Trick of the trade: Nebulized … orange juice?

Posted by Michelle Lin, MD on

In my theme of detoxifying malodorous smells in the ED, I recently learned of a new way of masking odors. Imagine the stress on your olfactory nerves from the combined effects of urinary and fecal incontinence from a nursing home patient.

An ingenious nurse proposed nebulizing actual coffee within the room. Unfortunately, our ED was out of coffee at the moment.

Trick of the Trade

Nebulized orange juice

I only learned of this trick after walking into the patient’s very subtly foggy room. About 4 cc of orange juice had been nebulizing for a few minutes. The room smelled a little like a Jamba Juice (a smoothies/ juice shop). Quite pleasant actually. I was shocked to find that it masked the odors quite well. I just HAD to take a photo and share this great trick.

Addendum

This trick really is a more subtle de-odorizer approach. So it only works in an enclosed room, such as a patient’s room. You need time for the scent to build up. If your patient is in a common area or hallway, the scent gets too dispersed. You’re outta luck.

Author information

ALiEM Founder and CEO
Professor and Digital Innovation Lab Director
Department of Emergency Medicine
University of California, San Francisco

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