What is the grossest thing that's happened to you???

[PrincessAlexis]

I really want to know what is the grossest thing that has happened to you as a nurse. Has poo or vomit flung at you? I'm super curious. Thanks to all ^_^

[kbrn2002, ADN, RN]

One more BM related one. Years ago we had a little old bedbound lady whose favorite form of entertainment was rolling her bowel movements into little balls. She would line up a whole row of little turd balls and throw them at anybody entering her room. That old lady had great aim! It was a rite of passage for new employees to experience this fun. Probably wasn't very nice of us, but then if the new employee didn't think to question why everybody donned full isolation gear before going in that room I think they kind of deserved to learn that lesson the hard way.

[Ben_Dover]

First patient: That's a Turd

Second patient: No it's not!

First patient: Prove it then, here's a spoon for you to taste it. If it's not, then you win.

Second patient: Hastily grabs the spoon to taste the object and yells, "You win!"

[matcha-cat]

Yay! So glad someone asked this question. I'm wanting to get into nursing school, so I don't have anything really to contribute, but I'm excited to go through these stories and learn about some nasty situations.

[Twinmom06, ASN, APN]

elderly patient on bowel prep repainted the wall behind the toilet, the toilet itself, the floor and himself with his excrement. He then turned around and said "who's going to clean this up? It looks like a murder scene!"

[Maerzie]

I've been spit at, and had an elderly male reach for my private areas, but the actual GROSSEST thing I can remember was stopping at Penney's on my way home from work, and realizing I still had poop all over my shoes, from cleaning up after an incontinent patient. That was years ago, when I was breaking back into nursing (after years off to raise kids) by working at a nursing home. I also remember, as Charge nurse at a hospital, I was in our tiny, one person med room, all by myself, and passed gas. Immediately after, the pharmacist stepped off the elevator and brought all the prescribed IV's into that very room, as I got out of there as fast as I could. Of course, he couldn't miss the facts of the matter, but we never mentioned it to each other.

[LadyluckyRN]

While performing CPR on a pt, she was also having liquid stools that ran down the bed and splashed on my pants and sneakers. I've never seen anything like it before 😩😩😩

[maji2002]

Had a new inferior MI come back from cath lab and promptly projectile vomit all over front of my scrub top.... cut that puppy off of me instead of removing over my head. Poor guy, but I was pretty grossed out.

[maji2002]

Oh one other..... I assisted an ambulatory pt. to the rest room and waited outside. When he finished, I opened the door to help him clean up, but he had somehow managed to carpet-bomb the room with stool! Seriously, like 6 feet up on the walls and all over the bathroom! Nothing was spared! I still have no idea how in the world he managed such a task. To make matters worse, I had to tend to him, so I called housekeeping, and they told me that I should be the one to clean it up.... with what, a towel? I told them He was a priority and they finally did clean it, but good lord what a freaking mess!

[misepriss]

While giving a bath to a pt with a trach, my co-worker told me a joke. I laughed the pt coughed and the trach (oyster) went in my mouth and down the back of my throat. I couldn't even throw it up. And the second worse thing was a canister with sputum for like 3 days almost full, i went to change it not realizing it would collapse. It shot up in the air and all down the front of my head and face.....(i was a new nurse on the last story). I have more, but that's the worst thing so far.

[lhflanurseNP, APRN]

Turning a patient and being left holding one leg from knee to foot while hip and thigh rolled with patient

[emmjayy, BSN, RN]

I had to help hold a combative pt down while they inserted an IV. He retaliated by urinating everywhere on purpose. Then, while I cleaned him up, he jacked himself off while staring at me.

[Panful, LPN]

As the oncoming nurse I went with the day nurse to the patients room. The lady had radiation to her shoulder previously and had a small open wound. The other nurse said watch this. She squeezed the shoulder and thick, green drainage came out. I gagged and had to leave the room. The other nurse laughed and told others. Needless to say she could have warned me first. Collected myself and returned to the room to complete the job. Wounds don't normally gag me.