Does anyone else get slightly queasy at the sight of blood?

[PreMed86]

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Hi, I tend to get queasy if I see injuries with lots of blood. Does anyone else get this? Is it something I could ever get adjusted to? Somehow I imagine going through med school would dissolve this issue through exposure. Am I right? Thanks for your time.

 

[VPDcurt]

I'm totally fine with it. You'll be OK in due time.

 

[Cerberus]

You'll get used to it

 

[Agent Splat]

Nope. It's long-bone fractures with visible deformities that sorta freak me out a bit...broken femurs and humerus. Lower arms suck too.

 

[UCLAstudent]

If I haven't been exposed to it for awhile, I get a little queasy. You'll get used to it. 🙂

 

[Reimat]

It's one of those things that you think may make you queasy until you're in a situation with lots of real blood. I used to think it bothered me- but as an EMT, I've seen a fair amount of blood and not felt at all uncomfortable.

 

[Agent Splat]

Larger amounts of blood start to smell bad after awhile. That's kinda nasty.

 

[priyanka]

As a kid , I used to be scared of both, blood and death. More and more exposure to blood ( at my homeland) has made me inhumane maybe, I don't feel queasy any more.. Don't know if that's a good or a bad thing.

When it starts to smell bad, I start breathing through my mouth, which is a bad thing as it facilitates the entry of more microorganisms due to direct contact with saliva as opposed to the mucous and hair in the nose. Well I guess that is the reason why doctors wear mouth masks. There might be more reasons?

 

[Cerberus]

Do you get squemish when a car engine starts leaking oil? Of course not! Human bodies are machines and blood is simply a sort of "oil" which keeps that machine running.

 

[insistence]

Nope. It's long-bone fractures with visible deformities that sorta freak me out a bit...broken femurs and humerus. Lower arms suck too.

Ugh...those kind of injuries kinda bother me too. As for blood and guts, I'm completely used to it (due to my work in the OR mostly).

 

[Psycho Doctor]

Most people experience some quessiness at some time seeing blood or watching procedures or observing in the OR. I was mortified when I passed out seeing a heart transplant procedure, and then i found out most pre-med and med students have experienced something similar...so now I can laugh about it. 👍

 

[VPDcurt]

Well I guess that is the reason why doctors wear mouth masks. There might be more reasons?

Protects the patient as well. The doctor might spit, sneeze, cough, etc, into the patient during surgery but the mask prevents that.

 

[DrWorkNeverDone]

reminds me what my husband teases me about. I can stand blood, but I can't stand throw up, or rotting food. I can stand a rotting body but not rotting food...how wierd is that? Don't worry! I got use to the smell of throw up now, being in the ER for a year 🙂

 

[cfdavid]

Hi, I tend to get queasy if I see injuries with lots of blood. Does anyone else get this? Is it something I could ever get adjusted to? Somehow I imagine going through med school would dissolve this issue through exposure. Am I right? Thanks for your time.

I've passed out once while having blood drawn. I've come close other times! lol
But, I'm not worried about it. Most people get desensitized pretty quickly.

 

[DrDarwin]

Most people experience some quessiness at some time seeing blood or watching procedures or observing in the OR. I was mortified when I passed out seeing a heart transplant procedure, and then i found out most pre-med and med students have experienced something similar...so now I can laugh about it. 👍

Psycho's right 👍. I shadowed a bunch of physicians full-time for a month, and I saw a hernia repair during the second day. I was on the verge of fainting (queasy, sweaty, dizzy) when the docs told me that they were done and began sewing the patient back up. I, of course, pretended to be a tough guy and noted how interesting the procedure was, but the drops on my brow may have spoiled my facade . Anyway, I saw a procedure the next day which required some docs to essentially open a patient's entire chest lengthwise. One doc was spreading the cauterized flesh apart while the other one operated on the cardiac sphincter. I was totally unfazed and actually wanted to get a better view, which rather surprised me, considering this procedure was substantially gorier than the first. I think everyone just needs to build up a bit of tolerance to the goriness of certain procedures. But even those that are unable to do so can certainly enter less 'messy' specialties, such as dermatology, radiology, etc. The great thing about medicine is that it offers something for everyone. It is up to us to figure out which area offers the most...

 

[MedicineBird]

i can handle absolutely everything except penetrating injuries to the eye. pretty much any foreign body in the eye totally turns my stomach.

 

[45408]

i can handle absolutely everything except penetrating injuries to the eye. pretty much any foreign body in the eye totally turns my stomach.

Ha! I was just going to post this. There are a few other injuries to the eye (like blood filling up inside) that make me wince. It doesn't turn my stomach, but it makes my eyes start watering and so on.

The video of the so-called "pizza face" guy who blew off his face with a shotgun but remained alive and conscious did make me feel a bit weak though.

 

[MedicineBird]

Ha! I was just going to post this. There are a few other injuries to the eye (like blood filling up inside) that make me wince. It doesn't turn my stomach, but it makes my eyes start watering and so on.

The video of the so-called "pizza face" guy who blew off his face with a shotgun but remained alive and conscious did make me feel a bit weak though.

I never feel like I am going to vomit it's just an immediate overwhelming "Oh for the love of all that is holy! ooh oooohhhh that is WROOOONNGG!!!!!! **shudder**"" It really wiggs me out. And yet I can handle massive trauma like it's a cake walk. Totally irrational. I saw a picture of a man with a worm of sorts in his eye back when I took general micro (2000) that haunts me to this day.

 

[MizzouDrWannabe]

I get sick at the smell of blood, like others have said above (I'm glad I'm not the only one!!) but I guess you get used to it, like everyone says. Kind of like the first time you see a scary movie it makes you jump, but after awhile you expect it and you're not jumpy anymore. 🙂

 

[DrDarwin]

I saw a picture of a man with a worm of sorts in his eye back when I took general micro (2000) that haunts me to this day.

Onchocerciasis (i.e., river blindness) is an eye and skin disease caused by a worm (filaria) known scientifically as Onchocerca volvulus. Within the human body, the adult female worm (macrofilaria) produces thousands of baby or larval worms (microfilariae) which migrate in the skin and the eye. It is the world's second leading infectious cause of blindness.

 

[MedicineBird]

Onchocerciasis (i.e., river blindness) is an eye and skin disease caused by a worm (filaria) known scientifically as Onchocerca volvulus. Within the human body, the adult female worm (macrofilaria) produces thousands of baby or larval worms (microfilariae) which migrate in the skin and the eye. It is the world's second leading infectious cause of blindness.

Aren't you sweet. The picture I saw was of a larvae actually sticking out of the man's eye. I can handle rolling a guinea worm (dracunculiasis) out of a leg but I'll leave this one to you.

 

[DrDarwin]

Aren't you sweet. The picture I saw was of a larvae actually sticking out of the man's eye. I can handle rolling a guinea worm (dracunculiasis) out of a leg but I'll leave this one to you.

Thanks 😀. I actually obtained the specifics from the WHO website, but I definitely remember reading about river blindness in my intro bio class, and the accompanying pictures created an indelible image in my mind too. Even considering the mechanism of this disease grosses me out 😱.

 

[Ambs]

😱 Derm books gross me out... but blood is ok.

 

[Avenue Q]

😱 Derm books gross me out... but blood is ok.

Totally agree! Derm is the last thing I would want to do... gross skin issues and pimples, ewww.

THe smell of blood doesn't gross me out too much, but burning flesh tops my list of utterly disgusting smells.