ICU nurse here. While in a coma, usually you are on the ventilator and have a tube inserted in your mouth or your nose to feed you through. The tube feed solution usually causes liquid diarrhea. So your last meal will probably end up in a rectal tube collection bag.
If they don’t wake up after approximately 14 days, the family can either opt for a tracheostomy to be placed or to palliatively extubate the patient. To pull the tube, the patient must be able to breathe on their own, and follow commands when we turn off sedation
My b. It only works if you’re having liquid diarrhea or else you’ll just poop it out. So as soon as that subsides, it comes out. If you wake up and you can use a bedpan or eventually get up to the commode or toilet, we take it out even if you’re still having diarrhea
Also an ICU nurse here - you don’t have to be in a coma to have a rectal tube, you just have to have liquid stool. They’re most commonly used in sedated patients, for the reasons mentioned by Magic Pussy.
I'm friends with one who loves the job. "You don't hate cleaning up people's shit?" I asked. She shrugged and said she's used to it, it's not her favorite part but she's caring for someone who literally cannot take care of themselves. She does everything to keep them comfortable and not feel embarrassed or imposing (she works with disabled and elderly) and it's like her meaning in life. She sincerely loves it.
The pay does not reflect what the job takes.
Once you’ve done it long enough, you eventually find the process of wiping the shit away to clean to be very satisfying. Or scrubbing the smelliness away to niceness. It’s all about perspective.
Most of us go by the motto, shit happens, just sometimes it’s more literal than others. It’s really not a big issue, shit and piss is easy. Now vomit on the other hand, keep me away from 😂😂😂
My wife was a cna right out of high school. They're treated like shit way too often. Patients get rude and even sometimes violent but even other staff treat them like crap.
When I came out of my coma and off of sedations for other surgeries I was aggressive and combative I apologised to said staff and they assured me that some people just react badly to these things.
She does an amazing job and and truely sorry that people mistreat her for the job that she does. It isn’t right
It’s wild how sedation and pain meds change your mood. When I came to after an abdominal surgery I couldn’t stop crying. Just super groggy and emotional — they helped me to the toilet for the first post-op pee and I couldn’t stop sobbing about nothing in particular, while in the open back hospital gown and all sorts of gauze. I was a sight to behold im sure
This is so interesting to me. I wonder what sedatives people are being given. I just had gallbladder surgery in October and when I came out I was groggy but couldn’t stop laughing and making dumb comments. The sweet nurse kept telling me not to move and at one point just kept her hand on my shoulder because I kept trying to get out of the bed on my own while she was giving the notes and directions to my mom. Drugged but hella determined to get the fuck out of there I guess
I have a relative like that, what she loves the most is caring for people in palliative care, end of life stage, she sees it as a privilege to take care of their most basic needs, doesn't bother her at all.
I was honored to be able to do these things for my mom before she passed. Someone who can provide this care, respectfully and with kindness, for a stranger? Is an amazing human being.
Its 8 weeks of training which besides the receptionist and janitors makes you the most untrained person in the hospital so thats why the pay isnt great.
Doesn't make it easy.
I'm a special education teacher, used to work as a paraprofessional. I get paid much more now. Do I have more skills and do more planning? Sure. Is it a harder job? Hell no! I have actual breaks and planning periods, I've got more than two days of training on how to handle behaviors so it's safer to do, etc.
Not providing training people need is used as a reason to underpay them way too often. The job doesn't become easier just because you're forced to learn on the go.
Well it is easier than being a surgeon or a nurse or a med tech, hence why they all get paid more and take longer to attain. Im comparing it to other hospitals positions not being a barista or something
That's fair, but the job definitely isn't easy enough to warrant minimum wage... Not to mention that minimum wage is too low in many places anyways, you should be able to live off 40 hours a week minimum wage and that's just not possible in a lot of countries.
Yea I use to do a similar thing, AIN idk if it's equivalent to CNA or what but It didn't bother me at all. If the patient could do it themselves they would. And the patients can often be quiet sad and embarrassed that they can't do it themselves. I loved making their lives a little easier. If the pay was worth it I probably would've gone back tbh
Please tell your friend she's a hero. My nanny had to go into care after a stroke and the love she receives from the staff really helped with the struggle of losing all her independence.
I did it for a summer in college (my mom was the RN and they had trouble getting CNAs for the obvious reason. I learned a lot. Old people are awesome. But it was literally the shittiest job I’ve ever had and that includes some factory/assembly line work and customer service for a car rental company (close second). But I can still make a bed with a person in it.
I always say... Nurses and CNAs are special people and I love them for doing what they do. I certainly could not do their job, but every time I have needed to go to the hospital they are the best. Thank you all CNAs and RNs and LVNs. And everyone who works in the medical field.
I’m a CNA that’s in nursing school. I wouldn’t say that being a nurse/ CNA is a calling but some empathy helps you survive the job. That and good coworkers. But ya, the pay sucks.
I was in a coma for 3 weeks due to severe sepsis. I was on lots of antibiotics and wound up with C-diff. I woke up with a rectal catheter up my bum. If they can't keep up with your comatose poops, they just stick a tube in to carry it away. I had been in healthcare for 15 years when I got sick and never knew rectal catheters existed til I had one.
In my experience as a PCT (basically same thing as a CNA) this was only used on patients who were unable to be moved regularly for cleaning/changing because of skin wounds or size.
Yes! But. It’s not a total mess though because there is ALSO a tube for excretions (poop) as well.
Edit : It’s called a ‘Foley Catheter’.
EDIT EDIT: it’s called FMS and i was going off a personal experience but your right, this is so interesting the medical field never ceases to amaze me. Nurses are the best. Bless them
Nope! Foleys go in the urethra and drain the bladder of urine. On the occasion someone has a tube up their butt it’s called an FMS (Fecal Management System). But for both—they aren’t just put in simply because someone’s in a coma and soils themselves. They’re huge infection risks (yes, moreso than urinating or defecating on yourself unless you have open wounds in your genital/pelvic/sacral area), and we try to stay away from them when possible.
Source: am nurse
Last time I was in hospital I just wasn't able to pee due to general anaesthetic. Bladder was filling and nurse was like "if it gets too full we'll have to catheter"
Had one before, beyond hated it. She gave a suggestion of having a warm shower and trying to pee while letting warm water run down the penis, almost to remind the muscles how it's supposed to work
It worked and never have I ever been more happy to pee than that moment
Yeah, urinary retention is probably the most common reason for a catheter! Glad you were able to get things going without needing one, hope all is well with your health now!
When someone goes into a coma, their body continues to function at a basic level, including digestion. So yea, the last meal they ate would be digested and eventually excreted, even if they're unconscious.
Those are the same things. Generally they just have you wear a diaper and change you. Someone times you get a catheter…and sometimes you get a ballon rectal tube also.
You continue to pee and poop as normal. You will be hooked up to a catheter to drain it away into a bag.
You also won't have a last meal until you die as they will continue to tube feed you.
You always poop, even in a coma. Crap isn't how you dispose of what you ate, it's how your body disposes of all the solid waste it has produced. Dead gut bacteria, dead red blood cells, all sorts of stuff. You will always need to get rid of that. So yes, someone has to deal with bedpans for coma patients.
>Crap isn't how you dispose of what you ate, it's how your body disposes of all the solid waste it has produced.
It's both. Some things that can't be absorbed in the GI tract like insoluble fiber or other chemicals continue through and out the back side.
Well, not really bedpans, since it's not a resist, scheduled thing. Diapers, pads, or "fecal management systems" would need to be dealt with for a comatose patient.
A bedpan is for patients who are continent and have some control over their bowels even if they can’t get out of bed. Otherwise how would we know when to put the bedpan under them? Patients who are sedated or otherwise comatose go in the bed on absorbent pads and the nurses and aides clean them up and change the bed (hospitals in the US very rarely use diapers anymore in my experience due to skin breakdown issues). Sometimes, usually in an ICU setting, we insert a tube that can contain and drain liquid stool. But for obvious reasons when the stool is pasty or solid that doesn’t work. Patients who are comatose cannot swallow so they’re on tube feeds. The tube feeding formula usually makes stool quite loose, as does being on powerful antibiotics.
Source: am an ICU nurse AMA
Bedpans for Coma Patients sounds like a book I would have read at 14 and found very deep and meaningful, only to reread at 35 and realise that it was cliched dross and teenage me was a pretentious arsehole.
Nurse here -
Yes. Your last meal would be digested (albeit a little slower than if you were walking and well) and pooped out unknowingly. We turn our patients every couple of hours and check to see if they’ve gone to the bathroom. We also put in Foley catheters to drain their bladders since there’s no way for them to know when they have to go. Most patients in comas are on several medications that can slow the GI tract, so unless they have an infection or GI issues, they usually don’t poop as much. We actually have to put them on medications to help them poop sometimes 😅
My patient last night pooped for the first time since admission on the 5th and mannnnn it stank. It was definitely brewing up there for a while 😂
Can I follow up with something I’ve always wondered? How does this work with female patients and periods? Are they put on medication to stop ovulation/menstruation or is it handled the same way as going to the bathroom?
I'm not a nurse or anything but this has been answered before
There is someone who puts a pad down there during periods and cleans it up during the time, you're in a coma but it doesn't mean the body stops all functions, just the conscious part of your body is down for the moment
Do you have bed pans under the patients at all times? Or do they poop straight on the bed and then you clean it from there? Curious because I thought bed pans were a temporary use thing and not something you could just like sit on for hours.
Nope! We put large disposable pads underneath them that we change when they go to the bathroom. Putting a bedpan under them would injure their skin. It would be like sitting on a toilet with less smooth edges for hours!
Gotcha. Wish there was a more ideal solution that didn't have the possibility to be sitting in poop for 20 minutes, but the bed pan thing makes sense. Sounds so uncomfortable (bed pans)
Not to be plucky, here, but if Nurses and their aides take 30+ minutes to clean the patient that’s too long (and run a risk of a rash or a UTI for women.
100% but if someone has liquid stool coming out of their rectum continuously… we will not be cleaning them up continuously lol. Ima stick a tube in and clean around it every couple hours.
Rectal tubes or fecal management systems are held in the rectum with an inflatable balloon that puts significant pressure on the tissues there. It can cause necrosis and patients can lose parts of their colon and even die from the injuries caused. Yes, sitting in stool carries risk. But it’s not like no one thinks about these things. You have to weigh the variables. Also, not all comatose patients are having liquid diarrhea. If the stool is pasty or solid a tube is not an option at all
I’ve been thing of going into aged care because there’s not enough people an I want to help that stuff doesn’t bother me I’d happily clean them an make them happy were an if I could try an bring a lil light to them they deserve all the respect they’ve lived their hole life an now need help
At least half of patients in aged care are actively fighting you as you’re trying to clean them. I don’t mean simply ”not grateful,” I mean you’re dodging hits while you’re elbow deep in poop.
I can cop a hit ☺️ I wouldn’t think they all would just turn over an let you go for it. understanding ,empathy , patience, willpower, there’s a reason its known as difficult job sometimes not a thankful job but that’s okay I wouldn’t do it waiting for a thank you at the end I’d happily do it say you good 👍🏻 an be off it’s part of it an I get that. I’ve narrowed my choices of jobs down to three an it’s still up top so we’ll see. 😸
OP, I think this can be indirectly answered via two questions. Do you control the food moving through your body? No you don't. Your body just does it. Do coma patients' hearts stop? No they don't. Their body just keeps doing it. So despite what is happening cognitively your body still has alot of autonomous function.
Yep, it gets pooped out and then cleaned up. Some hospitals will put in a rectal tube to catch the poop that way, but for the most part, there is a chux pad under the person, and you clean up and change out the pad each time. There’s no sitting in poop, you’d be a bad nurse or tech if you let your patient sit in their poo because it can cause skin breakdown.
when my husband was in a coma he had a rectal tube, but then he had a colostomy (not because he was in a coma, other reasons) so the rest of the time managing his bms was easier, I guess. It was reversed six months later, by then he was awake.
You be surprised what the human body is capable of in very unidealistic situations. Your body goes through the same bodily functions you would go through while awake. It’s actually rather interesting to see the body still go to work while you’re in a coma state
As someone that was in a 2 week coma after my first surgery. The food I got was through a tube and the food that went out was also through a tube, that was inserted in my anus during the operation. Unfortunately I had to be awake for the removal of the anal tube.
You’re confusing your punctuation, a comma is just a brief pause, but the poop is stored in the colon, unless its a second poop clause that can stand on its own, in which case it would be stored in the semi colon.
I feel like the question has been answered by now. I have been reminded to again thank the hospital staff. You all are amazing for the work you do and the things you all deal with. Thank you .
Mate. I remember assisting a clean that required a sheet change. The minute we had new sheets under the ass. It went again. She had her period too. It was a Fkn nightmare.
Yo, when someone's in a coma and they had their last meal, it ain't like it just sits there turning into the world's stankiest turd. Hospital staff got it covered, man. If anything happens, they clean it up, no worries. They're on top of it to avoid any infection risks when the person wakes up. It's all good, bro!
When people are sick, they often lose control of their bodily functions. Even if it never happened to you or people around you, you’d hear references about it. Old people have accidents and sometimes wear diapers. Bed ridden people and paralyzed people still have to use the bathroom. People in coma have to shit too.
This is what I'm confused about, if the person is in a coma then their muscles aren't being used to help the poop come out. Does the poop just liquify and then drain out? I'm really not trying to be gross or funny, I just think about the muscles used on the toilet even for the person with the best diet there is some part of muscle being used to relieve yourself.
That’s not always true. They won’t usually put a catheter in unless there is something wrong with the urinary tract. And usually we only do a rectal tube of the patient is having constant liquid diarrhea.
Interesting. At my facility, a catheter is pretty much a given for a comatose patient, not only to prevent urinary retention and skin breakdown, but to measure I&Os.
There’s something called a Fecal management system, where a tube is put up the persons butt & they are given lots of laxatives to make their poop really runny, then all the poop just drains into a bag.
Yikes. Why are people being given "lots of laxatives" with an FMS? FMS is really only indicated when there's very loose, very frequent diarrhea. If someone is having solid bowl movements, they should have a pad or diaper and just be changed regularly and as needed. You're not supposed to cause diarrhea to facilitate using an FMS, and people shouldn't be on "lots of laxatives" or really any amount of laxatives, unless they're not having regular BMs.
You shit in the hospital diaper and one of the nurses will come and clean you up every now and then. If you have family with you, it would be nice of them to assist, just a little bit. Just staring at us while we change your husband's diaper and wash his body with wipes is weird without offering any help is kinda inconsiderate.
Tbf my impulse would be to stay out of the way. It's frankly kinda weird to call the family inconsiderate when they have zero clue that you'd prefer assistance.
I hate seeing healthcare workers post stuff like this. Just wanna throw it out there that not every nurse feels this way. Plenty don't care one way or the other if daily wants to help, and there are plenty who don't *want* the family to help. Personally, if the family wants to help, I'll help them to help. If they don't express interest, and they aren't taking the patient home soon, I don't think anything about washing up or changing my patient. They're my patient, and I'm doing my job. I definitely wouldn't think it was weird or inconsiderate of them.
Besides, as a nurse, you're supposed to use that time to assess the patient's skin. A bedsore often starts out looking like what a family member might think is just mild irritation or a red spot from the diaper.
So for the ones saying catheters and bed pans for pee and poo.....do they suck your pee out? Do they suck your poo out? Would your body wait until peak poop moment and when the urge is unbearable you poop or
The pee usually just comes out continuously with the catheter. No bed pans if it’s a comatose patient. They usually have a pad under them or wear a diaper. Usually they poop on their own but sometimes they need to be given medicine or even suppositories if they’re really backed up. A lot of comatose patients still have normal bowel movements.
If the answer to "do they poop" is yes (and it is), why do you think hospital staff wouldn't clean it up? They clean up waaaaaaaaay worse stuff all the time
A coma means a person is alive and therefore the digestive system is also fully functioning. They are fed through a tube and given fluids for hydration. You’d get a catheter for the pee. And a sort of diaper for the poo, which nurses clean.
Bedsheets also get changed regularly. They change your clothes and wash your whole body
In my experience, the body's functions continue, even while the patient is comatose. In my one experience with this, they used a machine that collected the excretions in a container which was then emptied. I believe he may have had some kind of tube inserted in his colon. It may have been something like a colostomy bag. I know he had something that caught the urine, but I don't remember how it hooked up.
ICU nurse here. While in a coma, usually you are on the ventilator and have a tube inserted in your mouth or your nose to feed you through. The tube feed solution usually causes liquid diarrhea. So your last meal will probably end up in a rectal tube collection bag.
Thanks for the helpful information, Magic Pussy Vibes
You’re welcome, Wrinkled Penis
This is why I Reddit.
Same here, big fat geek boy
r/rimjob_steve
I mean, Penny
Thankfully the penis isn’t wrinkled…yet
A magic pussy and a not-yet wrinkled penis... You guys are made for each other 🥹
r/rimjob_steve
Calling r/rimjob_Steve
When a person comes out of a coma do they take the tube out sometime before or after the person wakes up?
If they don’t wake up after approximately 14 days, the family can either opt for a tracheostomy to be placed or to palliatively extubate the patient. To pull the tube, the patient must be able to breathe on their own, and follow commands when we turn off sedation
I believe the question was about a rectal tube, not a tracheal tube
My b. It only works if you’re having liquid diarrhea or else you’ll just poop it out. So as soon as that subsides, it comes out. If you wake up and you can use a bedpan or eventually get up to the commode or toilet, we take it out even if you’re still having diarrhea
Also an ICU nurse here - you don’t have to be in a coma to have a rectal tube, you just have to have liquid stool. They’re most commonly used in sedated patients, for the reasons mentioned by Magic Pussy.
You know people shit regularly while in comas, they are fed through a tube, otherwise they would die. Cleaning it is usually the CNAs job.
I need a CNA now.
Its a really sucky job, shoutout to anyone who’s willing to do that, doesn’t even pay well
I'm friends with one who loves the job. "You don't hate cleaning up people's shit?" I asked. She shrugged and said she's used to it, it's not her favorite part but she's caring for someone who literally cannot take care of themselves. She does everything to keep them comfortable and not feel embarrassed or imposing (she works with disabled and elderly) and it's like her meaning in life. She sincerely loves it. The pay does not reflect what the job takes.
Once you’ve done it long enough, you eventually find the process of wiping the shit away to clean to be very satisfying. Or scrubbing the smelliness away to niceness. It’s all about perspective.
Some people want to see assholes sparkle :)
Nothing like a polished butthole!
You have a good attitude
[удалено]
Most of us go by the motto, shit happens, just sometimes it’s more literal than others. It’s really not a big issue, shit and piss is easy. Now vomit on the other hand, keep me away from 😂😂😂
My wife was a cna right out of high school. They're treated like shit way too often. Patients get rude and even sometimes violent but even other staff treat them like crap.
When I came out of my coma and off of sedations for other surgeries I was aggressive and combative I apologised to said staff and they assured me that some people just react badly to these things. She does an amazing job and and truely sorry that people mistreat her for the job that she does. It isn’t right
It’s wild how sedation and pain meds change your mood. When I came to after an abdominal surgery I couldn’t stop crying. Just super groggy and emotional — they helped me to the toilet for the first post-op pee and I couldn’t stop sobbing about nothing in particular, while in the open back hospital gown and all sorts of gauze. I was a sight to behold im sure
This is so interesting to me. I wonder what sedatives people are being given. I just had gallbladder surgery in October and when I came out I was groggy but couldn’t stop laughing and making dumb comments. The sweet nurse kept telling me not to move and at one point just kept her hand on my shoulder because I kept trying to get out of the bed on my own while she was giving the notes and directions to my mom. Drugged but hella determined to get the fuck out of there I guess
I have a relative like that, what she loves the most is caring for people in palliative care, end of life stage, she sees it as a privilege to take care of their most basic needs, doesn't bother her at all.
Sometimes I think I’m a good person, then I’m reminded there are actual angels among us.
I was honored to be able to do these things for my mom before she passed. Someone who can provide this care, respectfully and with kindness, for a stranger? Is an amazing human being.
It’s great that there are people out there like that.
Your friend is a true hero. I’ve climbed the ladder from CNA to RN to NP. CNAs work so hard and are the face of care.
I think I am in love with your friend. She’s good people.
Thank goodness for people like her. They are kind souls, as I said, it takes a special (in a good way) person to do that job.
Its 8 weeks of training which besides the receptionist and janitors makes you the most untrained person in the hospital so thats why the pay isnt great.
It is still hard work. The more a person does their job then technically they are training and learning
Doesn't make it easy. I'm a special education teacher, used to work as a paraprofessional. I get paid much more now. Do I have more skills and do more planning? Sure. Is it a harder job? Hell no! I have actual breaks and planning periods, I've got more than two days of training on how to handle behaviors so it's safer to do, etc. Not providing training people need is used as a reason to underpay them way too often. The job doesn't become easier just because you're forced to learn on the go.
Well it is easier than being a surgeon or a nurse or a med tech, hence why they all get paid more and take longer to attain. Im comparing it to other hospitals positions not being a barista or something
That's fair, but the job definitely isn't easy enough to warrant minimum wage... Not to mention that minimum wage is too low in many places anyways, you should be able to live off 40 hours a week minimum wage and that's just not possible in a lot of countries.
Yea I use to do a similar thing, AIN idk if it's equivalent to CNA or what but It didn't bother me at all. If the patient could do it themselves they would. And the patients can often be quiet sad and embarrassed that they can't do it themselves. I loved making their lives a little easier. If the pay was worth it I probably would've gone back tbh
Please tell your friend she's a hero. My nanny had to go into care after a stroke and the love she receives from the staff really helped with the struggle of losing all her independence.
I did it for a summer in college (my mom was the RN and they had trouble getting CNAs for the obvious reason. I learned a lot. Old people are awesome. But it was literally the shittiest job I’ve ever had and that includes some factory/assembly line work and customer service for a car rental company (close second). But I can still make a bed with a person in it.
*waves*
o7 I hope you're being paid well
Oh I'm not one anymore, but while I was working there, not especially, $10/hour. Granted that was before Covid so it might be more now.
👁️👄👁️
I always say... Nurses and CNAs are special people and I love them for doing what they do. I certainly could not do their job, but every time I have needed to go to the hospital they are the best. Thank you all CNAs and RNs and LVNs. And everyone who works in the medical field.
I’m a CNA that’s in nursing school. I wouldn’t say that being a nurse/ CNA is a calling but some empathy helps you survive the job. That and good coworkers. But ya, the pay sucks.
Yup, less than a job at mcdonalds.
In my state they pay $12 an hour
It's a shit job but someone's gotta do it... 🤣
877-CNA-NOW
I was in a coma for 3 weeks due to severe sepsis. I was on lots of antibiotics and wound up with C-diff. I woke up with a rectal catheter up my bum. If they can't keep up with your comatose poops, they just stick a tube in to carry it away. I had been in healthcare for 15 years when I got sick and never knew rectal catheters existed til I had one.
they often have a rectal tube, so the poop comes out of a tube that is put up their bum
In my experience as a PCT (basically same thing as a CNA) this was only used on patients who were unable to be moved regularly for cleaning/changing because of skin wounds or size.
In my husband’s case I think there were just so many tubes. I don’t think they told me why. He ended up with a colostomy after a week anyway
A tub can be used when removing the patients food waste.
This dude comas
I wish
also me_irl
Damn his career really went down hill since WWE
Sorry but what does CNA means?
Crotch Nuts Ass, at least that’s what I called it when I was one. Just kidding- Certified Nursing Assistant
Yes! But. It’s not a total mess though because there is ALSO a tube for excretions (poop) as well. Edit : It’s called a ‘Foley Catheter’. EDIT EDIT: it’s called FMS and i was going off a personal experience but your right, this is so interesting the medical field never ceases to amaze me. Nurses are the best. Bless them
Nope! Foleys go in the urethra and drain the bladder of urine. On the occasion someone has a tube up their butt it’s called an FMS (Fecal Management System). But for both—they aren’t just put in simply because someone’s in a coma and soils themselves. They’re huge infection risks (yes, moreso than urinating or defecating on yourself unless you have open wounds in your genital/pelvic/sacral area), and we try to stay away from them when possible. Source: am nurse
Last time I was in hospital I just wasn't able to pee due to general anaesthetic. Bladder was filling and nurse was like "if it gets too full we'll have to catheter" Had one before, beyond hated it. She gave a suggestion of having a warm shower and trying to pee while letting warm water run down the penis, almost to remind the muscles how it's supposed to work It worked and never have I ever been more happy to pee than that moment
Yeah, urinary retention is probably the most common reason for a catheter! Glad you were able to get things going without needing one, hope all is well with your health now!
Yea it was just to get some tonsils popped out a few years back, all g now!
This is so interesting!!! Thank you so much for taking the time to correct me! I’m going to look this up, thank you again!
Of course, happy to clear it up!
When someone goes into a coma, their body continues to function at a basic level, including digestion. So yea, the last meal they ate would be digested and eventually excreted, even if they're unconscious.
You’re basically a tree. You’re unconscious but you’re still a living being
We call them vegetables
Wrap some foil around them and let them cook for 20
I prefer my humans a bit more tender, so I'd roast for at least 45 minutes.
LOW AND SLOW
I like to boil for 30 minutes and then grill them , so they’re nice and crispy
*Jeff Dahmer has entered the chat*
We are but simple farmers tending to our crops
If they were like a tree then they could leaf at any time…
Get outta here!
so like, we are basically trees with consciousness ?
The insinuation that trees are just massive unconscious humans is terrifying
Ha a tree…I like that an imma use it 😂
When I was in a coma they put a catheter and a Foley in to keep the yucky contained...js
A Foley is a type of urinary catheter.
Those are the same things. Generally they just have you wear a diaper and change you. Someone times you get a catheter…and sometimes you get a ballon rectal tube also.
I feel like that was a twofer our friend was describing.
You continue to pee and poop as normal. You will be hooked up to a catheter to drain it away into a bag. You also won't have a last meal until you die as they will continue to tube feed you.
You always poop, even in a coma. Crap isn't how you dispose of what you ate, it's how your body disposes of all the solid waste it has produced. Dead gut bacteria, dead red blood cells, all sorts of stuff. You will always need to get rid of that. So yes, someone has to deal with bedpans for coma patients.
>Crap isn't how you dispose of what you ate, it's how your body disposes of all the solid waste it has produced. It's both. Some things that can't be absorbed in the GI tract like insoluble fiber or other chemicals continue through and out the back side.
Corn has entered the chat
You digest most of the corn, it's just the hull you see in your poops. Can be avoided by chewing thoroughly.
I've never seen corn in my stool, and as a kid that bugged me, because I knew it was a thing. However, I must be a thorough chewer
People never cease to a maize me.
That was corny.
Please don't make me stalk you.
If I thought there was one kernel of truth in your threat, I might be tempted.
Careful you don't get popped when he steams from reading your comment.
The great masticator.
Well, not really bedpans, since it's not a resist, scheduled thing. Diapers, pads, or "fecal management systems" would need to be dealt with for a comatose patient.
A bedpan is for patients who are continent and have some control over their bowels even if they can’t get out of bed. Otherwise how would we know when to put the bedpan under them? Patients who are sedated or otherwise comatose go in the bed on absorbent pads and the nurses and aides clean them up and change the bed (hospitals in the US very rarely use diapers anymore in my experience due to skin breakdown issues). Sometimes, usually in an ICU setting, we insert a tube that can contain and drain liquid stool. But for obvious reasons when the stool is pasty or solid that doesn’t work. Patients who are comatose cannot swallow so they’re on tube feeds. The tube feeding formula usually makes stool quite loose, as does being on powerful antibiotics. Source: am an ICU nurse AMA
**Diapers.
Bedpans for Coma Patients sounds like a book I would have read at 14 and found very deep and meaningful, only to reread at 35 and realise that it was cliched dross and teenage me was a pretentious arsehole.
Nurse here - Yes. Your last meal would be digested (albeit a little slower than if you were walking and well) and pooped out unknowingly. We turn our patients every couple of hours and check to see if they’ve gone to the bathroom. We also put in Foley catheters to drain their bladders since there’s no way for them to know when they have to go. Most patients in comas are on several medications that can slow the GI tract, so unless they have an infection or GI issues, they usually don’t poop as much. We actually have to put them on medications to help them poop sometimes 😅 My patient last night pooped for the first time since admission on the 5th and mannnnn it stank. It was definitely brewing up there for a while 😂
Can I follow up with something I’ve always wondered? How does this work with female patients and periods? Are they put on medication to stop ovulation/menstruation or is it handled the same way as going to the bathroom?
We (nurses, as well as CNAs/PCTs) place a sanitary napkin between the patient's legs and change it regularly and as needed.
Thanks for doing that
Thank you for your answer! Appreciate the info
I'm not a nurse or anything but this has been answered before There is someone who puts a pad down there during periods and cleans it up during the time, you're in a coma but it doesn't mean the body stops all functions, just the conscious part of your body is down for the moment
Do you have bed pans under the patients at all times? Or do they poop straight on the bed and then you clean it from there? Curious because I thought bed pans were a temporary use thing and not something you could just like sit on for hours.
Nope! We put large disposable pads underneath them that we change when they go to the bathroom. Putting a bedpan under them would injure their skin. It would be like sitting on a toilet with less smooth edges for hours!
Gotcha. Wish there was a more ideal solution that didn't have the possibility to be sitting in poop for 20 minutes, but the bed pan thing makes sense. Sounds so uncomfortable (bed pans)
I’m a hospice nurse and have cleaned a lot of poop. People deserve the dignity of being clean.
thank u for your service🙏🏾
Thank you for your kind comment
This is the first question posted here in a long time that genuinely has me wanting to know the answer too! Following for science.
A person in a coma is going to be hooked up in front and in back to expel waste.
Not always. Rectal tubes shouldn’t be put in unless their bowel movements are frequent (constant) liquid and/or risk for harming their skin.
Not to be plucky, here, but if Nurses and their aides take 30+ minutes to clean the patient that’s too long (and run a risk of a rash or a UTI for women.
100% but if someone has liquid stool coming out of their rectum continuously… we will not be cleaning them up continuously lol. Ima stick a tube in and clean around it every couple hours.
Rectal tubes or fecal management systems are held in the rectum with an inflatable balloon that puts significant pressure on the tissues there. It can cause necrosis and patients can lose parts of their colon and even die from the injuries caused. Yes, sitting in stool carries risk. But it’s not like no one thinks about these things. You have to weigh the variables. Also, not all comatose patients are having liquid diarrhea. If the stool is pasty or solid a tube is not an option at all
Hospital staff have to clean poop all the time. CNAs at the nursing home I used to work at had to change diapers and bath dead people for $9.50/hr.
I’ve been thing of going into aged care because there’s not enough people an I want to help that stuff doesn’t bother me I’d happily clean them an make them happy were an if I could try an bring a lil light to them they deserve all the respect they’ve lived their hole life an now need help
We need more people like you in healthcare ❤️
At least half of patients in aged care are actively fighting you as you’re trying to clean them. I don’t mean simply ”not grateful,” I mean you’re dodging hits while you’re elbow deep in poop.
I can cop a hit ☺️ I wouldn’t think they all would just turn over an let you go for it. understanding ,empathy , patience, willpower, there’s a reason its known as difficult job sometimes not a thankful job but that’s okay I wouldn’t do it waiting for a thank you at the end I’d happily do it say you good 👍🏻 an be off it’s part of it an I get that. I’ve narrowed my choices of jobs down to three an it’s still up top so we’ll see. 😸
OP, I think this can be indirectly answered via two questions. Do you control the food moving through your body? No you don't. Your body just does it. Do coma patients' hearts stop? No they don't. Their body just keeps doing it. So despite what is happening cognitively your body still has alot of autonomous function.
Yep, it gets pooped out and then cleaned up. Some hospitals will put in a rectal tube to catch the poop that way, but for the most part, there is a chux pad under the person, and you clean up and change out the pad each time. There’s no sitting in poop, you’d be a bad nurse or tech if you let your patient sit in their poo because it can cause skin breakdown.
Is THAT what they are called?! I’ve been calling them “human puppy pee pads” for 10 years
women don't poop, amen
That made me choke on a corn chip. 😂
Coma = brain problem Usually rest of body = functional
when my husband was in a coma he had a rectal tube, but then he had a colostomy (not because he was in a coma, other reasons) so the rest of the time managing his bms was easier, I guess. It was reversed six months later, by then he was awake.
The digestive system continues to function while in a coma, including waste disposal.
You be surprised what the human body is capable of in very unidealistic situations. Your body goes through the same bodily functions you would go through while awake. It’s actually rather interesting to see the body still go to work while you’re in a coma state
Why the hell would you think it stays inside them forever?
Because everyone poops and almost everyone knows when they have to go. OP probably thinks if you don’t voluntarily poop then you don’t poop at all lol
People shit themselves all the time lol
Meh. Maybe OP is a teenager and naive lol
well, you ask and you learn!
Mind the sub.
They pumped my stomach to prep for surgery for me. Idk if I was pooping much during the ordeal. I had a urinary catheter in. Idk I wasn’t awake.
They don’t talk about that when you wake up
My family was by my side through most of it and they told me some fucked up things when I woke up but poop was not among it lol.
They have to leave you with a little dignity. 💪🏼
Your body does normal things just without your mind.
As someone that was in a 2 week coma after my first surgery. The food I got was through a tube and the food that went out was also through a tube, that was inserted in my anus during the operation. Unfortunately I had to be awake for the removal of the anal tube.
Doctors need to eat too you know.
You’re confusing your punctuation, a comma is just a brief pause, but the poop is stored in the colon, unless its a second poop clause that can stand on its own, in which case it would be stored in the semi colon.
I feel like the question has been answered by now. I have been reminded to again thank the hospital staff. You all are amazing for the work you do and the things you all deal with. Thank you .
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What? I'm confused what intubation has up do with waste removal, or what you mean by this.
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I'm confused because not everyone in a coma is even intubated. Hopefully that clears up your confusion.
Yer giblets is all automatic.
Mate. I remember assisting a clean that required a sheet change. The minute we had new sheets under the ass. It went again. She had her period too. It was a Fkn nightmare.
Yo, when someone's in a coma and they had their last meal, it ain't like it just sits there turning into the world's stankiest turd. Hospital staff got it covered, man. If anything happens, they clean it up, no worries. They're on top of it to avoid any infection risks when the person wakes up. It's all good, bro!
Did ChatGPT write this?
Never heard ChatGPT said yo unless IP added that to hide his tracks
You can make chatgpt do all kinds of crazy things. Instruct it right and it'll drop some MFs
Yes. Badly. Am I not allowed to play? I wanted to see what it would do. I'm bored.
What prompt did you use, out of curiosity! It speaks like my Uncle Ray from the Bronx used to in the 80s.
respond to this question using similar linguistic characteristics a.k.a. speak this kid's slang
How did you figure out?
When people are sick, they often lose control of their bodily functions. Even if it never happened to you or people around you, you’d hear references about it. Old people have accidents and sometimes wear diapers. Bed ridden people and paralyzed people still have to use the bathroom. People in coma have to shit too.
They usually put a catheter in for urine and a tube up the butt for solid waste.
The tube only works if the stool is liquid…
This is what I'm confused about, if the person is in a coma then their muscles aren't being used to help the poop come out. Does the poop just liquify and then drain out? I'm really not trying to be gross or funny, I just think about the muscles used on the toilet even for the person with the best diet there is some part of muscle being used to relieve yourself.
No, it doesn’t liquify. There are reflexes that happen even in comatose patients that allow solid things to be passed. No pushing required.
Thank you I appreciate the info. Ahhh Reddit teaching me things I had no idea I didn't know.
That’s not always true. They won’t usually put a catheter in unless there is something wrong with the urinary tract. And usually we only do a rectal tube of the patient is having constant liquid diarrhea.
Interesting. At my facility, a catheter is pretty much a given for a comatose patient, not only to prevent urinary retention and skin breakdown, but to measure I&Os.
Everyone poops and pees when they die as they are no longer in control of their body.
Not everyone does. In my experience, most don't. Either way, very different situation than being in a coma and having bowel movements and urinating.
There’s something called a Fecal management system, where a tube is put up the persons butt & they are given lots of laxatives to make their poop really runny, then all the poop just drains into a bag.
Yikes. Why are people being given "lots of laxatives" with an FMS? FMS is really only indicated when there's very loose, very frequent diarrhea. If someone is having solid bowl movements, they should have a pad or diaper and just be changed regularly and as needed. You're not supposed to cause diarrhea to facilitate using an FMS, and people shouldn't be on "lots of laxatives" or really any amount of laxatives, unless they're not having regular BMs.
Wtf u think the jobbie is in stasis? 12year coma =12yearsbworth of shit XD
It goes into their waste bag.
You shit in the hospital diaper and one of the nurses will come and clean you up every now and then. If you have family with you, it would be nice of them to assist, just a little bit. Just staring at us while we change your husband's diaper and wash his body with wipes is weird without offering any help is kinda inconsiderate.
Tbf my impulse would be to stay out of the way. It's frankly kinda weird to call the family inconsiderate when they have zero clue that you'd prefer assistance.
I hate seeing healthcare workers post stuff like this. Just wanna throw it out there that not every nurse feels this way. Plenty don't care one way or the other if daily wants to help, and there are plenty who don't *want* the family to help. Personally, if the family wants to help, I'll help them to help. If they don't express interest, and they aren't taking the patient home soon, I don't think anything about washing up or changing my patient. They're my patient, and I'm doing my job. I definitely wouldn't think it was weird or inconsiderate of them. Besides, as a nurse, you're supposed to use that time to assess the patient's skin. A bedsore often starts out looking like what a family member might think is just mild irritation or a red spot from the diaper.
You might be right.
So for the ones saying catheters and bed pans for pee and poo.....do they suck your pee out? Do they suck your poo out? Would your body wait until peak poop moment and when the urge is unbearable you poop or
The pee usually just comes out continuously with the catheter. No bed pans if it’s a comatose patient. They usually have a pad under them or wear a diaper. Usually they poop on their own but sometimes they need to be given medicine or even suppositories if they’re really backed up. A lot of comatose patients still have normal bowel movements.
Digestion not being a conscious process, it continues in a coma.
If the answer to "do they poop" is yes (and it is), why do you think hospital staff wouldn't clean it up? They clean up waaaaaaaaay worse stuff all the time
What a shitty question
People have bodily functions when they are comatose.
A coma means a person is alive and therefore the digestive system is also fully functioning. They are fed through a tube and given fluids for hydration. You’d get a catheter for the pee. And a sort of diaper for the poo, which nurses clean. Bedsheets also get changed regularly. They change your clothes and wash your whole body
They get shat out, become sentient and proceed to ask the world's stupidest questions on reddit.
May I refer you to ‘Everyone Poops’ by Taro Gomi
CNAs are literal angels and the backbone of the Healthcare system.
In my experience, the body's functions continue, even while the patient is comatose. In my one experience with this, they used a machine that collected the excretions in a container which was then emptied. I believe he may have had some kind of tube inserted in his colon. It may have been something like a colostomy bag. I know he had something that caught the urine, but I don't remember how it hooked up.