What nurse life-hacks do you have to offer?

[Purple_roses]

One day I forgot to apply deodorant, and I realized this a few hours into a twelve hour shift. This is how I discovered that hand sanitizer will serve as a decent deodorant in such cases of stinky emergency.

I also discovered that using essential oil underneath the nose helps when you have to deal with something that smells really bad. Usually the go-to is Vicks, but some people are allergic to this. Maybe essential oil will help you?

What hacks have you discovered?

[la_chica_suerte85, BSN, RN]

Alcohol swabs under the nose for a whiff or two can reduce nausea.

Hmmm...I'll have to try that one. I like it for sinus pain but I never thought about nausea.

[ScrappytheCoco]

A cup or coffee filter filled with dry coffee is excellent for dispelling post code brown smells.

A COB PACU nurse taught me that a cold rag filled with ice pressed behind the pt's ears reduces nausea and vomiting. Win!

[calivianya, BSN, RN]

Pinch the tubing between your thumb and second joint of index finger. Then quickly wind the patient side tubing around your index finger on top of itself. Pull it tight as you wind. If you do this correctly, the tubing will be pulled/squeezed flat and will flush about a ml through the IV catheter.

I do this for drips that I didn't get to quite quickly enough and the fluid level dropped just a hair below the drip chamber. Will save you getting a syringe to pull that air out. Just spike a new bag, squeeze the chamber so there's some fluid in it, and wind that air right out of the line back into the drip chamber.

Alcohol swabs will also get permanent marker off of a lot of surfaces.

[icuRNmaggie, BSN, RN]

Confused patients who refuse mouth care sometimes will cooperate if you dampen the swab with ginger ale.

An elderly confused person who refuses oxygen by nasal cannula or mask but needs a little supplemental oxygen and humidity may tolerate blow by. Use a coolmist humidity bottle with blue corrugated tubing and oxygen at 10 lpm. Tape the corrugated tubing to the bedrail directing the mist in the patients direction. Let your RT and MD know if you change the oxygen delivery system.

This may sound very strange but it works for those confused elderly male patients with urinary problems. Place a newborn diaper around the member. They will hold it there and go right to sleep.

[Twinmom06, ASN, APN]

Clear plastic transpore tape makes a fabulous foam sword fix....

[icuRNmaggie, BSN, RN]

This is an ICU hack for an intubated septic patient with an extremely high fever not responsive to ibuprofen, acetominophen and antibiotics who needs to be cooled actively and the hospital does not have an artic sun.

Place a sheet in cold water and wring it out. Use hemostats to attach it to the upper bedrails. Attach the bottom of the sheet to a fan on low at the foot of the bed creating a wind tunnel effect.

This is really a desperation move for when the fever is creeping up to 105 and the patient might seize

and you need to get that temp down quickly. This cooling method is only for short term use and for when you have continuous temp monitoring.

Another hack: the rectal temp probe can be placed in the axilla and secured with a biocclusive if you dont have foley temp probe catheters and rectal temps are not an option.

[calivianya, BSN, RN]

This is an ICU hack for an intubated septic patient with an extremely high fever not responsive to ibuprofen, acetominophen and antibiotics who needs to be cooled actively and the hospital does not have an artic sun.

Place a sheet in cold water and wring it out. Use hemostats to attach it to the upper bedrails. Attach the bottom of the sheet to a fan on low at the foot of the bed.

This is really a desperation move for when the fever is creeping up to 105 and the patient might seize and you need to get that temp down quickly.

They only let us use the arctic suns for patients on therapeutic hypothermia post arrest. If we need a cooling blanket for fever, we have to order it from central supply and it may or may not get there in the next few days. How I feel about this would have to be a big long string of asterisks if I were to actually articulate it here. Especially when we have no cooling blankets available but there are four arctic suns sitting in the supply room unused.

I just put ice in my bath basin, bathe with ice water, leave the patient dripping wet, and then turn a fan on high while leaving ice packs (ice inside of specimen bags, of course, we don't have the real thing) in the pits and groin, as well as sticking my IVF in the freezer for a bit before use. If the patient has free water flushes, ice water is good for that, too.

[springchick1, ADN, RN]

When you're scrubbed in and you have sweat dripping down your back because it's so hot, have the circulator rub a little alcohol across the back of your neck and even your forehead. It will help cool you down!

[AlphaM]

Copy and paste other nurse's notes just kidding:D ALWAYS keep a second uniform in your car for emergencies!!!!!!

[icuRNmaggie, BSN, RN]

Soak really stinky feet in sage shampoo caps and wet with sodium bicarb bristojets- or just use plain baking soda.

[Wrench Party]

A cup or coffee filter filled with dry coffee is excellent for dispelling post code brown smells.

A COB PACU nurse taught me that a cold rag filled with ice pressed behind the pt's ears reduces nausea and vomiting. Win!

I like to use a coldpack wrapped in a paper cover in this position to help those patients who are nauseous in PACU.

Sometimes a mint or cough drop can provide enough of a smell to help distract the brain from vomiting, so I let some patients smell it under their nostrils.

Anyone have any lifehacks for keeping down PO meds on nauseous patients, besides them taking them with some crackers and a little juice or ginger ale?

[icuRNmaggie, BSN, RN]

Sometimes the only thing a gastroparesis pt or hyperemesis pt can tolerate is sips of spearmint tea.