Warning: Very Graphic Photos

[OreoThief]

Well, if you didn't want to see, you probably wouldn't have opened this thread up. I was trying to "desensitize" myself this evening, by researching injuries that I might find on the job. I didn't think I would have a problem with it, until I started reading some posts on here.... now I'm not too sure I'm all that tough. :unsure:

I have to admit, even looking at these photos made my tummy squirm a bit, which makes me wonder if I'm even cut out for this. If I can't handle photos, what will I do in reality? I can't POS (puke on scene... just made that one up). Has that ever happened to anyone here? Is the vicks vaporub thing true? Does it help? Do people use it?

Anyway, this was actually a pretty good link to see some graphic (mostly suicide) injuries. I hope you guys don't think I'm warped, but then again, aren't we all, just a little bit? I can't believe I'm getting cold feet here. Words of encouragement and advice are hereby requested. Here's the link, only look if you want to.....

http://www.suicidemethods.net/pix/listpix.htm

 

[crash_cart]

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

I don't doubt that you, as well as the rest of us, will see some gory things from time to time. I'm a newbie, so take my advice for what it's worth. I guess that I question as to whether or not you really need to "desensitize" yourself to this kind of thing.:unsure: If it happens, it happens. You are not required to give yourself shock therapy in order to somehow respond better on scene. That is not a prerequisite for you to do and quite frankly, you would be better prepared by keeping positive, having a support system in place, and focusing on more "productive" matters such as your protocols and personal health. No matter what, I hope it works for you.

 

[MayEMT]

right along with crash_cart's comment, another thing to keep in mind is that although pictures can give you an idea of what youre going to see, out in the field its a totally different story. your adrenalin kicks in, and your main focus turns into treating your patient as opposed to being worried about how bad the situation looks. when you start thinking your getting cold feet, reflect on the reason you became an emt on the first place. youre probably just like the rest of us who want to help someone in need, whenever and wherever we may be.

after a while you'll just know if you'll be able handle it throught a career span or not. its not for everybody so dont feel bad. but by all means dont let any pictures deter you. give yourself a chance, take some deep breaths, and make your patient your priority.

 

[ffemt8978]

I, for one, am wondering why you posted the link to those pics. In line with crashcart's post, becoming desensitized to human injury/suffering should not be our goal. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, then it doesn't.

This thread will remain for now, provided you can explain why we should leave it here. Posting graphic pics for educational purposes is allowed, but to post graphic pics just to do so will not be allowed here.

 

[OreoThief]

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:

 

[OreoThief]

Oh, and by the way, based on the number of views my original post has gotten so far, there must be a lot of folks who are either curious like I was, or worse........:wacko:

 

[VentMedic]

The photos on websites are designed for a shock value. If that is what you are looking for, that is what you will see. If you want to look at them from a medical aspect, your mind will allow you to see them in a different view.

If you take a class or seminar on "Mechanism of Injury", you will see photos of trauma from all angles including the autopsy. These will be presented to you for learning and hopefully that is what you will see.

Pictures like these do not present the scene in reality. These are just pictures and do not provide the emotional trauma of other "victims" who may have witnessed the event and the loved ones present. The focus will have to be on them since a body of obvious death will not be the one requiring your services for any longer than determining death. That will be the true test of what you can handle. Grief and loss of a loved one will truly be the most difficult things you will encounter. It will by far out weigh any gore at scene.

And yes, there will be scenes which may make you nauseated. If it is an obvious death, you may even have a chance to vomit. But, remember, there may be others at the scene that need you so try to compose and focus quickly. Even in death, the body must also be respected so unprofessional comments should never be made anywhere on the scene.

After 30 years, there are still a few things (very few) that make me take a step back momentarily to recompose myself. The whole purpose of being there to help someone keeps me grounded and the gore goes to the background. The adrenaline and professional focus will hopefully win out over any other urges.

Also, it is good to know someone, either an experienced EMT, Paramedic, other medical professional or chaplain that you can talk to when a scene does bother you. Everybody is human and sometimes even a minor injury or illness can trigger something that you might want to express to someone.

 

[TheDoll]

The photos on websites are designed for a shock value. If that is what you are looking for, that is what you will see. If you want to look at them from a medical aspect, your mind will allow you to see them in a different view.

If you take a class or seminar on "Mechanism of Injury", you will see photos of trauma from all angles including the autopsy. These will be presented to you for learning and hopefully that is what you will see.

Pictures like these do not present the scene in reality. These are just pictures and do not provide the emotional trauma of other "victims" who may have witnessed the event and the loved ones present. The focus will have to be on them since a body of obvious death will not be the one requiring your services for any longer than determining death. That will be the true test of what you can handle. Grief and loss of a loved one will truly be the most difficult things you will encounter. It will by far out weigh any gore at scene.

And yes, there will be scenes which may make you nauseated. If it is an obvious death, you may even have a chance to vomit. But, remember, there may be others at the scene that need you so try to compose and focus quickly. Even in death, the body must also be respected so unprofessional comments should never be made anywhere on the scene.

After 30 years, there are still a few things (very few) that make me take a step back momentarily to recompose myself. The whole purpose of being there to help someone keeps me grounded and the gore goes to the background. The adrenaline and professional focus will hopefully win out over any other urges.

Also, it is good to know someone, either an experienced EMT, Paramedic, other medical professional or chaplain that you can talk to when a scene does bother you. Everybody is human and sometimes even a minor injury or illness can trigger something that you might want to express to someone.

i think that this is a very helpful post. for those of us who are newer to this profession, i think there is often a looming question in our minds of how much we'll be able to handle. i don't wonder as much about it now, but i did, especially, as i began my emt class. now, i take some comfort in being confident that i can handle a lot of different types of situations and people. i also tell myself that is okay, if i have trouble with something on a run. i know i will take care of my mental/emotional/and physical health.

i can understand oreothief's wanting to see how much she/he can deal with. i think that posts such as this one will help oreothief, as well as other people wondering how they will fare in tough situations.

ps--as far as gore goes. i used to be a huge horror movie fan, but ever since working in a burn unit, i don't really like watching blood and guts movies anymore. i don't know why, but that's just the way it is now.


oops! and i forgot one more thing...ventmedic, if you wouldn't mind, would you mind mentioning the types of things that after 30 yrs still make you uncomfortable? if you don't feel like sharing these things, then i completely understand. also, i'm not asking for gory details. 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!

 

[VentMedic]

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

I am also a Respiratory Therapist. In the hospital, I had a nurse vomit on me and the patient who she was holding while I was doing a nasotracheal suctioning. Luckily she did it so quick and without warning or noise that I stayed composed and cleaned up the patient. Now if she had vomited with sound effects to cause me to also vomit...that would not have been a good place to be as a patient. I can suction vomit all day long from a patient as long as my equipment is making more noise than they are.

The other is watching hip replacement surgery. I'm fine with open heart or open abdomen but would prefer not to do OR rotations in the ortho rooms.

Trauma, burns and taking people off life support do not phase me even with many family members present. But, I really hate seeing hammer and chisel working on bone. I don't vomit, but I cringe to where I am thankful for the face mask I'm wearing.

 

[TheDoll]

okay, i gotcha! thanks...yeah i suppose we all have our cryptonite. mine is poo. i can deal with vomit like a champ, but please don't poo on, near, or anywhere around me!

also, i hope you don't take offense to this, but i found the following to be absolutely hilarious! i mean, this made my week, i think

If they can vomit quietly, I'm okay.

this might have to become my new sig with your permission.

 

[PPB8881]

I also have a problem with fresh poo

 

[futureemt]

Well, if you didn't want to see, you probably wouldn't have opened this thread up. I was trying to "desensitize" myself this evening, by researching injuries that I might find on the job. I didn't think I would have a problem with it, until I started reading some posts on here.... now I'm not too sure I'm all that tough. :unsure:

I have to admit, even looking at these photos made my tummy squirm a bit, which makes me wonder if I'm even cut out for this. If I can't handle photos, what will I do in reality? I can't POS (puke on scene... just made that one up). Has that ever happened to anyone here? Is the vicks vaporub thing true? Does it help? Do people use it?

Anyway, this was actually a pretty good link to see some graphic (mostly suicide) injuries. I hope you guys don't think I'm warped, but then again, aren't we all, just a little bit? I can't believe I'm getting cold feet here. Words of encouragement and advice are hereby requested. Here's the link, only look if you want to.....

http://www.suicidemethods.net/pix/listpix.htm

WOW!! I don't what else to say!!! It really didnt' bother me, but I was really amazed and made one of these funny faces in astonishment...only thing so far that get me is changing my daughter's fish tank when it sits to long.....ewww!!

 

[VentMedic]

also, i hope you don't take offense to this, but i found the following to be absolutely hilarious! i mean, this made my week, i think

Originally Posted by VentMedic
If they can vomit quietly, I'm okay.

this might have to become my new sig with your permission.

No offense taken.

Might be a good saying for a coffee cup to sell at medical conferences and/or bars for the morning after.

 

[futureemt]

OMG THAT WOULD BE HILAROUS ON A COFFEE CUP......:lol:

 

[OreoThief]

LOL @ "vomiting quietly"...........

we may have to pay royalties for this one. :lol:

And I'm a female OreoThief, for what it's worth. ^_^

 

[futureemt]

LoL yea at vomiting.....think we can make millions ....

My husband just read this and really thinks I'm wacko now....hahahah

 

[OreoThief]

My husband just read this and really thinks I'm wacko now....hahahah

If he only thinks your wacko, and doesn't know it yet, you're just not trying hard enough.

 

[Ridryder911]

I remember 25 years ago discussing with an experienced Paramedic, that things .." still get to me".. Having a whopping 5 years experience, I still remember distinctly what he said... "The time, when nothing gets to you, is the time to leave the profession".... That being, we should always remember the "human" factor.

I used to teach with all the gore and shock value, to "see if students really can take it"; when in reality, I was the foolish one not knowing, it really has nothing to do with the job. Yes, there are situations, scenarios that one will have to deal with. With my vast and broad experience, there is probably little I have not seen and in truth do not care to see. One learns to deal and handle it at the time, and then think about it later. If it is a repeated occurrence, one may have to seek another profession.

Hopefully, one will be educated enough to be able to separate the "job" aspect versus the "gore" value. I have found the more in-depth and educated, the less "gore" it appears. Although, everyone has their "breaking" point. This is a very important point. Most of the time, it is dependent on how well I feel, etc. I worked with a moonlighting ER Doc, that would get pale at the site of blood and sound of crepitus. So it can affect anyone, anytime.

Remember, if they are "non-workable" the patient has been changed to the survivors. Be respectful to the body, and especially to the family. Yes, everyone deals with such events differently, but in the public eye be professional.

* personally, I do not like the Vicks trick. It opens my nose up and it enhances my smell, something I do not want to do at the time. I personally carry a small bottle of cologne, I spray on surgical masks, and breathe through that.

R/r 911

 

[TheDoll]

* personally, I do not like the Vicks trick. It opens my nose up and it enhances my smell, something I do not want to do at the time. I personally carry a small bottle of cologne, I spray on surgical masks, and breathe through that.

R/r 911

whoa, that's good to know. i've been planning on buying some vicks to use. for the most part, i've just become more of a mouth breather.

 

[VentMedic]

Originally Posted by Ridryder911

* personally, I do not like the Vicks trick. It opens my nose up and it enhances my smell, something I do not want to do at the time. I personally carry a small bottle of cologne, I spray on surgical masks, and breathe through that.

R/r 911

It would probably be my luck to get a partner who still uses HAI KARATE men's cologne.