Vomit bothers me at home, even from my kids and dogs, but strangely not on the job. Weird.
I have the same issue, sort of. Most times at home it doesn't bother me, but if it is on the floor and still warm....gag! At work, it doesn't faze me at all.
Now, in PACU, I am grossed out by people who haven't showered before coming in for surgery. Seriously, some people are dirty and smelly, with visible dirt on them. Would it kill them to bathe or shower before coming in from home for a scheduled surgery?
Here is my favorite story of the summer: guy came in from home, had a HUGE pannis- I am not kidding this thing had to be at least 100lbs. It took two people to lift, and 4 if you needed it up for any amount of time. This thing was so big that it swallowed his member. He simply had a hole on the underside of this giant belly, and his member was somewhere up in there. I spent 2 hours trying to place a foley. This involved jimmy rigging a number of devices to help us, including a hoyer, a speculum, and a headlamp. We were unsuccessful unfortunately so this guy was admitted about a year and a half ago before I was on this particular unit, and a nurse had actually been successful, but when her hand went up she got a fistful of white gunk. Makes me shiver just remembering about it...
OMG yes I have been there. A ton of us in there working on trying to find the hole to put the foley in a man. Digging through skin and wondering if we'll find it. Very gross.
I like all the gross stuff but don't understand nurses who can't stomach this stuff. Isn't this why we became nurses to help our patient's bodily functions not endanger them..... the grosser the better that's why I am at the bedside.[/quote']
I don't think anyone ever means to gag at something gross, nor does it endanger a patient. I would LOVE to not get grossed out by anything, but if I get sputum on me while suctioning, I'm done for. And the first time I had to put a Morgan's lens on a patient's eye to flush it, I think I was more stressed out than the patient!
Give me diarrhea and vomit and nasty wounds, but please, please don't ever get your phlegm on me!
OMG yes I have been there. A ton of us in there working on trying to find the hole to put the foley in a man. Digging through skin and wondering if we'll find it. Very gross.
the obese women and their disgusting bleeding lady parts. And then u have to put a foley in that **** !
I agree with these but I cannot bring myself to click "Like"!
Specializes in Certified Med/Surg tele, and other stuff.
Chunky anything..phlegm (God Bless RT's who get sputum specimens), and people who can fill a bedside commode halfway full of poop. That get's me every time. Oh, colostomy/ileostomy.
Let's just say Mentholatum is my friend. I put it under my nose. For some reason it helps me through certain procedures that are gross, but not really smelly. I have a small jar in my work bag.
so this guy was admitted about a year and a half ago before I was on this particular unit, and a nurse had actually been successful, but when her hand went up she got a fistful of white gunk. Makes me shiver just remembering about it...
kbrn2002, ADN, RN
3,967 Posts
I have the same issue, sort of. Most times at home it doesn't bother me, but if it is on the floor and still warm....gag! At work, it doesn't faze me at all.