Warning: Very Graphic Photos

[OreoThief]

Rid,

You're the first person I've heard to say that Vicks doesn't work. Hmmmmm......

 

[BossyCow]

I can't do the mouth breathing thing, makes me feel like I'm tasting it. I'd rather deal with the smell.

And I read this thread , because I read everything. I didn't open the photos though, because there are some images I don't think we need to put into our brains.

We see a lot of stuff in our work. Pictures I don't think prepare us for the full sensory assault of the actual event. Personally, vomit, poo, no problem... but the code brown combo of blood and poo... that gets me. Sort of lives in my nose for a while after. That and the homes of animal lovers who are hygenically challenged.

 

[ffemt8978]

Hi Guys,

You know what? I don't have all of the answers. I don't know if I "need" to be desensitized or not, and I don't think anyone else does, either. Perhaps desensitize was a poor choice of wording- "prepare" may have been a better choice. I feel that when someone makes a commitment to being in this line of work, they need to honestly evaluate themselves, and whether they are capable of it. Yes, I do have some nervous jitters prior to starting a new job, and I'm more concerned about what type of reaction I will have to some of the sights I will see, than I am concerned about actually seeing them. Anyone who is "certain" that they will be fine and can handle it is lying to themselves. The truth is, unless you've been "field tested", B) you really don't know..... and you won't until you have the experience. I had a student in my EMT school go to their first clinical, and never return to class. It happens, and yes, I agree, this field is not for everyone.

crash cart and Mayemt- thank you.

FFEMT:

I have no intention of "justifying" why I posted the link to ensure that it remains up on the board. By all means, if you feel it's inappropriate, I apologize, and please do take it down. I did not intend to offend anyone, including you.

Having said that, I'm not sure why you made mention of human injury and suffering, in conjunction with desensitizing. I have NEVER said anything even close to that, and I'm a bit offended that you implied that it was why I posted the link. Actually, if you check, the link is a good one, with decent merits behind its purpose. It also has observations noted for educational purposes (possibly for folks like us) that I didn't even notice until I read the captions, which certainly helped me out. You may or may not be aware, but plenty of people "lurk" h34r: on this board, just like I did in the beginning. They may do so for several days or weeks before actually making their first post. Many people start out on this board for educational purposes, or to get a glimpse "inside" EMS. They may be considering EMS as a career goal.... or perhaps were brought here by a search engine. I'm sure plenty of people would be interested in viewing the link for many different reasons. If there are some that are clicking on it to make jokes or for some other twisted reason, :wacko: I'm not responsible for that.

On a final note, I am fairly new here, and while I thought that my posting would be appreciated by others who, like me, are curious as to what these types of things actually look like, apparently my intentions were misunderstood. I have seen a couple of other postings where people have been "attacked" to the point that they stopped posting on this board. You may want to re-read my original post, and then yours. I think you're being a bit harsh.... but then again, perhaps I need some more desensitizing. :lol:

Like I said, if it was for an educational reason then I have no problem with it. Your first post left open the some room for misunderstanding that reason in this was to desensitize yourself to things you may see in the field only.

As far as this forum goes, I am well aware of the number of lurkers here. I'm also aware of how many of these members may be under the age of 13 based upon COPPA registrations. I am also aware of my responsibilities to the forum as a Community Leader. Posting graphic images just to be gory goes against what this forum is about. As a reminder to everyone, the job of the Community Leaders is to ensure the forum grows and evolves in a manner consistent with the intentions of the forum owner.

Forgive me if I misunderstood your intentions in this post, but I wanted to make sure of what your intentions were before I removed/edited the post. Based upon your response, I have no problems with the thread at this time.

 

[jakobsmommy2004]

Hi Guys,

You know what? I don't have all of the answers. I don't know if I "need" to be desensitized or not, and I don't think anyone else does, either. Perhaps desensitize was a poor choice of wording- "prepare" may have been a better choice. I feel that when someone makes a commitment to being in this line of work, they need to honestly evaluate themselves, and whether they are capable of it. Yes, I do have some nervous jitters prior to starting a new job, and I'm more concerned about what type of reaction I will have to some of the sights I will see, than I am concerned about actually seeing them. Anyone who is "certain" that they will be fine and can handle it is lying to themselves. The truth is, unless you've been "field tested", B) you really don't know..... and you won't until you have the experience. I had a student in my EMT school go to their first clinical, and never return to class. It happens, and yes, I agree, this field is not for everyone.

crash cart and Mayemt- thank you.

FFEMT:

I have no intention of "justifying" why I posted the link to ensure that it remains up on the board. By all means, if you feel it's inappropriate, I apologize, and please do take it down. I did not intend to offend anyone, including you.

Having said that, I'm not sure why you made mention of human injury and suffering, in conjunction with desensitizing. I have NEVER said anything even close to that, and I'm a bit offended that you implied that it was why I posted the link. Actually, if you check, the link is a good one, with decent merits behind its purpose. It also has observations noted for educational purposes (possibly for folks like us) that I didn't even notice until I read the captions, which certainly helped me out. You may or may not be aware, but plenty of people "lurk" h34r: on this board, just like I did in the beginning. They may do so for several days or weeks before actually making their first post. Many people start out on this board for educational purposes, or to get a glimpse "inside" EMS. They may be considering EMS as a career goal.... or perhaps were brought here by a search engine. I'm sure plenty of people would be interested in viewing the link for many different reasons. If there are some that are clicking on it to make jokes or for some other twisted reason, :wacko: I'm not responsible for that.

On a final note, I am fairly new here, and while I thought that my posting would be appreciated by others who, like me, are curious as to what these types of things actually look like, apparently my intentions were misunderstood. I have seen a couple of other postings where people have been "attacked" to the point that they stopped posting on this board. You may want to re-read my original post, and then yours. I think you're being a bit harsh.... but then again, perhaps I need some more desensitizing. :lol:

Are you one a fire dept? If not then everything else will be just taking transport calls. It would be very rare to see this as a Basic. The most ive seen so far is decon our strecher that the patient pooped on

 

[OreoThief]

Forgive me if I misunderstood your intentions in this post, but I wanted to make sure of what your intentions were before I removed/edited the post. Based upon your response, I have no problems with the thread at this time.

Forgiven, and forgotten. Thanks for clarifying for me.

 

[OreoThief]

Are you one a fire dept? If not then everything else will be just taking transport calls. It would be very rare to see this as a Basic. The most ive seen so far is decon our strecher that the patient pooped on

Actually, "we" are the 911 for the entire county in a rural area. There's lots of car accidents and tractor/farm equipment accidents. I'm taking this into account while prepping for hire.

 

[Kendall]

Hygenically challenged.

Heh - I like that!

I agree with a number of you, graphic scenes happen, and we honestly can't say if we will be ready for them or not. It is something we all are aware of when going into this job. As a few have said as well, it is the most important thing to treat your patient and when the worst happens be respectful and professional to the family, friends and bystanders.

For you as an EMS provider, it is essential to have a support network - coworkers, peers, chaplains, counselors - whatever you may need.

Personally - I can't handle the sound of vomiting, either. Or crepitous - makes me cringe. The worst is body odor and urine (hygenically challenged persons)! Makes me gag... Ugh

 

[So. IL Medic]

I was trying to "desensitize" myself this evening, by researching injuries that I might find on the job.

i think there is often a looming question in our minds of how much we'll be able to handle.

i'm just curious at the types of things that still have an impact on someone who has spent that kind of time in ems. if you decide to explain, then thank you. if you decide not to, i hope you are not offended that i asked!

And other curious new additions to our profession....

When I first started, I was worried about how I would react to the first major trauma, or code, or other shock situation. Then I found that when the extreme occurred, I was so concerned about and focused on my patient that there was simply no time for shock. I think we all attain that state in our own ways.

Although I don't have Vent's extensive experience (yet that is, I am closing my first decade of service), the blood, gore, vomit, poo, or general nastiness never have gotten to me. What does get me is the emotional impact to the loved ones.

Case in point - a call to a 2 car mvc on a 2 lane highway, high speed head on collision. My unit and another worked on extrication and treatment on car #2. A family - dad driving, mom in front passenger seat, young boy in back. All restrained. Impact so fierce that mom's knees were driven into her chest leaving 3-4 inch dents in her chest. After extrication, she coded in the other truck before they left scene. The boy - lacerated spleen and liver, collapsed lung. The dad, my patient, injuries included bilateral femur fractures, one open, one leg also had tib/fib fracture with crush injury to foot, hemothorax. Got the boy and dad to hospital about 4 mins away. While the ER was screaming for a surgical team for the boy as he circled the drain in the trauma room next door, the mom pronounced dead in another room, I was with the dad who had regained consciousness and was screaming for his wife and kid while the trauma team worked. He looked at me and begged me to tell him about them. Here it was, 2 days to Thanksgiving, his wife dead, his boy dying, and he might not walk again for a long time if ever, and all I could think to myself was happy f****** Thanksgiving, sir. My heart tore apart right there as I tried to get him to calm down and focus on himself for the moment.

Any amount of gore or puke is much easier to take than that.

 

[skyemt]

Are you one a fire dept? If not then everything else will be just taking transport calls. It would be very rare to see this as a Basic. The most ive seen so far is decon our strecher that the patient pooped on

acually, we are not part of FD, and we don't do transports... it's all 911...

remember, many different parts of the country have different setups... if it's not your experience, it may be for a large number of others...

 

[JJR512]

I haven't looked at those pictures. I don't like to see blood and guts, whether in real life or in pictures. But when I have to, I do it. There were gory photos in my EMT text book. I think that when you have to do it, you can do it. When you have to save someone's life and they're bloody and gory, you do what needs to be done.

By the same token, I suffer from motion sickness in cars and trucks (anything smaller than a tour bus) if I focus too much on something inside the vehicle. For example, if I try to read in a moving vehicle, I get quite ill. But I have found that I can read a patient's reports and charts in the back of a moving ambulance because I need to do it to complete my own report (commerical ambulance transport report). So I've tried to read a book in a moving ambulance, and nearly got sick. The only difference was one I had to do, the other I didn't. Weird.

 

[OreoThief]

While the ER was screaming for a surgical team for the boy as he circled the drain in the trauma room next door, the mom pronounced dead in another room, I was with the dad who had regained consciousness and was screaming for his wife and kid while the trauma team worked. He looked at me and begged me to tell him about them. Here it was, 2 days to Thanksgiving, his wife dead, his boy dying, and he might not walk again for a long time if ever, and all I could think to myself was happy f****** Thanksgiving, sir. My heart tore apart right there as I tried to get him to calm down and focus on himself for the moment.

OMG what a story. How terrible. Now, don't leave us hanging... what did you say to that poor man? Honestly? Not what did you wish you said.... what exactly did you say????? Inquiring minds want to know. If not, I want to know. :unsure:

 

[So. IL Medic]

OMG what a story. How terrible. Now, don't leave us hanging... what did you say to that poor man? Honestly? Not what did you wish you said.... what exactly did you say????? Inquiring minds want to know. If not, I want to know. :unsure:

What could anyone say? So I lied and told the truth. "Sir, we need to focus on you right now. Your wife is in another part of the ER, your son is being treated in the next room. I'll get you more information when I can but we need to work on you right now. The best thing you can do for them is to cooperate with us."

I didn't think he needed to know any more than that at the moment and noone on the trauma team offered any more info either. Luckily, I didn't have to be the one to tell him. We had to take off for another call fairly soon afterwards.

That can be a plus in our job. Sometimes it seems we see the worst the world has to offer but there's always another run to take us away.

 

[daedalus]

Vomiting hits my queaze mark. Not vomit, but the sound effects that go with it. If they can vomit quietly, I'm okay.

.

while since i posted on any internet forum.

Ventmedic, thats one thing that will get me as well. When I was younger I used to hear my sister vomit at night and I would soon follow.

First post!
haha.

 

[Airwaygoddess]

Pictures VS. Experience

I know that part of learning is getting the hand's on experience, I just want to stress on one point. No amount of pictures will ever prepare you for what is out there in this field. It is important to remember that these "victims" where once living beings. Some of these folks might have not amounted to a hell of a lot or they did the world a great deal of good. All I know is that if these folks felt that much anguish to end it all then let that be. When you run a call like that it can test you about who you are and what you are all about. Please remember, that this time of the year has the highest rate of suicide. As you run these calls please remember this, the survivors must go on. These calls are not for "you tube" or to be taken on a personal cell phone camera. We must have respect for the living and the dead. -_-

 

[ffemt8978]

We must have respect for the living and the dead. -_-

This bears repeating...

 

[firetender]

I have to agree that the hardest always ends up being what you least expect or want to witness which is usually in the emotional realm.

I will cop to having had a certain wonder at the more gory things, like: "WOW! So that's what really happens when you...!"

And about 10 years post medic, when all those cop chase shows came out I was fixated on watching accidents happen, seeing as for so many years all I ever got to see was the aftermath. Therein lies my curiosity and morbid fascination.

We've put ourselves in a position where we are exposed to extreme examples of this thing called life. To deny that we are curious about the world we are a part of is to cut off an aspect of our learning curve that could be used for the good of others.

 

[firetender]

(1) I hope you guys don't think I'm warped, but then again, aren't we all, just a little bit? (2) I can't believe I'm getting cold feet here. (3) Words of encouragement and advice are hereby requested. (4) Here's the link, only look if you want to.....

1. Just a little bit, and gloriously so!

2. Put on socks, keep walking, they'll warm up, and whatever you do, don't stop.

3. You're sick as the rest of us.

(All of us who looked, anyway.)

4. And those who didn't have other glitches as wierd.

 

[firetender]

...and furthermore

I actually went back to the site and looked again. At first it was wondering if it's true, as I've said on a number of occasions, that the further away I've gotten from EMS the thinner my skin and the weaker my stomach has gotten.

And you know what happened? The pictures reminded me how when I was a medic I learned that our life is not our body.

Thanks, this was quite a worthwhile trip!

 

[Arkymedic]

I can't do the mouth breathing thing, makes me feel like I'm tasting it. I'd rather deal with the smell.

And I read this thread , because I read everything. I didn't open the photos though, because there are some images I don't think we need to put into our brains.

We see a lot of stuff in our work. Pictures I don't think prepare us for the full sensory assault of the actual event. Personally, vomit, poo, no problem... but the code brown combo of blood and poo... that gets me. Sort of lives in my nose for a while after. That and the homes of animal lovers who are hygenically challenged.

Technically...when we smell through the olfactory it is only after we have tasted...lol

 

[ErinCooley]

Editted to add, this was supposed to be a response to So. Il medics response about family members.
Wow!

I lost my 3 year old in August... I was almost done with my first quarter in school but not far enough to have begun ride-alongs. In October, I did my first ride along. My first day was an brachial artery injury.. man versus tractor augar. I almost lost it, not over the man but over the wife standing there, scared to death, praying for her husband. I know what that feels like. I still havent seen much, I did see an 18 year old kid, thrown 90'+, bled out before we got there.. didnt touch seeing that wife, emotionally. I can already tell that the families are going to be my biggest struggle in this career!!!