Anyone else get nausea when they see facial trauma but not other types?

[DrBowtie]

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It seems that the only time I have issues is with facial trauma.
The smell of the bone saw in ortho doesn't bother me.
Seeing someone impaled with a pole through the gut doesn't either.

But someone having a bad shiner just doesn't sit well.
Anyone else in the same boat that won't have plastics or ENT in their future?

 

[tulane06]

Anyone else get nausea when trying to memorize heme structures?

 

[gdbaby]

It seems that the only time I have issues is with facial trauma.
The smell of the bone saw in ortho doesn't bother me.
Seeing someone impaled with a pole through the gut doesn't either.

But someone having a bad shiner just doesn't sit well.
Anyone else in the same boat that won't have plastics or ENT in their future?

Agreed. I am so much better with seeing trauma anywhere but the face. I don't get nausea with a shiner, but I've seen a couple broken noses that I wish I hadn't.

 

[deleted50541]

Gunshot wounds to the face are the worst. Trying to secure an airway for those poor souls is a nightmare.

 

[drmota]

i get nausea during a catheter. real bad.
-mota

 

[ShyRem]

facial trauma? No problem. Brains outside the body? No problem. Stuff sticking out of an eyeball? No problem. Intestines not where they're s'posed to be? No problem.


Watching a toenail being pulled out --- EEEWWWWWWW! And that ripping noise that comes along with it is HORRIBLE. Absolutely gives me the willies.

 

[10yearmedic]

blood, guts and bone and all easy for me to deal with, but slimey, gooey, green sputum samples are the worst.

 

[stoic]

everyone has a few things that get to them.

you'll get over it.

and you'll also find that when it's actually your job to take care of these pts, it's not nearly as bad as when you're just watching.

 

[potato51]

Worst is when I see people who let their basal/squamous cell carcinomas go untreated and it literally eats up half their faces. Truly a ghastly sight.

 

[FictionalGirl]

ripped off toenails (half ripped the worst... i'm with you, shyrem) and vomit. I hate the sound of someone vomiting. I'm never going to be a gastro. Face trauma , though, I can deal with just fine. as long as they don't have a broken nose AND are throwing up.

 

[Saluki]

The only thing that makes me nauseated is really bad burns, especially on the face...

 

[jebus]

i get nausea during a catheter. real bad.
-mota

Ooooh. I feel that. Especially when it start bleeding when they take out the foley. Ow....

 

[Scrub MD]

For me it it the needle in the toe blocking the nerve that gets me everytime. The way it bends and goes in and out, accompanied by the person screaming bloody murder is just too much for me.

 

[DropkickMurphy]

It seems that the only time I have issues is with facial trauma.
The smell of the bone saw in ortho doesn't bother me.
Seeing someone impaled with a pole through the gut doesn't either.

But someone having a bad shiner just doesn't sit well.
Anyone else in the same boat that won't have plastics or ENT in their future?

I do the same thing Brett- despite over 8 years of experience as an EMT, I still get grossed out by facial trauma, especially if it involves the eyes. But as someone pointed out, the worst are GSW's to the face, but it's not nearly as bad (as someone else said) when you are the one trying to secure the airway- you begin to not even notice until after you hand off to someone else.

 

[QuikClot]

My experience is that most people, including me, do not have problems when they are working. As long as you stay busy, you're focused on the job. If you stand back and think about what you are seeing/hearing/smelling, that's another story.

 

[DropkickMurphy]

A perfect example of that was a case about a year into being an EMT-I I worked where the guy had blown his face off with a shotgun. I mean his whole face, everything from the angle of the mandible forward up to the level of the upper margin of the orbits was GONE. Well, not gone, but all over the floor. I got him intubated (that was a miracle since I couldn't see anything for all the blood; I even got kudos after the fact from the chief of anesthesia on securing an airway on this guy) and tried to stem the bleeding as best we could manage. It wasn't until we got to the hospital that I realized exactly how bad it was. So bad in fact that I walked outside of the trauma room and reviewed my lunch into a trash can.

 

[-Goose-]

eyes bug me out... bad 😱

 

[ShyRem]

Goose-d, my husband can't handle eye stuff either. He can't even stand to watch me put my contacts in!

 

[bootz]

eyes bug me out... bad 😱

Me too! It is high on my short-list of medical gross outs. I have no idea why either. Its not like I had some sort of traumatic eyeball experience in the past... I'm beginning to think that it is some cultural thing.

 

[-Goose-]

i worked in an outpatient surgical center this summer and one of the ORs was dedicated entirely to optho... i once thought i might consider optho as a career, but after a week, that was crossed off the list.

*shudders*

 

[deleted50541]

Me too! It is high on my short-list of medical gross outs. I have no idea why either. Its not like I had some sort of traumatic eyeball experience in the past... I'm beginning to think that it is some cultural thing.

You all ever see "Un Chien Andalou" where the woman has her eyeball sliced open with a straight razor (it was really a cow's eye)?

It was made in 1929, but it still creeps me out to this day.

 

[tulane06]

Speaking of gross-out, has anyone seen the movie Dead-Alive?

 

[deleted50541]

Speaking of gross-out, has anyone seen the movie Dead-Alive?

That movie is hilarious. The best scene is the lawn mower massacre.

Classic.

 

[robotsonic]

Damn, how is it that pre-meds have so much exposure to trauma? I'm jealous.

 

[Risa]

Damn, how is it that pre-meds have so much exposure to trauma? I'm jealous.

At least when I faint while getting used to this stuff later, you experienced people can catch me!

 

[DropkickMurphy]

A lot of us are EMT's or work in ER's. In my case, I'm a respiratory therapist, EMT-Intermediate, and echocardiographer so I've pretty much seen a little of many things and a lot of some of them 😉 .

 

[BaylorGuy]

Eyes=not cool

Facial trauma is something that definitely freaks me out, but I think i'd still be able to handle it (not sure, haven't been there)

Foleys are definitely not cool....but ehh, someone has to do it.

 

[pagemmapants]

Rhinoplasty.

That is the absolute worst.

 

[robotsonic]

A lot of us are EMT's or work in ER's. In my case, I'm a respiratory therapist, EMT-Intermediate, and echocardiographer so I've pretty much seen a little of many things and a lot of some of them 😉 .

It's cool. I'll catch up - hopefully starting surgery residency in June (as long as I match ) 😛

 

[Risa]

It's cool. I'll catch up - hopefully starting surgery residency in June (as long as I match ) 😛

Ooooh good luck robotsonic! What day is match day?

 

[DropkickMurphy]

Rhinoplasty.

That is the absolute worst.

Yeah, that's pretty bad. I've never seen one in person, but did get to see a video of one.

 

[astrife]

I think I read somewhere that one of the four basic fears that human's have is the fear of a distorted face. I couldn't tell you what the other three were, but I think I remember that one. So maybe this whole naseau over face trama is in someway related to that?

 

[DropkickMurphy]

Nah, in my case it has to do with the whole "Wow, the blood spatter from that would make Henry Lee go 'Whoever did this, he very pissed at this man.' " Seriously, you may be correct, I really don't know.

 

[mustangsally65]

facial trauma? No problem. Brains outside the body? No problem. Stuff sticking out of an eyeball? No problem. Intestines not where they're s'posed to be? No problem. Watching a toenail being pulled out --- EEEWWWWWWW! And that ripping noise that comes along with it is HORRIBLE. Absolutely gives me the willies.

Funny, because facial trauma bothers me, but I've watched my own toenails being completely removed several times and it was fascinating.

Maybe we can categorize pre-meds as either facial-traumaphobic or toenail removalphobics. 😉

For me it it the needle in the toe blocking the nerve that gets me everytime. The way it bends and goes in and out, accompanied by the person screaming bloody murder is just too much for me.

I've had toe nerve blocks probably five or six times, and I've never seen it bend. My doc pulls it out slightly and then angles it differently, but it's not bad enough to scream. It hardly hurts. It's a funny sensation, though, because you feel your toe expanding with all the liquid being injected, and it gives this stretchy feeling.

Maybe my perspective comes from the intense monthlong pain of an ingrown toenail, so having an injection in your toe isn't much in comparison. The pressure from an infected ingrown toenail immediately vanishes once the toenail is removed, so I usually look forward to having mine removed because it means the pain will stop. And I always watch, becuase it's cool. 😳

sorry if that was too graphic for anyone.