spontaneous pneumo rushed out (it took out almost 70% of the healthy 21 yr old's lung) so that took the edge off the queasies......but I guess the older and more experienced one gets the softer and queasier one gets......:rotfl:

Gwenith,

I love your idea about the pop up! Very appropro

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The worst case I ever had of the creeps was when I assited with my first vasectomy. I swear, when the initial incision was made the room started to spin! :uhoh3: Way too much empathy I guess....

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

UntamedSpirit.....I'm older than you, so I hope that's not the case...Your post brought back memories of nursing school (not ALL that long ago, really) when all of us---young and old---would try to out-gross each other with stories from clinicals. It was a sort of unofficial contest to see how "tough" we were, how much blood, snot, puke etc. we could handle....Unfortunately, we often did this at lunchtime, in the cafeteria and much to the disgust of anyone sitting within earshot! One time a woman looked at us and said, "Hey, I'm EATING here", and one student replied brightly, "So are we!".

I'm still pretty tolerant of the various sights, sounds, and odoriferous emanations we deal with in nursing (with the exception of dentures---ICK), but that episode a couple of days ago almost did me in. Maybe I AM getting too old and experienced......!:uhoh3:

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Specializes in MS Home Health.

Blue eyes I agree the smell of a GI bleed is gross.

renerian

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

I think so too....GI bleeds are the worst! The smell stays on your clothes, in your hair, even on your skin, and if you don't take a shower and toss your scrubs in the washer the instant you walk in the front door, it haunts your dreams....BLEEECCCHH!

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

yea it was the worst thing ever.

no warning from the nurses was enough. i could hardly stand it. you could smell it all the way down the hall.

the ICU nurses were used to it; even eating lunch on the unit while the smell pervaded. it was a wee bit much for me, however.

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