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.

Trachs. And suctioning anything. That noise!! I can usually do ok unless something thick clogs it up, then I'm gagging! When I worked in the hospital, I would trade putting in Foleys (strangely, one of my favorite things to do) for someone else to go suction my patient!

*raises my hand*

I'll do both for you. :blink:

Specializes in Urology, HH, med/Surg.
I know how important it is, and I just suck it up and do it, but I really have a strong aversion to mouth care.

Especially when it's a vent patient that hasn't been done for a while.. You know, the glob stuck to the suction swab that just strrretttches out :dead:

I know exactly what you mean, I have nightmares about it!

I get my hand in there with a gauze over my glove and dig. I'll do that, too. Just someone, please, for the love of all that is holy, trade off for my colostomies!

Me! Me!

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.

Aahahahahaaaaaa!!!

Yeah, I couldn't eat beef anymore after working in L and D.

Specializes in Emergency.
Was working in the ER when a burn victim came in. Third degree over at least 50% of her body.

To me it smelled just like fried pork. I couldn't eat any meat for awhile after that one.

Long pig. The other other white meat.

Faecal incontinence...>blerk

I remember having to straight cath a lady whose uterus lay on the bed between her legs. She would just shove it back in most the time and was waiting for insurance to approve a hysterectomy (??)Ya a bit of kryptonite there.......

Did she miter the corners?

Specializes in Hospice.
I have a weird phobia about fingernails. After a bad experience involving cleaning feces from under a patients fingernails (very tricky task), I always get grossed out when I see dirty fingernails. Really long fingernails creep me out too.

Really long fingernails on guys give me the jeebies.

You guys are hilarious. I am still a new nurse, but already have a few. I don't mind foley insertion that much, but when it is for a woman with excessive skin and I am literally searching and can't find it then I get a little nauseous.

I am getting better with ostomies. I find it helpful to have extra pairs of gloves on as well as a mask. As for obese patients, that is a whole other level of annoyance. There are those that are somewhat helpful, but the ones that still have functioning legs and don't even bother assisting with moving when being cleaned bothers me.

Ewwww, just thought of another one: Pannus yeast! :eek:

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
Did she miter the corners?
Hmmm, nope, but the potato she used as a pessary was not too yummy.......................see my avatar

Specializes in clinic, ortho/neuro, trauma, college.
Not much in life bothers me but when turd-matter has crustified between the ball-sack of an old man for weeks on end it can be pretty rough. Especially if your the first to lift the flood-gate and the roaring river of analscrotum comes rushing to your nostrils.

First time that happened to me I visualized Lex Luthor stabbing me in the ribs with that crystal of kryptonite on super man returns (otherwise that movie sucked)

"Roaring river of analscrotum" would make an awesome band name. Just sayin'.

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