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 Cardiac Care.

For me, it's suctioning trachs. Everything else, I can do almost automatically and not think anything about it afterwards. Suctioning trachs requires deep breathing beforehand, intense focus and images of a happy place. I don't know why...

Specializes in PeriOperative.

Toddlers being anesthetized (especially induction/emergence). Everyone is helpless during this part, but when it's a toddler crying for "mommy," I just can't take it.

I also have an unrelenting desire to crawl under the drapes and change their diapers during the procedure...

But smells, fluids, broken bones, you name it, I'm good with it. Just not toddlers.

For me, it's suctioning trachs. Everything else, I can do almost automatically and not think anything about it afterwards. Suctioning trachs requires deep breathing beforehand, intense focus and images of a happy place. I don't know why...

bawahahaha! me too! oh god me too!

I haven't experienced much as I'm still a student, but I've been in healthcare almost 10 years now. I'll trade you a fake eyeball any day to not deal with sputum!

I can't stand phlegm. Ugh!! Makes me gag every time.

The only time I came close to vomiting in front of a patient was about a year ago when I was pregnant and I had a non-compliant diabetic patient that had some toes and most of his foot amputated. He had his great toe and his pinkie toe, but the middle 3 were gone and about halfway down his foot had been taken away. (I still to this day can't imagine why they didn't just remove the whole foot.) Of course he had dressing changes and packing ordered q4hr. When I removed the dressing and the packing, the smell and the sight of all that purulent drainage just about knocked me out. I was about halfway through and I started to get dizzy and really nauseated. I left the room and threw up in the employee bathroom, regained my composure and went back to finish the dressing. I told the patient that I had to go to the supply room to get a different kind of tape. I felt so bad, but I figured that was better than falling over onto the patient's floor.

I can handle just about anything except someone vomitting...If I'm witnessing it, the sound makes me want to hurl..but I can say I have never vomitted because of it.

Specializes in ER, NICU.

This was a two-fer, phlegmy trach combined with black hairy tongue. The patient loved to do the trach cough when you were in sputum range. :eek:

Specializes in Emergency Room, Step-down Unit.

GI Bleeds. Specifically lower GI bleeds. I can do almost anything else, and working urban EMS, I've seen most of the bugs living where they shouldn't be and such type patients. Dealt with plenty of codes and patients vomiting, sometimes on me. But the one thing that will push me right out of the room is a bad lower GI bleed. Blood and poop are two smells that just shouldn't be smelled together!

Yep I agree same for me yeast infection on skin folds, chunky plaque on teeth, and those big scabs hanging on strigs, just want to yank them off

Specializes in 1 PACU,11 ICU, 9 ER.

I agree with the coughing nasty fulmanating trachs!

People coughing up big balls of sputum into trash cans from at least 2 ft away!

Toes, fingers and bones. And smegma when you go to do a male foley and behind the foreskin looks like french cheese...yuk...

Specializes in Emergency Medicine.

Women and their "squishy parts".

Whatever seems to be going on down there from bleeding, funky smells, discharge, or birthin' babies...

I'm stayin' OUT.

Squishy Parts... eeeew! Just eeeew!

When someone's hawking huge disgusting phlegmy globs of sputum...that sound....uuuuuuugggggghhhhh.....and of course it KILLS me when they happen to do it when you're in the most vulnerable position...like listening to breath sounds...and they turn TOWARDS you to cough... I know you're sick but C'MON!!! eewwwwwwwww....

Anyone had to disimpact a patient? That's REAL fun. Only time I almost vomited in a patient's room... Oh this is funny...1st time: Had one of our doc's mom as a patient...(with severe dementia)... Received order to disimpact her...Dr. Son comes by to check on her, unfortunately for him his timing was during the "intervention"...And I needed help...hee hee hee. So he's in the room with mom talking me through the procedure while she is yelling profanities, and he ended up needing to step in b/c I was unable to loosen any stool (poor thing was severely impacted). Had to disimpact his own mom. He swore me to secrecy afterwards b/c his colleagues would never leave him alone if they knew!

Worst was the impacted 320lb DM, ESRD bilateral AKA. That moment really made me question if I was in the right profession, as I was dry heaving behind her under my mask.....uuuuuuuugggggghhhhhhh.......

Specializes in PACU, OR.

Eye surgery-I cringe.

Lice-I start itching all over, as I imagine those tiny legs skittering over my skin.

Recovering someone with dirty Dreadlocks (not only do they smell, they might also harbor lice...)

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