Eeeewwwwww!
Posted by WhiteCoat on April 28, 2008
Not much grosses me out.
Pus? No problem.
Sputum? Ha!
Vomit? Impervious to the smell.
When I heard this story, I literally had to take a swig of some Maalox.
There’s a patient who occasionally frequents our emergency department who recently came in for treatment. He has scars all over his body from various accidents - road rash, scrapes, cuts, etc.
Reportedly the reason his scars are so noticeable is because …
He repeatedly pulls off the scabs and eats them like friggin potato chips.
[Shudder]
[Gag]
“Hey honey! Bring home a movie and some french onion dip! I just got into another bicycle accident!”
I don’t even want to know what happens with wound infections.
April 28, 2008 at 6:42 am
Shudder/Gag is right!!
April 28, 2008 at 6:54 am
Wrong. Just wrong on so many levels.
April 28, 2008 at 7:20 am
I just threw up in my mouth a little bit…
April 28, 2008 at 7:52 am
Damn it Whitecoat, I was already queasy.
April 28, 2008 at 8:11 am
that is truly disgusting.
you ought to win an award or something just for TELLING that story. (Followed by a serious smack. JK.)
ugh.
That is gross.
April 28, 2008 at 8:22 am
omg, that is gross.
April 28, 2008 at 9:18 am
You can’t eat just one?
Once you pop, you can’t stop?
…
April 28, 2008 at 10:02 am
“Hey, what happened to all your scabs?”
“Nothing; now let me finish my Corn Flakes!”
April 28, 2008 at 10:17 am
Wow. What a way to start a Monday morning marathon blog-read….
April 28, 2008 at 10:18 am
I bet it’s all about the texture.
April 28, 2008 at 10:56 am
“I just got leprosy just for the flaky texture!”
April 28, 2008 at 12:44 pm
boogars and scabs! yummy, take along snack
April 28, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Is he also a cutter?
Hmm, not enough scabs for a full meal, better create some more.
What about the nutritional information - calories, cholesterol, vitamin C, . . . ?
April 28, 2008 at 3:10 pm
OMG! Now, I’m sick!
April 28, 2008 at 3:22 pm
Oh, that’s just YUCK!!! I, too, have an iron stomach, but that was definitely nauseating…your title is perfect!
April 28, 2008 at 3:37 pm
EWWWWW!!! that is a 10 on my weird shit-o-meter
April 28, 2008 at 4:45 pm
Wrong on sooooo many levels! That’s definitely up there on “odd things patients do”.
April 28, 2008 at 4:50 pm
Just when you thought you’ve seen it all…disgusting beyond words….
April 28, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Hey, dump ‘em in a bowl and pour a little syrup on ‘em and you got a great breakfast!
April 28, 2008 at 8:21 pm
At least they have less calories than potato chips….
April 28, 2008 at 8:33 pm
ok ummm yuck, maybe a little psych consult?
I read here every day (even though I don’t comment that often) I just wrote a post about some problems I’m noticing at work, and I would love your opinion.
April 28, 2008 at 9:12 pm
oorrgghhh… it didn’t sound so bad until texture was mentioned…
April 28, 2008 at 9:53 pm
My stomach just did a flip flop. That is a first for me!
April 29, 2008 at 12:44 am
Now if you were to put that in a novel someone would say it was far-fetched. Disgusting and far-fetched.
April 29, 2008 at 4:10 am
See what happens when gas goes up…
can’t afford gas, ride bike
can’t afford doctor, go to ER
can’t afford food….mmmmmm
April 29, 2008 at 4:16 am
Okay, that moves you to the end of my day reading. Not…the way to start off my day. Thank you very much, Whitecoat.
April 29, 2008 at 10:00 am
That does register on my Gross-o-Meter, but it’s not even in my top 5. I would never make it as a parent, let alone in the medical field, because my top two gross-outs are vomit and feces, in that order.
April 29, 2008 at 10:13 am
Am I the only person not seriously squicked by that?!
As I kid I was a horrendous scab eater, and only don’t do it as an adult because I tend not to get damaged in a way that results in scabs.
But faeces and vomit? No no no!
April 29, 2008 at 2:24 pm
I am just waiting for the consult to evaluate the guy for a positive fecal occult blood test…
April 30, 2008 at 3:37 pm
You got me. I used to pride myself on my “cast iron stomach” but that really is disgusting. Thanks!
April 30, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Really is a tough one and squeamish even reading comments. Plus it sounds so sore to do all that picking.
May 1, 2008 at 2:58 am
That really doesn’t bother me at all…is there anyone out there who hasn’t eaten a scab or two in their lives (even as a kid)? Granted, we might not be talking about huge scabs, but I have to admit I still eat (well, it’s really more like “chew”
the little scabs I get here and there. Of course I do ingest everything I can get out of my nose as well….but really, it’s a private thing, I’m very normal >). (Since I’m in the minority here I’ll give some more background- I find pus pretty disgusting, but I really get a sense of accomplishment from forcing pus out (of wherever), I really hate bad smells (maybe because I keep my nose so clean? lol), including vomit, so I normally breath through my mouth the second I think I might encounter a bad smell. Sputum and green nasal drainage sitting a bowl is pretty darn gross (I’m thinking of nasal suction in a hospital environment). I also HATE all green vegetables).
Are you trying to get me to puke?
Next time I see ScabBoy in the ED, I’m whipping out a head of broccoli to see if it’s you.
May 1, 2008 at 11:27 pm
Oh, that’s nothing.
One of my first patients as a intern was a guy who came in with a facial abscess, which turned out to be a severely necrotic tumor that had eroded through his mandible and cheek. He had mets to the brain and was severely demented, and everyday when I walked in there, he was sitting there, picking at the creamy tissue — and then eating it. I’ve never been so grossed out in my entire life.
May 30, 2008 at 9:49 am
This got me to thinking about our lovely community-acquired MRSA problem, and all the surveillance nasal swabs done and the treatment, prophylactic and otherwise, for “nasal carriage.” I wonder truly how much is incidental and environmental contamination, and how many patients and healthcare workers have carriage from picking their noses (bad enough) - and even better - without washing their hands!
Picking the nose after wiping the buttocks.
That, my friend, will be the cause of the most virulent strain of VRE we have ever seen.