It goes without saying that to be a nurse, you need to have (or quickly develop) a strong stomach. But even with a stomach of steel, nursing kryptonite can leave you nauseated and gagging, even if only on the inside.
I'm only starting clinicals next semester, so granted, I still have much to see... but thus far in my life, the thing that disgusts me the most is, oddly enough, tonsil stones! How can something so small be so repulsive?
Nasty thick green sputum. My first semester we were at long term care facilities, and this particular pts trach had to be suctioned, taken out, and cleaned multiple times daily. We were cleaning it with the little pipe cleaner that comes in the kit and the very thick phlegm stuck to the pipe cleaner. We couldn't get it off, and I almost threw up. It takes everything I've got to not puke when one of the kids(in my house!) coughs something up, but doesn't spit it out. One of them will play with it in her mouth like gum. So gross!! Give me a pt with C.Diff. over that any day!
The only smell that makes me gag is nasty coffee ground vomit. Gangrenous wounds are also no picnic, but somehow they don't make me wanna lose my lunch the way the smell of nasty barf does!
I can stand pus in wounds, necrotic flesh, diarrhea, C. Diff stools, green urine (Can someone tell me the bacterium name that causes the green/blue UTI?)... Totally fine. I don't even batt an eye, but as soon as there is phlegm... OMG! *gag*
I hate that it is up to us to check the phlegm, so we have to open up the tissue that the pt coughs into and the tissue just slides around between our gloved fingers as we open it. *shudder* Uhg
If it is added to our scope up here, I am not sure how long it will take me to upgrade my knowledge for trachea suctioning.
Lumbar punctures. I'm cool with it until I see the fluid going up that tube, then I almost pass out.
My very first semester of NS, I passed out cold while "assisting" with a lumbar puncture. I've come a long way since then!
My kryptonite is the Hemoccult test. Digging around with the stick, smearing it on the card... :barf01:I literally have to talk myself out of hurling. CDiff/GI bleed stool and vomit are tied for second place.
I usually do OK, though. I do my "Darth Vader breathing" that's kind of in the back of my throat and try to smile (it really helps!).
Removing a pair of TED hose & dry, flaky skin wafting up around the patient. OMG, what if I inhaled that?! And those sores people get with MRSA, ya know, those little scabby things. Gross. I can handle pus, nasty stinky purulent wounds, emesis, poop, feet even... but those two things gross me out.
Anything to do with food chunkies. Food in dentures, or vomit, or stool, you name it, I will gag. The first time I ever gagged was when I was collecting a stool sample from a patient. It was liquid stool with food chunkies in it, and I had to use the little sppon/fork thingy that came with the bottle. Good thing I was in the patient's bathroom and they didn't hear me!
Trachs that never seem to stop oozing phlegm. My first trach patient ever was a confused man, so he couldn't even cough into a tissue, so naturally, the phlegm was everywhere.
Melena stool is bad, too. I had one particular bad night with an incontinent woman with melena stool. I changed her 4 times during the night, once or twice having to change all her bed sheets because there was so much of it.
I don't find colostomies too bad, but I hate them because I can never seem to do a clean job of it =/
:yeah:
My very first semester of NS, I passed out cold while "assisting" with a lumbar puncture. I've come a long way since then!
Heck of an RN
9 Posts
Nasty thick green sputum. My first semester we were at long term care facilities, and this particular pts trach had to be suctioned, taken out, and cleaned multiple times daily. We were cleaning it with the little pipe cleaner that comes in the kit and the very thick phlegm stuck to the pipe cleaner. We couldn't get it off, and I almost threw up. It takes everything I've got to not puke when one of the kids(in my house!) coughs something up, but doesn't spit it out. One of them will play with it in her mouth like gum. So gross!! Give me a pt with C.Diff. over that any day!