To ask when you're in ICU in a coma, who cleans you?

[LadyandGent]

Is it female for females?

I had a male nurse help clean me when I was in hospital. He was so kind and careful of my dignity that I would have happily requested him. Not saying that the female nurses were bad, as they weren't. except the awful jobsworth on the night shift who managed to upset all of us

I’m a children’s intensive care nurse so slightly different but not much .
If it’s an adult sized patient at least 2 nurses, if spinal or head injury 4-5 will be needed, and it could well be a doctor washing your bum as it’s all hands on deck situation. Male nurses are often needed for bigger, stronger and male patients. When you start waking up patients they can be physically very hard work. Also less male nurses and they are in high demand! So chances are you will always have 1 female nurse. We care for our patients well btw and intensive care nurses tend to be a bit possessive and picky about a patients care. I wouldn’t worry about who will be giving you a wash more who is keeping your airway safe btw! X

Really nakedscientist!! Most nurses are women! When did you work in the NHS? The 1950’s

It'd be whoever is available I'd imagine

What's your concern OP?

Are you worried OP?

Is something worrying you or is it recent media stories? I don't know a lot about it but I imagine if you have been there it can be a worry. Reassuring to hear it's usually multiple nurses so unlikely for all to be corrupt if one is like that awful recent case . I suspect UK is different to USA too.

@fromnowhere that is actually the same case, they originally reported the patient was in a coma but actually she was severely physically and mentally disabled from birth and had been in care since 3 years old

crosser62 that's lovely. I work in care and I know exactly what you mean. I love working with people with that attitude.

@Zacjosh it’s a fact that most NHS nurses are women, see this data from 2018 showing approximately 10% male nurses www.rcn.org.uk/congress/agenda/male-nurses Nakedscientist is absolutely correct

Crikey this is something I haven't thought about but it has made me worry in case I ever need care in hospital.

I'm a very private person and would HATE nurses cleaning me. The the thought of them being male is even worse I actually think I'd rather die than have that indignity. How can this be allowed without express consent when male police/security can't search females and vice versa? I would feel completely and utterly violated.

I am a very anxious person though and have a fear and hatred for medical stuff.

A question for nurses on this thread, what happens to female patients for things like leg/bikini hair ?? Are patients kept shaved or is their hair left to grow? And menstruation? What happens? Gulp.
I know these are probably nothing to most people but I could get myself completely ill worrying over stuff like this.

@crosser62 your post about proper basic loving care made me well up a bit. I'm a doctor and I can see how stretched nurses are, and how in the current NHS a lot of this is lost with the push for nurses to have degrees etc. I love that you care so much about the basics and I'm sure your care and love is hugely appreciated (hope you work in my Trust)

If you're in a coma, you're likely to have both male and female doctors, nurses and HCPs doing lots of work on you, including involvement with your genitalia and breasts if that is what's necessary to make you well and keep you alive. Who washes you is really the least of your problems.

CallMeRachel, how do you cope with male doctors?

physically and mentally disabled from birth and had been in care since 3 years old

Actually, she nearly drown at the age of 3 and the loss of oxygen to her brain resulted in her being in a chronic vegetative state, not a coma. A nurse has been arrested, but there has been no conviction as a PP stated.

No information has been released as to how he accessed the patient, so there is no reason to believe it happened while she was being cared for by said nurse, rather than he just went into the room and did whatever. This happened in a private long-term care facility, not the hospital.

OP, I'm glad your out of your coma. Unless there's something specifically wrong, I'd focus on that rather than who cared for you while you were unable to care for yourself.

You're

I can see a male GP for general stuff but I couldn't handle going to physio when I needed it as it was a male. I only went twice as I felt extremely uncomfortable and the fear of going was worse than having slipped discs in my back.

Yes I do have Anxiety.

This stuff actually really, really upsets me.

CallMeRachel We have to clean you, it’s part of basic nursing care. Plus we have to assess pressure areas for broken down skin/sores.

I'm more worried about who is going to pluck my chin hairs. I have a reciprocal agreement with my friend for this service should the need arise 😂

On the unit I work on, depending on allocation, off-duty, night-rota ect there can be, on some days/nights, 50percent split (female-male)

CallMeRachel, trust me, you really wouldn't rather die than have a caring male doctor or nurse see your bits. You really haven't got anything they haven't seen before hundreds of times.

CallMeRachel I imagine it would be more upsetting if nobody washed you

@CallMeRachel

I’m a doctor. I don’t do much personal care for myself but I sometimes help the nurses and sometimes will need to examine personal areas depending on patients’ symptoms and wishes of course.

Usually nurses would keep a male patient’s face shaved if they came in clean shaven and couldn’t do it themselves. I’ve never heard of any other hair being removed except in the emergency department where sometimes very hairy chests need to be shaved to get the ECG leads to attach.

Periods, diarrhoea, wetting yourself etc would all be cleaned up and protection used as needed (sanitary pads, incontinence pads). I’ve never heard of tampons being used unless the patient could manage it themselves.

I understand your anxiety but please remember we do this stuff every single day, it genuinely becomes just as usual to look at a patients bottom as it is to look at their face.

I suggest if you are serious about rather dying than having personal care that you get this expressly laid out in legal form and carry the paperwork with you and get it filed with your GP because if (god forbid) you were to be hit by a car and need personal care the nurses would provide it for you without a second thought rather then let you sit in dirty pants and sheets.

None of us know what is at the basis of @CallMeRachel 's anxiety so I don't think we should push her on this. I've had patients who are clearly totally terrified at the idea of having a male do an ultrasound scan for them. The anxiety is crippling for them. I never make them explain themselves, it's not my business, and they shouldn't have to. I do try and explain why the scan is necessary and if they are not able to go through with it refer them elsewhere if we don't have a female who can do it.

That said, CallMeRachel you could find yourself in this situation and because you are in a coma not be able to do anything about it. If it horrifies you so much you'd rather die it may help you to think about what would help you deal with this, potentially therapy if this might help

I was in a coma a year ago. No idea who cleaned me when I was out of it, never crossed my mind actually! Did you get a "diary"? I had one which every nurse who looked after me and my family wrote in.

When I woke up but was still out of it, female nurses cleaned me. Hair growth wise, everything went wild! I guess your family could shave your legs but I doubt the nurses would have the time. Menstruation, a pad is put between your legs, like if you've had a baby and are bleeding. Although I think it's very minimal bleeding as your body is putting its energy into other things like healing you!

I'm more worried about who is going to pluck my chin hairs. I have a reciprocal agreement with my friend for this service should the need arise

My husband has been very clearly told that he is to do the needful in this specific scenario!!!