To ask if you perform personal care in your profession..

[PennyDeadful]

Hi everyone,

Sorry to post in AIBU but it's a little bit for traffic and partly because I didn't know where else to ask

Basically my question is can you get used to doing personal care specifically the toilet aspect of it or is it something you have to already be able to do?

I'm asking because I'm doing a mental health nursing degree next year and the first year is learning all aspects of nursing including personal care which I didn't realise - I'm fully prepared to do it as it's a profession I really want to do however I have a very weak stomach even changing my toddlers nappy can be a challenge and realistically I know it's just well poo, a normal human bodily function but my gag reflex is a bit harder to convince.

I've googled it but nothing is really coming up so I thought on here they'd be nurses, carers and others who have experienced giving personal care that can offer some advice.

I am fully prepared to be told to get a grip which I know I need to do but would just like to hear people's experience.

Also I know personal care isn't all carers and nurses do but it's the aspect I'm most worried about which is why I'm asking.

Thank you

Poo just never bothered me
couldn’t to vomit though
makes me vomit
never got over it

Umm working in mental health does not by any means exclude you from dealing with toileting, personal care and clearing up all kinds of messes made by patients who are acutely unwell, inpatient or community!

It's never bothered me

I'm the one they send in when everyone else has reached their limit lol

Hopefully you'll find ways to cope

You will just get used to it, quickly - by the second or third time you’re not even noticing the poo/whatever fluids - you are just focused on the fact this is a person you are supporting to maintain their dignity and wellbeing.
If you aren’t, then you’re in the wrong job Im afraid.

Don't over think it, think off the person who needs personal care and their dignity. Masks are great for smells and hiding your facial expressions. Spray the mask with nice smell.

I'd suggest watching people do personal care and get tips from them.

Develope a good sense of humour as it helps.. especially when the lovely dementia lady hands you her poo to hold, and you mark it on the bristol stool chart.

I was uneducated when looking into it, I just didn't realise it was something you'd deal with to an extent however now I know i'm more than willing to do it which is why I'm asking for advice.

Theres so much you can do as a RMN so you could possibly avoid it if you wanted to however it's not something I want to avoid as such just needed some advice.

I worked as an HCA in a hospital and obviously did loads of personal care. I could do it cheerfully but I didn't enjoy it and I thought life's too short to do something you don't enjoy so I left and now do a job that doesn't involve coming into contact with any bodily fluids. Medical, nursing and care work truly is a vocation.

I'm an HCA on a surgical ward plus get deployed to other places. Have cleaned up wee, poo, vomit, blood, dead people, all kinds of wounds multiple times & generally have a strong stomach.
Worst recently was washing a drunk man totally covered in diarrhoea in ED. No one warned me he'd been violent with the paramedics either.
But it is satisfying to clean someone up & leave them all fresh and tidy!!

I used to do personal care for older adults. The first time I came across poo whilst I was shadowing early on in the job I had to leave the room as I thought I’d be sick. Then I immediately got used to it. You learn ways to deal with it. There were only a few people after that whose bodily eliminations really tested me. I just held my breath the best I could! You do get used to it.

It helps having to wear a mask in the hospital actually.

I'd never ever worked in any care setting before my first job as an HCA at a hospital. On my first day there had been an outbreak of stomach bugs on the ward and we literally spent 14 hours going from patient to patient, making sure that everyone was clean and comfortable. I was certainly thrown in at the deep end and just had to get on with it. Five years later I've worked my way up but I still deal with bodily fluids on a daily basis and it really doesn't bother me at all although I'd take poop over vomit any day 🤣.

You just get on with it. We all shit. Someone else’s isn’t objectively any more repulsive than mine.

I do know a few people (both caring and in childcare) who would make a huge fuss about how ‘disgusting’ things were. Like gagging if they had to clean up after a child or a client etc. I think if you’re like that don’t do it at all. Because it’s an insult to a person (even a child) and their dignity. The way I see it you’re just helping someone be comfortable. I’ve had nurses and doctors do worse for me in hospital though, so maybe I’m more in tune with the other side of it.

That's why I asked honestly I would never be like oh that's disgusting or purposely gag because that would be unfair and unprofessional on my patient but I didn't want to gag without meaning to which is why I asked for suggestions - hopefully the vix rub on the nose helps - I'm hoping that once I've done it a few times the "novelty" of it wears off and I can just get used to it if that makes sense.

I want to go into this professional to help people, I'd never want to upset anyone.

It’s hard going but you do get used to it, I do thinks, as PP have written, that when you have a patient who is wet/soiled/dirty to then clean them and make them dry, comfortable and warm and provide a fresh bed is a marvellous feeling.

My difficultly is with sputum, god it gives me the boak.
Good luck in your training.

It's something you get used to. I worked in care for a few years before training as a adult nurse, worked on a ward for a while and then ended up working in a couple of areas which didn't involve personal care or poo. When covid hit, I got redeployed to a ward and was horrified to find that my nose and gag reflex (which were never a problem before) were ultra sensitive.

Get some bank HCA shifts in before you start your degree. Give your nose time to acclimatise.

You have the plastic apron, gloves and mask which help keep distance.

I suck mints which helps with particular dire situations. Always have a few wrapped ones in my pocket. Gives me something else to focus on and a pleasant smell/taste in my nose/mouth. I occasionally get mugged or pickpocketed for them by my coworkers though 🤣.

I just focus on getting the job done and getting out, I usually have a hundred other things to do so it's just one more thing on the list now. And a nice shiny resident, who smells delightful gives a great deal of satisfaction

I'm the only member of staff who hasn't thrown up at work, you won't be alone in struggling with an aspect of the task.

Realistically, unless you have a very weak stomach (in which case you’d struggle overall) I think you’d be fine and manage not to gag. Vicks if you like (although I don’t think you’re supposed to put it on your nose) or maybe chew some gum.

I always think of it from the other side. When you’re vulnerable/ill/receiving personal care etc. How do you want people to act, how would you feel most comfortable etc. And after some time the clients become friendly with you and you know them, so you just feel like you’re helping someone you care about.

Whatever you do, don't wear a mask! I personally find the smell then attaches itself to the fabric of the mask and lingers, like it becomes then attached to you and imbedded in the mask

I can deal with most bodily functions and will happily deal with personal care, commodes, stoma’s, pressure wounds, vomit at a push but the only thing that made me gag was the mental health patient in the community that defaecated in their bath, blocked the toilet up and smeared faeces all over the bathroom. I had to clean it as I was in the community and had no one to assist me.

it wax absolutely vile, in most cases the person you support is mortified themselves and you need to be empathetic and get on with it. They do not need to see someone struggling. If you feel that strongly the. Maybe a career in a care setting is not for you.

You’ll be making Bristol Stool Scale jokes in no time 😂. You’ll be likely to have at least one placement on a dementia unit/ nursing home. The worst smell I ever smelled as a student mental health nurse (I didn’t complete my training as I think I was too young really) was the dorm room style rooms in a male secure unit 🤮.

I understand that a care setting may not be for me if I can't get it into check but I'd like to at least give it a go and hopefully some of these suggestions will make it easier - I might be making it worse than it needs to be in my head and after a few gos I'm okay - that's what I'm hoping at least but if it's something I can't do then I'll have no choice but to leave as like PPs have said, I don't want to upset any patients.

I did care for 5 years and child care for 20+ years. I have a cast iron stomach! The only thing that vaguely made my stomach churn was a poor, overweight gentleman who I went to after he'd been discharged from hospital. He obviously hadn't been cleaned properly in the three weeks he'd been in as he had thrush and open wounds in his rolls. I could smell infection as soon as I started undressing him. It was horrendous. When I had new carers shadowing I always discreetly mentioned the importance of washing and drying in between rolls of fat and areas such as under the breasts and the groin to prevent sores. Poo was a daily occurance and didn't phase me at all.

Following

I'm a paediatric nurse. Kids is fine. I really don't think I could do adults! Went to visit a friend on an adult ward last week and the noises from other patients were making me gag!

OT here rather than nurse. Toileting I can deal with; vomiting no chance. I struggle with my children when they're Ill.
In work I've had 2 children vomit on me in the last year or so. I was able to maintain some professional dignity and professionalism and didn't vomit on either of them. It was not as bad as I expected. It's amazing how much easier it is when you're there doing a job rather than emotionally engaged.