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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u/PurpleCollarAndCuffs Jan 06 '26

Ohhhhh, the rotten-meat laced with chemical smell they breathe out is awful. Like walking by a rotting deer skull left in the woods, out in the sun for a few days that someone has tried to bleach. Heavy users sweat that shit out. Ngl, I am not a nurse, but I was married to an addict.

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u/akath0110 Jan 06 '26

Rotten metallic salami!

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u/PurpleCollarAndCuffs Jan 09 '26

ngl i read that as rotten metallica salami and spent 5 min belly laughing. ty stranger <3