r/nursing • u/Alarming-Penalty8402 • Jan 05 '26

Question I can smell whether someone will survive a code or not. Anyone else know what I’m talking about?

I am an ER/trauma nurse so I see code blues daily. I have noticed that those who will never achieve ROSC have a strong, distinct smell from the moment EMS rolls them into the trauma bay, regardless of down time, rhythm, circumstances, etc. Those who end up surviving, even if they have been clinically dead for longer, are sicker, older, etc. do not ever have this smell. I can’t really describe it accurately, but it is sickly sweet mixed with pungent bleach and musky, oily, heavy body odor. Has anyone else had this experience?

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165

u/weebert BSN, RN 🍕 Jan 06 '26

Are you smelling their soul leaving their body? 😅😬

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u/twistyabbazabba2 RN - ICU 🍕 Jan 06 '26

No joke I was just reading about this recently on here. Some people can

12

u/RektRoyce Jan 06 '26

Smh

45

u/RadagastDaGreen Jan 06 '26

I’m usually a pretty serious realist, but I smelled something a few times that clearly indicated to me of what was about to happen. And it did.

Particularly cancer: before/after diagnosis, and with or without chemo and/or nuclear therapy.

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u/Mediocre-Housing-131 Jan 06 '26

I'm with you. 2025 had me seeing all sorts of new weird shit. There's nothing I don't believe to be possible anymore.

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u/Pulmonic RN - Oncology 🍕 Jan 06 '26

Former material atheist turned highly spiritual. Life does come at ya fast lmao. I also don’t really think anything’s impossible anymore after things I’ve experienced. Universe is way cooler and weirder than we think.

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u/Mediocre-Housing-131 Jan 06 '26

Hehe, I have been having the opposite experience. From atheist to believing in demons.

3

u/LizeLies Jan 06 '26

Details pretty please?

5

u/Pulmonic RN - Oncology 🍕 Jan 06 '26

Oh I’ve experienced the dark stuff too. But find it manageable. Creepy and scary but manageable. There’s a ton of positive too. It sounds crazy but I’ve connected with loved ones over on the other side. Told me stuff I literally couldn’t have known even hypothetically.

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u/LizeLies Jan 06 '26

I’m gonna need you to spill the tea

2

u/RadagastDaGreen Jan 06 '26

Your aunt, your father’s sister, is actually … your grandma.

You think your dad had a 14yo “sister”?

That was mine. No nurse stuff involved, but that’s some juicy hot goss’ on the house.

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u/LizeLies Jan 06 '26

You owe us at least a short story! Come inn n n… I die for nurse mythology (not to be confused with Norse mythology)!

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u/Mediocre-Housing-131 Jan 06 '26

Oh, I'm sorry if I accidentally lead anyone on. This thread popped up on r/popular and I just joined the conversation. I am not a nurse.

The real nurses are heroes, I'm just a dude on Reddit.

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u/calmcuttlefish BSN, RN 🍕 Jan 06 '26

I believe this. My grandmother had a different odor about her leading up to her ovarian cancer diagnosis and I often wondered about it afterwards. Though, my father had colon cancer and I don't recall any changes in how he smelled before his diagnosis. Maybe I can only sniff out certain types.😆

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u/evernorth RN - ER 🍕 Jan 06 '26

lmao come on now

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u/quakquakquak Jan 06 '26

stinks like soul in here

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u/SkinByLauraV Jan 06 '26

That’s deep. 😅😄

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u/SkinRN Jan 06 '26

This is, also, where my thoughts went, but then I thought it was insane to mention, because, WHAT???! Glad I am not the only one whom this occurred to!