What is your Nursing Kryptonite?

You know, your weakness ... your one "thing" that makes your stomach flip over when you see a patient with it/them/whatever. I had my first "maggot" patient recently (maggots living where they shouldn't be, you understand), and it really grossed many of my coworkers out. I was relieved to find that the maggots didn't bother me ... apparently my only Achilles heel thus far is nasty dentures, LOL -- EWWWWW.

When I was a tech, I had a nurse offer me $5 to suction a patient because sputum makes her queasy.

Specializes in Special Procedures.
Is there any legit indication for Dilaudid for emesis? Ever? Just curious.

Just asked Mr. PewpSmith (GI MD) and he said he couldn't think of a reason

Specializes in IMC, school nursing.

Eyes, I always steel myself when a kid walks into my office covering their eye. Funny thing, my pug had his eye come out of socket. My wife is also a nurse and she has this kryptonite, too. We were no more good, a whole family flipping out that this dog had popped his eye out.

I can handle any kind of bodily fluid when it comes to babies and kids, but adults not so much. With adults I can handle normal BMs, blood, puss, and urine, but I can't deal with their vomit or their diarrhea. Although I swear my ADHD meds make my sense of smell much more sensitive, because a lot of random smells have been making me queasy lately which never use to happen.

Specializes in ER.
Just asked Mr. PewpSmith (GI MD) and he said he couldn't think of a reason

There is one type of nausea Dilaudid works for. Opiate withdrawal. :nurse:

Spinal cord injuries and TBI's in young people from MVAs. I never go home thinking about something gross but I do identify with those parents whose kid was once their former selves, that always haunts me.

I thought I was the only one! My father bought himself a motorcycle when my parents got divorced because my mother would never let him have one. He got in an accident on it in his late 40s and became a higher thoracic paraplegic.

These people really haunt me too and stick with me.

Specializes in Dialysis.

Retching/vomiting. Ewwwww

Specializes in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology.
Eyes are Windows to the soul and why do we want to do gtts, or lazer, or slice into someone's soul. :nailbiting:

This is why I haven't had laser eye surgery yet (and probably never will). Eyes freak me out, too. I am pretty comfortable with everything else but any abnormality of the eye and it's subsequent treatment and I freeze up a little bit inside. :confused:

Specializes in kids.

I can handle vomit and suctioning, if I am right there helping. But if I am in the same room, and they are behind a curtain or door?

Oye!! gagging I am!!!

Another one for me is pulling out a bunch of tube feed residual and having to give it back. The smell makes me almost lose it.

Specializes in CVICU CCRN.

Ahh I always enjoy these.

I will suction all trachs, watch all wound debridements, and assist with all bedside burr holes for everyone who previously posted. I will also handle cdiff as long as a mask is handy. I'm also not afraid to mop a floor following a graphic incident should the need arise.

I need someone to provide foot care and eye care. Especially if the eyelids are stuck shut with goo or if there is a foreign object protruding at me. Eye surgeries in the OR were the nearest I've ever come to passing out. The graphic traumas? Insides on the outside? Not a flinch.

I also need someone to step up and manage blatantly manipulative families or manipulative post open heart patients who absolutely refuse to get up and participate in basic cardiac rehab or a cardiac diet. I fall short on the line of distantly firm and professional and tend to drift towards heinous drill sargent witch.

The incessant whining of a few of these types juxtaposed with my other patients who are doing everything possible to live long enough to maybe get a heart, and who are oftentimes surrounded by the nicest families in the world, really turns my crank.

I also need someone to have a word with people regarding the use of their friendly call light instead of coming to the nurses station and "hovering" for a Sprite while I'm on the phone discussing privileged information.... Like giving a full report to the on-call OR team regarding my post heart transplant who just coded.

Sorry. Long few weeks so the list may be more extensive than normal.

Specializes in ICU, Med-Surg, Float.

You know when someone has had an epistaxis but it's finished? So they're spitting out this mixture of blood, sputum and snot!! Fine with any of those substances on its own but combine them together and I'm like bleeeeurgh...

Specializes in Emergency.

Retching and copious vomiting. Used to work with a doc who would say "make that sound stop. Order what you need, i'll sign for it".

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