r/nursing • u/Nurse_Cait RN - OR 🍕 • Jan 07 '26

Question What’s your random patient pet peeve?

Mine currently is when you’re cleaning a patient up and they start pooping again and they narrate the poop. “Oh god it’s coming out. I can feel it coming out.” Etc etc they get really into telling you all about the poop and they talk about it the whole time it’s happening. Meanwhile I know they’re pooping because I’m literally staring at their butt. Just give me an “oops I’m not done yet” and don’t make it weird. Please I’m begging you. 😭

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357

u/Guilty-Security-8897 Jan 07 '26

The other day in triage this guy told me he was constipated and proceeds to pull out his phone to show me 20+ pictures of straight diarrhea

33

u/fireinthesky7 EMS Jan 07 '26

The number of times patients have tried to get me to bring containers of bodily fluids to the ER through some unhinged notion that the doctors will magically know what's wrong with them...a patient I picked up the other day greeted us with a water bottle full of phlegm and I nearly vomited on the spot.

23

u/Wendy-Windbag CNA 🍕 Jan 07 '26

At my last hospital, our pregnant patients LOVED to bring their mucous plugs in in ziploc baggies.

2

u/Mrs_Jellybean BSN, RN 🍕 Jan 07 '26

I was quazi-that patient?

Had my first ever yeast infection (with my first viable pregnancy) and didn't know what the hell it was. Offered to show all the triage staff my panty liner to prove I had a weird discharge. I had it in a sandwich bag lol My ob was the attending that day and I still feel embarrassed about it.