Mom had a strange smell about her today. Mom had a distinct odor today which hasn't been present for a while. It was not a urine smell or sweat. I asked the nurse to come and check and she said that while mom had a wound in her foot, the dressing had been changed the other day and it did not smell infected. Should I have taken her at her word or should I have asked for towels and clothes to do a sponge bath. My mom (101 years old) would have been mortified that she smelled. The nurse said the night nurse would check her body completely to see if there was any other wound or infection. Should I have done more?
You mentioned bowel issues. Were the investigated properly? The reason I ask is because patients with cancer in their digestive system develop an extremely putrid small on their breath in the days and weeks prior to death. Do you know how the foot was injured in the first place? Definitely follow up vigorously this is not trivial.
Not to say that that is what you smelled, just that the body gasses off all the time thru the pores & even foods, inadequate WATER flushing the vital organs can cause some infrequent but noticeable odors. Infection odors have their own smell....ask others to investigate discreetly on your behalf. Not all staff have good noses.
I don't think you did anything wrong, I suspect instead that the nurse was an idle so-and-so who was glad to fob this off on the next shift (assuming she got round to mentioning it at handover time), but I wouldn't drop it either. When are you next visiting your mother?
I hope that there is a wound care doctor managing her wound.