What If I Can’t Deal With Poo?
A Realistic Guide to Bodily Fluids for Student Nurses
5 min read • Placement • Updated June 2026
Almost every student nurse worries about it before placement.
Poo. And vomit. And sputum. And infected wounds. And “mystery fluids” you sincerely hope are water.
If you’ve ever thought:
“What if I gag?”
“What if I can’t do it?”
“What if everyone else handles it better than me?”
…you are extremely normal.
The First Exposure Is Usually the Hardest
Your first:
explosive diarrhoea cleanup
melena stool
full vomit bowl
tracheostomy suction
necrotic smell
can genuinely shock you.
That doesn’t mean you’re weak. It means you’re human.
Healthcare exposes people to things the average person never sees.
At first your brain screams: “THIS IS HORRIFYING.”
Then eventually your brain changes to: “This person needs help.”
You Usually Adapt Faster Than You Expect
And once your focus shifts to patient care, the “gross factor” often decreases dramatically.
Experienced nurses usually aren’t magically immune to bodily fluids. They’re focused on preserving dignity, keeping the patient comfortable, and assessing what the fluid means clinically.
Practical Things That Actually Help
1. Don’t Look at Everything in Extreme Detail
Students sometimes accidentally make themselves more nauseated by intensely focusing on the thing grossing them out.
You do not need to stare deeply into the abyss of the bedpan.
Stay clinically observant, but don’t over-analyse textures like you’re judging a cooking competition.
2. Breathe Through Your Mouth If You Need To
Simple but effective. Especially for:
infected wounds
C. diff diarrhoea
sputum
vomit
A mask can also help psychologically even when it doesn’t fully block smells.
Some nurses find that adding a drop of lavender oil or other scented solution onto their mask helps. Wards often have a stash of these.
3. Don’t Panic If You Gag Once
Many students gag at some point. Some even have to briefly step out during early placements.
That does NOT mean you’ll never cope in nursing.
What matters is:
regaining composure
learning strategies
continuing to improve
4. Focus on the Person, Not the Fluid
That “gross” task is usually attached to:
someone embarrassed
someone sick
someone frightened
someone unable to care for themselves
Patients are often far more uncomfortable about the situation than you are.
Compassion overrides disgust surprisingly quickly.
5. Learn the Art of Neutral Facial Expressions
Even if your internal thoughts are:
“Dear God.”
your face must communicate:
“Everything is completely fine.”
Patients notice reactions immediately.
A calm response protects their dignity.
Final Thoughts
Being grossed out does not make you a bad nurse.
What matters is making sure you still:
treat patients respectfully
maintain professionalism
provide safe care
protect dignity
Patients do not need nurses who never feel disgust. They need nurses who can care for them kindly anyway.
That’s the real skill.