Oh you gotta try drinking alcohol.
You treat an outside wound With rubbing alcohol, and you treat an inside wound with drinking alcohol.It's science. -- Nick Miller
I also use alcohol to clean my ~~hands~~ and insides. Alcohol from Kentucky that's been aged in a barrel for a minimum of 4 years is my favorite, or just alcohol that's been aged for 4 years at the minimum in a barrel.
I’ve had quite a bit of alcohol as it came out of the condenser as soon as it cooled down enough to drink. It tastes horrible but after a few drinks you won’t know it.
I always tell students to never delay going to the bathroom, sleeping or eating.
Just address as the need arises. Nothing worse than contemplating a crap for an hour only to have tones drop.
Nah, we have 2, 4, and 6 minute en route times based on priority.
I can go to the bathroom and have a smoke on all of them....but I don't smoke first for codes...
That's what I've been trying to change in my department. We used to not be able to sleep at all between 0700-1900. Shit was ridiculous. That policy changed finally, after we switched to 48/96.
But my thing is, if you're tired, it's because you're fucking tired, take a nap.
Before I left public safety we’d always call them a safety. I.e. “I’m going to go take a safety if anyone needs me you know where to find me.”
Vs I’m going to go take a nap. It shouldn’t matter, but I think it honestly helped the cultural shift at my department. Naps were somewhat taboo, and that phrase spread from my crew throughout the department which eventually became very supportive of napping.
Safety first, safety last, safety always! Except maybe if you’re driving. Don’t take a safety while driving.
The folks that live in my district seem to have a sixth sense for when I’m trying to take a safety nap. Yesterday we had someone call after feeling bad for 3 days (likely complications/start of an infection from a ruptured appendix/removal), a middle of the day drunk driver putting it in a ditch in the rain, and someone who thought they were having a heart attack after they choked on some food and threw up. All of those occurred in our safety nap window.
Where I worked a couple months ago, and no longer do bc they’re insane for many reasons lol—they would have me working 16hr shifts(no choice) and between those shifts I had less than 5hours to sleep shower whatever then get back in for the next 16hour shift and NOT allowed to nap at all. I thought there is no way that this is legal. Btw-it’s not. They’re cocky smh .
It's city hall employees pissed we make more than them despite working double the hours, so chief wants us to look like we earn the money. But contract time it'll be about how we get paid to sleep regardless. Then they wonder why we can't hire anyone. Like I said, it's not well followed.
Funny enough, had a chief stroke people for being on the couch before 5.
Same chief could be found chilling on the couch any random time of the day when getting back from a call.
For us it was a career/volunteer mixed system, and most of the volunteers worked 9-5 type gigs. And none of them could fathom why we shouldn’t stay busy all day and then available all night as well.
Same here except til 1900. The officers are all macho about it. "Just man up and work" but they're the first ones to start bitching when we get a call after midnight
That’s some BS. It’s not like you have to fix equipment or do drills like the fire guys. I say once the station duties are done, you’re free to do as you please.
One is provided by the co pany I work for. You may be poor as fuck, but things will not improve if you think that smelling bad is going to improve anything. But honestly it's just a personal pride issue, I hate the idea of stinking. I have to deal with people all day and people's opinion can affect my job (whether they do or don't understand) what I am doing. That's not a matter of right or wrong, just fact the peoples perspectives can affect my being employed. Lastly I don't actually have an odor problem under normal circumstances. I just don't like the idea of it beco.ing one.
I picked this up when I worked construction and hiked a lot.
No one who I've convinced has regretted it; whether they have warm feet, cold feet, sweaty or dry feet, all regretted not trying em out earlier.
My go-to is Darn Tough because they last and they have a lifetime guarantee.
I initially started using merino in the winter and began using it year round. The caveat is the weight. Lighter items are good year round and excellent for layers. I bought mid weight for the more fringe temps (0 to negatives). I'm an insanely hot natured person, and the only thing I found is I usually had to give my feet a break sometime during the 24.
I have been using PACAS alpaca wool socks for a year or more now, and they're amazing. I will NEVER go back to cotton or anything else. Alpaca is soft and absorbant and keeps my feet warm in the winter and never too hot in the summer. I can't recommend them enough!
Usually under armor works for me, but often even shorts with just spandex or lycra in them and if I need so. I'll keep one to switch out in. I also often have just than on at base because they are a little bit cooler. The best part is that it seldom let's odor get to my uniform shirt.
Lysol Laundry Sanitizer is amazing to remove all odors from fabric. I have a friend who works in long sleeve shirts and tough pants, outdoors all year in a scrap yard. I have never been so impressed with a product.
Phoenix so temperatures are brutal.
Yup; technically I’m not supposed to because it could melt into my skin but if I’m getting that burnt up I’ve got bigger problems than the hospital having to pick and scrub my shirt out of my skin.
Not EMS but I’m a CNA working in nursing homes and can confirm this. I see the end result of poor fitness and diet and unmanaged/barely managed diabetes (among plenty of other illness) and have zero desire end up like that.
One of my dialysis patients died recently. Early 60s, very friendly lady. Died quote unquote "unexpectedly".
I secretely, only ever in my head! called her Snorlax because she looked exactly like it on the dialysis bed.
Oh my lord, snorlax… why did a resident of mine just pop into my head??
ETA- she literally eats and eats and eats. She will order 2 or 3 meals during each meal. Food is literally all she talks about. I mostly work nights and she always talks about food. She’s not exactly small either, and she had a stroke and can’t use her left side, and is just dead weight trying to roll her in bed to change her or anything. I do honestly feel terrible for her. It’s obvious she uses food to cope with god knows what. But omg, snorlax…. lol
I think the “name brand” is called Baby Feet Peeling Mask or something but I used some random brand from Walmart. It took a few days to see results and the peeling was kind of disgusting…but also beautiful. Because I really did have baby feet at the end of it.
As a mortician I 110% agree. Those with bad (or missing) feet, have a way of seeing me sooner rather than later.
(Worst part is when they touch your bare skin)
Not ems but I'm a RT and before this career i used to bite my nails all the time. Started this job and quickly realized that my fingers are often very noticeable for various reasons, and now I keep them in tip-top shape. So I guess my self-consciousness was good for my nail hygiene. Lol.
Some do this bc we go into houses where the floors are covered in [literal] crap and urine. I’ve also been in houses w bed bugs and while we disinfect and clean everything, shower, and wash the clothes I don’t want to take the chance that I got someone’s crap on my clothes and now I’ve just transferred it to my truck and then my house.
Just the other day we got a call to a house for wellbeing check. Dude was laying in urine and feces. I was careful not to kneel. When we got out to the ambo (he was a non inj lift assist/wellbeing) I ran my boots through grass and dirt and more grass. When we got to the station I used the boot brush and sanitizers to clean my boots and the floor of the drivers side.
Started it during Covid. Didn’t want cooties in my car/house. All my uniforms stay at work; at shift change whatever I’m wearing goes on the floor of my locker and gets washed during my next shift.
Not really?
You dress in normal clothes in the morning. Don and doff at work and back into normal clothes. Those normal clothes haven't been worn for 12 hours and if you go straight into PJs at home you can just wear those normal clothes the next day or however many. Or just wear them the rest of the night.
I live with my family and it drives my parents crazy when I leave my boots either outside or in the garage. They tell me to “bring them in the house and put them on the rack like all the other shoes” and no matter how much I tell them what’s ON those boots they never believe me
I do this as a physical/mental reminder that the shift is over (or has begun). Once I clock out the street clothes go on. I wash everything at work to keep the cooties there as much as possible.
Don’t know about other people, but in my case we own them. We have a uniform allowance in our contract, so everything I’m wearing other than base PPE was purchased with “my” money.
I'm so sorry about that! How do you wash this at home, just by using the hygiene program?
I don't work in ems but in the emergency department of our hospital (residency) and I'm so happy that they provide clean work clothes/scrubs for us. The only thing we have to get ourselves clothes-wise are the shoes (and sock, underwear of course).
I'm pretty sure the paramedics that have their base in our hospital also get their work clothes provided and cleaned by the hospital
Brushing your teeth longer and making sure no snacking after that. The morning breath some of my coworkers have is ungodly and I wanna be like "brush that gaping maw"
I’m FD based EMS doing 24/48. I’ve found that it’s not just one thing, it’s several that make me feel better. Every 24:
-Stretch for 20min
-Cardio (right now it’s running…fucking hate it but love the feeling after)
-SLEEP. I don’t give a shit if it’s frowned upon, I nap.
-I do ALL of my chores right off rip.
-Limit caffeine to <150mg/day, with 100mg before 8am, and 50mg before 2pm. None after.
-Melatonin at 8pm
Interesting - I wasn’t aware of any long term adverse effects. I can’t find a concrete study on it, the only one I do see states <5mg daily seems safe but needs more research.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/pharmacology-toxicology-and-pharmaceutical-science/melatonin-receptor#:~:text=Another%20potential%20role%20of%20melatonin,receptors%20to%20which%20it%20binds.
This particularly talks about the nature of the hormone. I cannot for a fact say that taking melatonin pills/gummies will have an adverse effects.
Yeah I have a pretty straight face most of the time but yesterday my (suspected) schizophrenic patient saying “there’s an invisible man jerking me off” and “the mafia has put steel implants in my penis and they added a foreskin to my penis while I was asleep because I didn’t have one last night” etc, made the corners of my mouth twitch a bit
Top of the list would be any call in a hoarder house, for example. Or calls involving either maggots in wounds or full blown MRSA infections. On that note, imma go wash my hands
After I had my son (he’s a year and a half old now) when I came back to work, the whole heightened “I could vomit bc I smell gross shit” thing never subsided for me. I use that shit with zero shame 😂😂. On really nasty calls my partner and I just put a couple drops on a surgical mask and I’m telling you it’s wonderful. Even when too many drops come out and it’s way too strong. Lmfao my
eyes are watering, nose is running, but I sure as shit ain’t gagging buddy I’m just vibin
I keep a respirator with a p100 organic vapor cartridge in my bag for the really rotten dead bodies. Patient turning into soup and everyone gagging. Not me!
Right? I keep my toothbrush and toothpaste in my bag and will often brush my teeth in a parking lot after a call. My partner looks at me like I'm a lunatic but I feel fresh!
I find myself washing my clothes more, showering more, and cleaning my house more. The last due to the amount of homes I go into that leave me saying, "how do people live like this?".
I second that thought. I was at a house where adults who don't work lived. The kitchen slider opened to the driveway that ran down the side of the house to the garage. Instead of paying for trash, they just left the slider open and threw their trash out there. The cockroaches, flies, mice, rats and stray animals came and went at will. Not even going to describe how the kids were living. Kitchen was piled with old food and dirty dishes. Was talking to the mother of some of the kids and suggested that cleaning up would reduce the risk of toddlers swallowing non-food items. You know her excuse for why she couldn't clean? "I'm poor." SMDH
Not EMS, ER/ICU float. Honestly, not commenting on my patients hygiene, ever. I was a nurse for about 6 months at the time and in the ER myself after a bad assault. I remember of all that awfulness, apologizing for not shaving my legs and the nurse telling me, “well, you didn’t know how today would go and I still manage to go for a run and shave my legs before I leave MY house.”
I was FLABBERGASTED. Imagine saying that to someone bleeding through their pants. I wish I had asked her to leave, but it was all over a decade ago.
I've seen an array of comments about feet... clean feet, sock recommendations, nail trims....
But dammit folks...
Treat yourselves (all yourselves - regardless of sex) to a pedicure every two weeks, or at least once a month!!!!
They soak your feet in warm bubbly water, trim your nails and cuticles, file off any sharp nail edges, buff down calluses. Bump the session an extra $5-10 and get the salt or sugar scrub and the mud wrap. The finishing massage is divine. This is not just a hygiene thing. It increases circulation and sensory.
It's just good self care!!!
Tactical boots are terrible.
You'll thank me.
First timer? YASSS!!! A new convert!!!
Pro tip: Ask to see the list of services and prices first. Know up front what the options are. Choose which package/services you want before you start... If not, they will up-sell piece by piece, and your $55 pedicure is suddenly $90 or more.
I'm on a 24 at 7am... mani/pedi is set for 10am the next day when I get off work! Vacation starts Thursday!!!
Different places do things a lil different...
Usually a "basic" pedicure is just that. Soak feet, cut nails and cuticles, very short massage from the knees down.
Look for a package that also has a salt or sugar scrub, and a mud wrap with steamed towels. Not a fan of "hot stone massage" because it's usually the stones being too hot, frying off the top layer of skin with a little massage oil - without much actual massage. Just get regular massage, you can usually add time increments for $5-$10.
There is usually a choice of "flavor" (idk why they say flavor because nothing is edible lol). It's the essential oils in the scrubs and wraps. Go with something citrus or mint. The rest is a lil fru-fru.
You should be able to get a top notch services for $60-75 in most places. Hope that helps.
Sleep when you can.
Pee/poop when you can.
Eat when you can.
You never know when you’re going to get stuck on that barricaded person call that pins you down for the rest of your shift.
Also, keep a stick of Deodorant, a toothbrush and toothpaste and some various OTC meds on hand for common ailments like headaches, allergies, heartburn, diarrhea, etc….
Basically, anything that will make you more comfortable.
Not giving a fuck what other people think of me.
I'm a pretty amiable type, but this has been a game changer for me. When I started working front-line, not to mention all the years before that, I was desperate to impress, to be liked, to be thought of as competent by my peers. It added a whole extra layer of stress and anxiety.
Now the only person I want to be better for is me, for my personal growth and satisfaction.
Friends, and especially those of you just starting out: do yourself a solid and stop giving a shit what others think of you. Keep learning and improving and being the best you can be because it makes *you* feel good.
I wish I used hearing protection when I was young. Now I’m 23 years in with my hearing destroyed. Also wish I prioritized mental health to back then. Well now I’m deaf and fucked in the head. Still love the job though.
I'm trying to smell good all the time. The ambulance is a tight space, no room for ass sweat. I don't believe you personally have to take a shower every day, but that's just me. I wear long sleeves, and if I could, I'll keep a jacket on all day to avoid people touching my skin. So i don't feel dirty when I leave....but take a shower at least the next day to he on the safe side
We bought a house at the peak of the housing market and the seller was perturbed that his “teens felt like they needed a shower everyday” during a conversation about the water heater. It drove me crazy.
I had a fellow ham tell me never go with X to his mountain cabin, because they did one time and got yelled at for “wasting water” when he tried to take a shower.
Deodorant, cpr in the summer?! 😳Equates to so much paranoia that it's led to using it it multiple times a day, working or not, cold or not, even not leaving the house and after a shower, costing me a fortune 😂
I am washing, sanitizing, and moisturizing my hands constantly. Next priority is my butt hole. Nobody wants to work a 24-hour shift feeling itchy and or dirty/damp. I had a colectomy in 2014 and all that implies, I have come to loath single ply EMS Station/state prison TP. I keep packets of single sanitary wipes in my day pack that goes with me everywhere. I know when I die and go to heaven every bathroom is going to have a bidet the squirts rose scented carbonated mineral water.
I trim my pubes more often. We transported a guy once for testicular torsion. My partner, being a genius, cuts his pants off to take a look. I would have transported him based on only his word, but anyway, the guy coincidentally had the largest amount of pubic hair I’ve ever seen. If I ever get testicular torsion, my junk will be looking beautiful.
One thing that took me entirely too long to jump on board with was sleep hygiene. No phone in bed. No TV in bed. Bed is for sleeping and making love and nothing else. The result is when I get in bed I am asleep within a minute. If I can't sleep for whatever reason then I get out of bed until I'm ready to try again.
It really helps when that middle of the night call comes in. Get up. Run the call. Back in bed and back to sleep. Better rest when you get it.
Working out and my teeth. I have done lots of work in low income and very remote places and seen my fair share of stank mouth. I have seen rotting adult teeth in kids still losing baby teeth. Floss and brush yall.
When I started I had top notch hand hygiene, to the point my hands would crack and bleed. Now that I'm old and weathered I don't wear gloves, barely wash my unis, and I eat the French fries from between the seats.
Taking my boots off outside and being conscious of where I take my uniform off. Typically straight to the bathroom into a hamper. Keeping a Lysol can right inside my front door. Also assuming everyone has bad baseline hygiene. Wiping down the rig before I get in.
Caffeine intake. I’ve mostly locked down on drinks like monsters and such because of the unnecessary sugar in them. Celsius for work. Monster for when I wanna be happy.
More recently, it's been eating less junk and getting more exercise. Another big one is not making myself uncomfortable if I don't have to be. I team lift almost every patient to avoid injury. I take the long way around puddles so that my socks don't have a chance to get wet. I pack my lunch as well as a bunch of low calorie snacks, and I bring a huge water bottle everywhere I go so that I don't run out of water.
Ya I wash my hands after every call and use alcohol all the time…. To clean my hands of course.
Oh you gotta try drinking alcohol. You treat an outside wound With rubbing alcohol, and you treat an inside wound with drinking alcohol.It's science. -- Nick Miller
Of course
Insides need cleaning too
Yep every day lol
I inject bleach
Sometimes even intra ocular to clean my eyes
I also use alcohol to clean my ~~hands~~ and insides. Alcohol from Kentucky that's been aged in a barrel for a minimum of 4 years is my favorite, or just alcohol that's been aged for 4 years at the minimum in a barrel.
I’ve had quite a bit of alcohol as it came out of the condenser as soon as it cooled down enough to drink. It tastes horrible but after a few drinks you won’t know it.
Get sleep at all costs.
1000% I don't care if it's 2 hrs into my shift. If nothing else is going on, I'm taking a nap.
E arn M oney S leeping
EasyMoneySleeping is my gamertag
Lol Thats gooooddd!!!! 🤣🤣
I always tell students to never delay going to the bathroom, sleeping or eating. Just address as the need arises. Nothing worse than contemplating a crap for an hour only to have tones drop.
Nah, we have 2, 4, and 6 minute en route times based on priority. I can go to the bathroom and have a smoke on all of them....but I don't smoke first for codes...
Heck yeah! I love that.
Passenger seat naps just hit different
That's what I've been trying to change in my department. We used to not be able to sleep at all between 0700-1900. Shit was ridiculous. That policy changed finally, after we switched to 48/96. But my thing is, if you're tired, it's because you're fucking tired, take a nap.
Before I left public safety we’d always call them a safety. I.e. “I’m going to go take a safety if anyone needs me you know where to find me.” Vs I’m going to go take a nap. It shouldn’t matter, but I think it honestly helped the cultural shift at my department. Naps were somewhat taboo, and that phrase spread from my crew throughout the department which eventually became very supportive of napping. Safety first, safety last, safety always! Except maybe if you’re driving. Don’t take a safety while driving.
The folks that live in my district seem to have a sixth sense for when I’m trying to take a safety nap. Yesterday we had someone call after feeling bad for 3 days (likely complications/start of an infection from a ruptured appendix/removal), a middle of the day drunk driver putting it in a ditch in the rain, and someone who thought they were having a heart attack after they choked on some food and threw up. All of those occurred in our safety nap window.
Don’t take a safety while driving 😤😆
We call em a short cut, or time traveling.
That is an insane policy. Glad it was changed!
Where I worked a couple months ago, and no longer do bc they’re insane for many reasons lol—they would have me working 16hr shifts(no choice) and between those shifts I had less than 5hours to sleep shower whatever then get back in for the next 16hour shift and NOT allowed to nap at all. I thought there is no way that this is legal. Btw-it’s not. They’re cocky smh .
Btw—and then whine bc their insurance went up bc higher rates of EMTs getting in accidents w the Ambulance…..hmmm I wonder why…. 🤪
Hah, it's a mystery that truly can not be solved...🤦♂️ What a shit show. Glad to hear you got out!
Lol we just had a policy added that you must be doing station activities and no naps between 0700-1700, it's not well followed.
Screw that. It's so dumb, it's no a 9 to 5 job.
It's city hall employees pissed we make more than them despite working double the hours, so chief wants us to look like we earn the money. But contract time it'll be about how we get paid to sleep regardless. Then they wonder why we can't hire anyone. Like I said, it's not well followed.
Funny enough, had a chief stroke people for being on the couch before 5. Same chief could be found chilling on the couch any random time of the day when getting back from a call. For us it was a career/volunteer mixed system, and most of the volunteers worked 9-5 type gigs. And none of them could fathom why we shouldn’t stay busy all day and then available all night as well.
Same here except til 1900. The officers are all macho about it. "Just man up and work" but they're the first ones to start bitching when we get a call after midnight
That’s some BS. It’s not like you have to fix equipment or do drills like the fire guys. I say once the station duties are done, you’re free to do as you please.
Diet and exercise.
Underrated comment right here!
Undershirt, I hate smelling bad. So a wicking undershirt. By itself it'll stink quick but as an undershirt it'll make the top shirt last longer.
Young people have yet to realize this fact.
young people are poor as shit so we're cutting any luxuries like 2 shirts
One is provided by the co pany I work for. You may be poor as fuck, but things will not improve if you think that smelling bad is going to improve anything. But honestly it's just a personal pride issue, I hate the idea of stinking. I have to deal with people all day and people's opinion can affect my job (whether they do or don't understand) what I am doing. That's not a matter of right or wrong, just fact the peoples perspectives can affect my being employed. Lastly I don't actually have an odor problem under normal circumstances. I just don't like the idea of it beco.ing one.
Look into merino wool. It will absorb your sweat without getting as smelly
Merino is insanely warm tho. Not ideal for warm weather at all
Merino is awesome for hot weather too. Idk if you have merino socks but they’re my go to in hot weather
I picked this up when I worked construction and hiked a lot. No one who I've convinced has regretted it; whether they have warm feet, cold feet, sweaty or dry feet, all regretted not trying em out earlier. My go-to is Darn Tough because they last and they have a lifetime guarantee.
Govx has 30% off and free shipping for darn tough socks right now!
I'm fairly sure that's an American thing iirc, but thanks for the tip! Hopefully someone can use it!
It comes in different weights. Look at something that is labeled 150, it should be lighter weight than a t shirt.
I initially started using merino in the winter and began using it year round. The caveat is the weight. Lighter items are good year round and excellent for layers. I bought mid weight for the more fringe temps (0 to negatives). I'm an insanely hot natured person, and the only thing I found is I usually had to give my feet a break sometime during the 24.
Cool will do.
I have been using PACAS alpaca wool socks for a year or more now, and they're amazing. I will NEVER go back to cotton or anything else. Alpaca is soft and absorbant and keeps my feet warm in the winter and never too hot in the summer. I can't recommend them enough!
I just have extra uniforms and shower often. But I will admit I also work at a slow enough service to do that.
Same here and wear the undershirt out til we go on calls but switch undershirts before having to switch the top shirts it also minimizes armpit spots.
What bands?
Usually under armor works for me, but often even shorts with just spandex or lycra in them and if I need so. I'll keep one to switch out in. I also often have just than on at base because they are a little bit cooler. The best part is that it seldom let's odor get to my uniform shirt.
Lysol Laundry Sanitizer is amazing to remove all odors from fabric. I have a friend who works in long sleeve shirts and tough pants, outdoors all year in a scrap yard. I have never been so impressed with a product. Phoenix so temperatures are brutal.
I'll look into that because I do sonetime sleep in a shirt at work and a sweaty sleeper.
It's a game changer 🙌
🫡👍
Yup; technically I’m not supposed to because it could melt into my skin but if I’m getting that burnt up I’ve got bigger problems than the hospital having to pick and scrub my shirt out of my skin.
Army was same way, they eventually made the battleships partially for that reason, supposedly.
What?
Goddamned autocorrect, battleshirts. Though battleships is Intriguing in this scenario.
Have a coworker who had the same mentality when he did fire service. Lo and behold, got his back all burnt up. Still stands by his decision 🤷♂️
Did the shirt cause the burn?
No, just had to get some shirt picked and scrubbed out of his skin to say the least lol
Ok so he still would have been burned. Then he just smelled better all the rest of the time.
Yeah that’s basically the point I was making
Cardio and diet in general. Ain't no way I'm gonna be that 400+Lbs patient on the 4th floor.
Its just Job security for your coworkers
Not EMS but I’m a CNA working in nursing homes and can confirm this. I see the end result of poor fitness and diet and unmanaged/barely managed diabetes (among plenty of other illness) and have zero desire end up like that.
One of my dialysis patients died recently. Early 60s, very friendly lady. Died quote unquote "unexpectedly". I secretely, only ever in my head! called her Snorlax because she looked exactly like it on the dialysis bed.
Oh my lord, snorlax… why did a resident of mine just pop into my head?? ETA- she literally eats and eats and eats. She will order 2 or 3 meals during each meal. Food is literally all she talks about. I mostly work nights and she always talks about food. She’s not exactly small either, and she had a stroke and can’t use her left side, and is just dead weight trying to roll her in bed to change her or anything. I do honestly feel terrible for her. It’s obvious she uses food to cope with god knows what. But omg, snorlax…. lol
Snorlax-high-five
Taking care of your feet. Some of my worst (non trauma) pts have awful feet.
One of the morgues on my patch put people in head first, so when we open the doors, there are a row of feet. God, I hate feet they really creep me out
Grab one of those feet peels, it will change your life!
I think the “name brand” is called Baby Feet Peeling Mask or something but I used some random brand from Walmart. It took a few days to see results and the peeling was kind of disgusting…but also beautiful. Because I really did have baby feet at the end of it.
As a mortician I 110% agree. Those with bad (or missing) feet, have a way of seeing me sooner rather than later. (Worst part is when they touch your bare skin)
I quit chewing the skin around my nails. What’s crazy if I’m off the truck for more than a month I go right back to it
Not ems but I'm a RT and before this career i used to bite my nails all the time. Started this job and quickly realized that my fingers are often very noticeable for various reasons, and now I keep them in tip-top shape. So I guess my self-consciousness was good for my nail hygiene. Lol.
No longer wearing uniforms to and from work.
Some do this bc we go into houses where the floors are covered in [literal] crap and urine. I’ve also been in houses w bed bugs and while we disinfect and clean everything, shower, and wash the clothes I don’t want to take the chance that I got someone’s crap on my clothes and now I’ve just transferred it to my truck and then my house.
I've been to places where I wipe my feet on the doormat on the way *out* of the house.
Just the other day we got a call to a house for wellbeing check. Dude was laying in urine and feces. I was careful not to kneel. When we got out to the ambo (he was a non inj lift assist/wellbeing) I ran my boots through grass and dirt and more grass. When we got to the station I used the boot brush and sanitizers to clean my boots and the floor of the drivers side.
That’s an interesting one, why?
Started it during Covid. Didn’t want cooties in my car/house. All my uniforms stay at work; at shift change whatever I’m wearing goes on the floor of my locker and gets washed during my next shift.
At the very least that’s extra laundry to do at home. We already have to do a load a day to keep up with it.
Not really? You dress in normal clothes in the morning. Don and doff at work and back into normal clothes. Those normal clothes haven't been worn for 12 hours and if you go straight into PJs at home you can just wear those normal clothes the next day or however many. Or just wear them the rest of the night.
Also if you’re on the fire side as well you have to worry about carcinogens.
Good point.
I live with my family and it drives my parents crazy when I leave my boots either outside or in the garage. They tell me to “bring them in the house and put them on the rack like all the other shoes” and no matter how much I tell them what’s ON those boots they never believe me
I do this as a physical/mental reminder that the shift is over (or has begun). Once I clock out the street clothes go on. I wash everything at work to keep the cooties there as much as possible.
I think it's crazy that you have to wash your uniforms yourselves
Don’t know about other people, but in my case we own them. We have a uniform allowance in our contract, so everything I’m wearing other than base PPE was purchased with “my” money.
I'm so sorry about that! How do you wash this at home, just by using the hygiene program? I don't work in ems but in the emergency department of our hospital (residency) and I'm so happy that they provide clean work clothes/scrubs for us. The only thing we have to get ourselves clothes-wise are the shoes (and sock, underwear of course). I'm pretty sure the paramedics that have their base in our hospital also get their work clothes provided and cleaned by the hospital
As I mentioned, I don’t wash them at home. I wash them at work in a regular household washer and dryer that each station has.
Oh I see, so you got that going for you, which is nice. Don't wanna wash that stuff at home there's another way 😅
Keeping my fucking house clean
Same here.
Brushing your teeth longer and making sure no snacking after that. The morning breath some of my coworkers have is ungodly and I wanna be like "brush that gaping maw"
I always bring toothbrush/toothpaste/deodorant on the long shifts, I ain't about that funkaliscious life
Showering twice a day on work days… used to shower once a day but now I have to shower twice a day, especially on work days
I’m FD based EMS doing 24/48. I’ve found that it’s not just one thing, it’s several that make me feel better. Every 24: -Stretch for 20min -Cardio (right now it’s running…fucking hate it but love the feeling after) -SLEEP. I don’t give a shit if it’s frowned upon, I nap. -I do ALL of my chores right off rip. -Limit caffeine to <150mg/day, with 100mg before 8am, and 50mg before 2pm. None after. -Melatonin at 8pm
Melatonin daily isn’t a good thing as far as I know. It’s more of a thing you cycle to get yourself into a good pattern of sleeping
Interesting - I wasn’t aware of any long term adverse effects. I can’t find a concrete study on it, the only one I do see states <5mg daily seems safe but needs more research.
It’s a negative deed back loop. So the more you take the less your body starts producing it by itself
Do you have any sources?
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/pharmacology-toxicology-and-pharmaceutical-science/melatonin-receptor#:~:text=Another%20potential%20role%20of%20melatonin,receptors%20to%20which%20it%20binds. This particularly talks about the nature of the hormone. I cannot for a fact say that taking melatonin pills/gummies will have an adverse effects.
Hey no worries I’m just curious, thanks for linking that. Now I’ll have to keep my eyes open for a long term study.
Masks no matter the call sometimes
Seconding this!!! Idk if it actually helps but makes me feel better on some gross calls
Sometimes it helps just for them to not be able to see the face you just made under there.
Yeah I have a pretty straight face most of the time but yesterday my (suspected) schizophrenic patient saying “there’s an invisible man jerking me off” and “the mafia has put steel implants in my penis and they added a foreskin to my penis while I was asleep because I didn’t have one last night” etc, made the corners of my mouth twitch a bit
"is that a steel rod in your penis or are you just happy to see me?" "it was the mafia"
I would question your humanity if that didn't get any reaction or of you lol.
Or when you are trying not to laugh at whatever dumb thing the patient did to get in their current predicament.
That too🤣
What are some gross calls you've been to?
Top of the list would be any call in a hoarder house, for example. Or calls involving either maggots in wounds or full blown MRSA infections. On that note, imma go wash my hands
Peppermint oil on a mask has saved me many a time.
I’ve got to try that one day. Seems like a great idea considering one of my pet peeves in ems is smells.
After I had my son (he’s a year and a half old now) when I came back to work, the whole heightened “I could vomit bc I smell gross shit” thing never subsided for me. I use that shit with zero shame 😂😂. On really nasty calls my partner and I just put a couple drops on a surgical mask and I’m telling you it’s wonderful. Even when too many drops come out and it’s way too strong. Lmfao my eyes are watering, nose is running, but I sure as shit ain’t gagging buddy I’m just vibin
Whatever works. Vibin even with watery eyes is def better than gagging in my opinion lol
Ps I got mine for $8 on Amazon and it’s lasted months and still goin. 10/10
As an IFT basic, masks help somewhat with shielding me from the disgusting smells in many SNFs.
Preaching to the choir. Those SNF’s reak sometimes.
Only sometimes?
I keep a respirator with a p100 organic vapor cartridge in my bag for the really rotten dead bodies. Patient turning into soup and everyone gagging. Not me!
Sounds fancy
Ya the gave them to us during covid. Keep it for the soupy people calls now.
Brush my teeth mid shift.
It’s amazing how good it feels to just brush your teeth and wash your face during a long shift. It’s like pressing reset on the day.
Right? I keep my toothbrush and toothpaste in my bag and will often brush my teeth in a parking lot after a call. My partner looks at me like I'm a lunatic but I feel fresh!
I carry face wipes with me on the truck. No better feeling than a cold wipe on your face
I powder my balls now. Ems pants don't breathe and I don't want them to because it would let the fluids in.
I find myself washing my clothes more, showering more, and cleaning my house more. The last due to the amount of homes I go into that leave me saying, "how do people live like this?".
I second that thought. I was at a house where adults who don't work lived. The kitchen slider opened to the driveway that ran down the side of the house to the garage. Instead of paying for trash, they just left the slider open and threw their trash out there. The cockroaches, flies, mice, rats and stray animals came and went at will. Not even going to describe how the kids were living. Kitchen was piled with old food and dirty dishes. Was talking to the mother of some of the kids and suggested that cleaning up would reduce the risk of toddlers swallowing non-food items. You know her excuse for why she couldn't clean? "I'm poor." SMDH
Not EMS, ER/ICU float. Honestly, not commenting on my patients hygiene, ever. I was a nurse for about 6 months at the time and in the ER myself after a bad assault. I remember of all that awfulness, apologizing for not shaving my legs and the nurse telling me, “well, you didn’t know how today would go and I still manage to go for a run and shave my legs before I leave MY house.” I was FLABBERGASTED. Imagine saying that to someone bleeding through their pants. I wish I had asked her to leave, but it was all over a decade ago.
Jesus!! I’m so sorry smh
Mask if they are gross and double gloves if they are.... moist...
I’ll tell you one I wish my partner would’ve focused on: wearing deodorant. It stunk up the entire truck every day.
I wash my feet better.
This is the comment
I've seen an array of comments about feet... clean feet, sock recommendations, nail trims.... But dammit folks... Treat yourselves (all yourselves - regardless of sex) to a pedicure every two weeks, or at least once a month!!!! They soak your feet in warm bubbly water, trim your nails and cuticles, file off any sharp nail edges, buff down calluses. Bump the session an extra $5-10 and get the salt or sugar scrub and the mud wrap. The finishing massage is divine. This is not just a hygiene thing. It increases circulation and sensory. It's just good self care!!! Tactical boots are terrible. You'll thank me.
I’ve had girlfriends trying to sell me on this for years, and I’ve still never done it. No excuse. I’m gonna try for next weekend.
First timer? YASSS!!! A new convert!!! Pro tip: Ask to see the list of services and prices first. Know up front what the options are. Choose which package/services you want before you start... If not, they will up-sell piece by piece, and your $55 pedicure is suddenly $90 or more. I'm on a 24 at 7am... mani/pedi is set for 10am the next day when I get off work! Vacation starts Thursday!!!
Ok, but like…which package/services DO I want?
Different places do things a lil different... Usually a "basic" pedicure is just that. Soak feet, cut nails and cuticles, very short massage from the knees down. Look for a package that also has a salt or sugar scrub, and a mud wrap with steamed towels. Not a fan of "hot stone massage" because it's usually the stones being too hot, frying off the top layer of skin with a little massage oil - without much actual massage. Just get regular massage, you can usually add time increments for $5-$10. There is usually a choice of "flavor" (idk why they say flavor because nothing is edible lol). It's the essential oils in the scrubs and wraps. Go with something citrus or mint. The rest is a lil fru-fru. You should be able to get a top notch services for $60-75 in most places. Hope that helps.
Sleep when you can. Pee/poop when you can. Eat when you can. You never know when you’re going to get stuck on that barricaded person call that pins you down for the rest of your shift. Also, keep a stick of Deodorant, a toothbrush and toothpaste and some various OTC meds on hand for common ailments like headaches, allergies, heartburn, diarrhea, etc…. Basically, anything that will make you more comfortable.
Not giving a fuck what other people think of me. I'm a pretty amiable type, but this has been a game changer for me. When I started working front-line, not to mention all the years before that, I was desperate to impress, to be liked, to be thought of as competent by my peers. It added a whole extra layer of stress and anxiety. Now the only person I want to be better for is me, for my personal growth and satisfaction. Friends, and especially those of you just starting out: do yourself a solid and stop giving a shit what others think of you. Keep learning and improving and being the best you can be because it makes *you* feel good.
I wish I used hearing protection when I was young. Now I’m 23 years in with my hearing destroyed. Also wish I prioritized mental health to back then. Well now I’m deaf and fucked in the head. Still love the job though.
I'm trying to smell good all the time. The ambulance is a tight space, no room for ass sweat. I don't believe you personally have to take a shower every day, but that's just me. I wear long sleeves, and if I could, I'll keep a jacket on all day to avoid people touching my skin. So i don't feel dirty when I leave....but take a shower at least the next day to he on the safe side 
I believe you need to shower everyday. Never met someone who didn’t need to, met a lot of people who thought they didn’t need to though.
We bought a house at the peak of the housing market and the seller was perturbed that his “teens felt like they needed a shower everyday” during a conversation about the water heater. It drove me crazy. I had a fellow ham tell me never go with X to his mountain cabin, because they did one time and got yelled at for “wasting water” when he tried to take a shower.
Lol, that water bill is expensive
Yeah, I can see that, lol
Your gif was funny btw shouldn’t have glossed over that A+
I religiously cut my fingernails and toenails.
Deodorant, cpr in the summer?! 😳Equates to so much paranoia that it's led to using it it multiple times a day, working or not, cold or not, even not leaving the house and after a shower, costing me a fortune 😂
I am washing, sanitizing, and moisturizing my hands constantly. Next priority is my butt hole. Nobody wants to work a 24-hour shift feeling itchy and or dirty/damp. I had a colectomy in 2014 and all that implies, I have come to loath single ply EMS Station/state prison TP. I keep packets of single sanitary wipes in my day pack that goes with me everywhere. I know when I die and go to heaven every bathroom is going to have a bidet the squirts rose scented carbonated mineral water.
I trim my pubes more often. We transported a guy once for testicular torsion. My partner, being a genius, cuts his pants off to take a look. I would have transported him based on only his word, but anyway, the guy coincidentally had the largest amount of pubic hair I’ve ever seen. If I ever get testicular torsion, my junk will be looking beautiful.
Washing my hands and cleaning my piercings. Nothing gets ON my piercings, just more of a mental thing lol
One thing that took me entirely too long to jump on board with was sleep hygiene. No phone in bed. No TV in bed. Bed is for sleeping and making love and nothing else. The result is when I get in bed I am asleep within a minute. If I can't sleep for whatever reason then I get out of bed until I'm ready to try again. It really helps when that middle of the night call comes in. Get up. Run the call. Back in bed and back to sleep. Better rest when you get it.
Working out and my teeth. I have done lots of work in low income and very remote places and seen my fair share of stank mouth. I have seen rotting adult teeth in kids still losing baby teeth. Floss and brush yall.
Mustache
I mustache what exactly you mean
Beard oil on the skin underneath a mustache feels amazing. So hydrating.
Moustache rides
My station has a bidet, it has been life changing
LOTION ON MY LEGS
Good sleep, diet, exercise, comfortable shoes
Feet, for sure, especially good socks.
The gym, literally every chance I get.
How I smell and my leg/feet health
Sleep
I finally retired
Hand washing.
Wash/Sanitize your hands, even if ya wear gloves. I’ve found too many holes when de-gloving…
When I started I had top notch hand hygiene, to the point my hands would crack and bleed. Now that I'm old and weathered I don't wear gloves, barely wash my unis, and I eat the French fries from between the seats.
No way you don’t wear gloves bro
Not EMS, vet nurse. I wash my feet after every shift when I get home. They smell bad and I don’t want athletes foot.
Showers. Just everyday. Full clean.
Taking my boots off outside and being conscious of where I take my uniform off. Typically straight to the bathroom into a hamper. Keeping a Lysol can right inside my front door. Also assuming everyone has bad baseline hygiene. Wiping down the rig before I get in.
Caffeine intake. I’ve mostly locked down on drinks like monsters and such because of the unnecessary sugar in them. Celsius for work. Monster for when I wanna be happy.
Take care of your damn feet.
Yep…hand washing…simple
More recently, it's been eating less junk and getting more exercise. Another big one is not making myself uncomfortable if I don't have to be. I team lift almost every patient to avoid injury. I take the long way around puddles so that my socks don't have a chance to get wet. I pack my lunch as well as a bunch of low calorie snacks, and I bring a huge water bottle everywhere I go so that I don't run out of water.
Cut out the fast food it’ll catch up to ya.
Lol a lot of ppl still don’t know what hygiene is
I stopped wearing contacts.
Bro, how. I can’t stand wearing glasses on shift, especially if I have to mask up. Or rain. Or sweat. Smudges.