The double threat

Before I went to nursing school, I knew that I had trouble handling vomit. I worked at a clinic where I encountered a lot of people vomiting, and for weeks I'd gag every time they did. I finally got desensitized to that and was able to function like a normal human being while at the clinic. Unfortunately, a lot of time passed between stopping work at the clinic and encountering more vomiting patients, and I was resensitized to vomiting. While in nursing school, I also learned that I had serious problems handling poop, and feared that I might not make it as an actual nurse because of this problem. My med/surg clinical instructor even recommended that I work on a surgical floor because "those people never poop!" Since working as a nurse, I've gotten a lot better at handling bodily fluids and excrement, but still struggle at times. Yesterday was one of those times.

I took care of a patient who has a large abdominal mass that is keeping her from digesting her food properly. At this point, she hasn't taken anything by mouth in weeks. She was supposed to go for surgery on Friday, but due to a series of mishaps, she didn't get the surgery. She did, however, get her nasogastric tube (tube going into the nose down to the stomach that sucks out all contents in patients with this problem) removed that day. She was so incredibly relieved to have it out that even when she found out that she wouldn't have the surgery, she told the doctors that she'd rather vomit than have the tube reinserted. She made it from 5pm on Friday to 3pm on Saturday without puking. At 3 though, she barfed up a bunch of green crap. My major difficulty in handling fluids like this is the requirement to measure them, which means pouring them out into a graduated containter. As if the vomit didn't smell bad enough, pouring it out really made me wretch. I gagged a few times and thought I had it under control. I was holding the container of vomit as far away from my face as possible, in the bathroom, while I ducked my head out into the hallway in an attempt to breathe fresh air. The gagging would not cease, however, and I ended up puking in my patient's garbage can. For all the problems that I've had with gagging due to gross things, this was a first. Way to go...