You don't feel like soap and water so I think I'll run away.....

[chicookie]

Ok, so I had this pt right who smelled horrible. It wasn't even the I'm-sick-smell, it was the I-haven't-take-a-bath since-the-day-I-was-born smell.

I usually have a pretty good stomach but this man almost made me puke it was so bad. I tried to make him take a bath but he would not take one. He refused and refused. Of course my preceptor thought it was hilarious how I tried to make him take a bath. -_- Not even my tech wanted to go in there.

I usually make mistakes and it never made me feel as bad as not being able to make this man take a bath. IT WON'T KILL YOU!?! ITS ONLY SOAP AND WATER!!

I can't think of anything else I could have done with him. Any ideas? I honestly wanted to throw a bucket of water on this man. I felt like a failure because I felt I couldn't give the best nursing care because I didn't want to be within 2 feet of the guy.

I bet it was written all over my face; every time I came out of the room, all the other nurses laughed at me....

[Pat_Pat RN]

A simple "procedural" mask will filter out some odors, plus you can coat the inside of it with Vicks to kill the rest of the smell.

And, perhaps wearing a mask in to see this patient would get them to *think* about how they smell...is using embarassment as a motivational tool any different than a treat from the snack machine?

[Iam46yearsold]

if the pt doesn't have any acute mental issues, perhaps an experienced nurse should reorient him...

meaning, that he should be told that his body odor is strong and offensive:

and also educate him on risks of bacterial contamination and subsequent infection.

of course it should be stated sensitively, but being the direct person i am, i would tend to tackle the issue head on.

leslie

Try tackling at arms length anyway, would be preferable I think. I have taken pts on stretcher to the decontamination shower room and actually hosed some off. Rather than Vicks I prefer peppermint candies

[gentlegiver, ASN, LPN, RN]

I had a LOL transfer in to my LTC from another LTC. Apparently she was terrified of the shower, from talking with her I got that at the last place they would walk into the room, lift her onto a shower chair, tie her in and force a shower on her. After 3 days at my LTC, I convinced her to enter the shower room (with her entire family in tow) to show it to her. She felt safe with her family there and spent quite some time looking around checking the room out. That night she agreed to a shower, as long as she got to hold the shower nozzle. After that we never had a problem with her talking a shower. Sometimes it's a bad memory that scares them into refusing.

[chicookie, BSN, RN]

Don't feel bad!! Silly! If the guy stinks, he stinks! There isn't a soul who wouldn't . Just see how little time the docs spend with the guy! Anyhoo, those other nurses were snickering because you were trying so very hard that's all, I am sure they thought you were cute, and meant no harm. :wink2:

Thanks that really made me feel better. :heartbeat If I were in their shoes I would laugh at me too. LOL

[truern]

I've been blessed...I've only had one patient that was truly stinky.

Nobody had addressed the problem until *I* came on...and I'm known for not tolerating nasty bodies. I simply went into his room with bath supplies and proceeded to wash him (using my secret weapon*). When everything was done except his groin area I handed him the washcloth and told him he could do it or I WOULD. He did.

*good old cheap shave cream...not stocked at my hospital so I store my own stock on top of the lockers. Good old boy scents for the guys and some nice girly stuff for the women. Not expensive...works GREAT...and I can stand to be in their rooms to give care

[leslie :-D]

once in a ltc we had this guy and the first thing out of his mouth, about anything was I KNOW MY RIGHTS

the only way we could get him to bath/shampoo was to bribe him with cigarettes or a treat out of the snack machines

yep.

bribes work too.

leslie

[vampiregirl, BSN, RN]

Kind of along the same lines as gentle giver... did you ask the gentleman why he was refusing? Sometimes we get responses that really surprise us, but can be easily accomodated or addressed?

Also, I learned this the hard way... sometimes when I've tried to "make" someone do something, they've refused simply as an issue of power. Anyone who is hospitalized or in a medical facility of any type can feel a loss of independance and resort to controlling any aspect of their lives that they can - and it some cases this is hygeine. The trick is giving them the feeling of being in control or offering choices (all options being ones that you selected).

This can be a game, but the best feeling in the world is when both parties feel like they have won (in this case a clean non-smelly patient). Good luck!

[vampiregirl, BSN, RN]

I convinced a lady in LTC to finally take a shower one evening. Without notice she grabbed the nozzle and hosed me down, head to toe. Told me that if had to take a shower, I should have to also! Talk about getting laughed at by the entire nursing staff as I dripped down the halls! However, I think it was me who was laughing the hardest - this was totally out of character for this resident, and humbled me - I thought I had won the game that night. Wrong!

[Schatzi RN CEN]

For a long time I could not figure out why a lot of my patientsdid not get a bath. Our nurse-techs do most of the hygiene tasks, and after a while I noticed they would go into a room and ask the patient if they would like to take a bath. For many patients an easy answer to that question is "NO". They are not feeling well, are sleepy, don't want to get out of bed.

I now always ask patients if they want to take their bath now or in 30 minutes, this still leaves the patient with the power to make a decision, but either choice leaves them with a bath.

[Iam46yearsold]

I like the ones who come in suffering from acute T.S.S.syndrome. That is where when you take their socks and throw them on the floor they dont collapse they continue to stand up all by themselves. Or you throw them against the wall in the corner and they stick to the wall tenaciously. Toxic Sock Syndrome. gotta love it.

[Valerie Salva, BSN, RN]

With pts who can't take a hint, I have come right out and told them "You really smell bad. You need to take a bath."

They are usually surprised to hear that they smell, and agree to bathe.

Nothing wrong with just coming out with the truth. With some pts, you need to just come right out with it for them to finally "get it."

[patrick1rn, MSN, RN, NP]

You have to respect that the patient does not want to clean up. The nurse has to be non judgemental towards the patient.

We as nurses must respect other cultures and belief systems even though they may not be our own.