Saturday, May 9, 2009

Loud talkers and white froth

I had this patient last night, who only has one volume - loud!

It's alright when he is talking to you and it's noon, or 3 p.m. but when he is yelling at 2 in the morning as I try to quietly wake him up to do his vital signs, it gets to be a little much.

I asked his roomate if he would like to change rooms. He said not to worry about it, he would have to stop sooner or later.
At one particular point, the patient was talking on his cell phone to his son. He was requesting that his kid bring him in an item from home. From across the curtain, all that I kept on hearing was "It's on my night stand. Bring me a package. A pack. A pack will do..."

The quiet patient with whom I was talking to, motioned for me to lean closer.
He whispered "Do you want to know what he wants his son to bring? Ear plugs."

I guess the loud talking grinds on his own gears after a while.


I really grosses me out when a person is talking to you, and they have that little bit of white froth in the corners of their mouth. It's even worse when it gets so thick that it actually spans out from one lip to another while they are speaking.
I had an instructor in Nursing school who had this problem. My eyes would be drawn to it like a moth to a flame, and you would think that if a person were staring at your mouth the entire time, that you would maybe wipe that shit with a napkin or something.

On that note, have a happy Mother's day tomorrow. Give your moms a kiss, and check for the froth.

2 comments:

Rock Chef said...

One time my daughter was in hospital there was one woman who moaned about the noise all the time - she was the one talking too loud, snoring and farting in her sleep!

Unknown said...

I sit next to a lady at work who has the same volume. It's always at 11!!!

Whether she is on the phone with a member or discussing a very personal matter which may or may not include the words "urine" and "sample", she uses the same volume!