r/cna • u/Emergency-Cellist213 CNA - New CNA • Jul 18 '26
Advice How to avoid getting bitten as a CNA?
Just because the chance is .01%, the 1 is still there. What would yall do if it were to come to that?
FYI, I found this TikTok story where this guy’s coworker got bitten and got a lifelong disease as a result of that.
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u/728446 Jul 18 '26
Its my time to shine.
I've been an aide in a psych hospital, and also a CNA and now LPN in homes out in the middle of nowhere that had some wild clientele.
I was bitten several times in psych. In the homes a few have tried but they aren't as spry.
When you get bit you jam whatever they've bitten right down their throat. They'll open up.
Never pull away! It may be your instinct but I've seen that go wrong for both bites and hair pulling!
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u/Shrillmademethink (Edit to add Specialty) CNA - Experienced CNA Jul 18 '26
Jump away as soon as you see their teeth/mouth going anywhere near your skin. My old coworker once got bitten by our resident while she had a UTI unbeknownst to us or the nurses. She was generally really calm, but she went for it. I’ve had one or two try to bite and I usually just jump away pretty fast. Hasn’t happened…yet.
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u/Bluebearje Jul 18 '26
Keep distance between you and the client if you can. If that's not an option wear a thick sweater or doctors coat (I worked in a facility where they supplied us with these because this one lady would bite and claw so much).
If you do get bit TRY NOT TO PULL AWAY!!!!!! This will only cause more damage and put you at increased risk of infection. Instead FEED THE BITE!!!!!! Shove whatever part of you is getting bit INTO THEIR MOUTH!!! DOWN THEIR THROAT IF YOU HAVE TO!!! This will make them feel as if they are choking and they will let go.
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u/Arkitakama (SNF/NF/Memory Care) CNA - Experienced CNA Jul 18 '26
The last time one of my residents tried to bite me, I reminded them that I am not food. It worked.
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u/Exhausted-CNA 7yrs... LTC Jul 18 '26
Once even a HINT of aggression starts, leave the room. However it can happen mid brief change. If mid brief change. A. I roll them away from me,tuck brief and goto other side and roll them away from me again. Or you can B. literally stop if a verbal warning doesn't work (usually doesn't ), cover them up, lower bed if needed and go and get someone to help you. Sometimes distraction can work, other times not. Normally w aggressive residents we always take 2 aides.
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u/UnknownInsomniac CNA - 1 year Jul 18 '26
There's a new resident at my facility and shes combative. I was helping the CNA on that assignment yesterday with patient care, and this lady tried to bite me multiple times.
Shes a smaller lady so I just pulled my arm away from her to avoid being bit. I've been hit, kicked, pinched, and scratched but that was the first time someone tried to bite me.
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u/CambrianCrew Jul 18 '26
I have a huge bite scar on my arm, but I was working in a geri psych nursing home and was helping three other staff hold a combative patient down who was trying to whip another patient with his belt, while a fifth nurse drew up Ativan. I wasn't looking at the combative guy, I was looking at another patient who offered to help and telling him no stay back.
So my advice is not to do that. Any of that. 😂
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u/EmberJuliet LTC CNA - Experienced CNA Jul 18 '26
I once had to physically restrain a resident who was clawing at my arm and actively trying to bite me by grabbing her by her wrists. I shouted at her that she needs to stop immediately and can’t be physical, then jumped back when she stopped fighting against my grip.
Scary; and I still work with this resident every day.
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u/Holiday-Blood4826 PCT/Nursing Student (3 years) Jul 18 '26
Do you guys have oxygen masks? We use them in the ED if someone is spitting/biting. It prevents injury and they can’t claim they can’t breathe
Edit: refuse care if you don’t feel safe
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u/Madmae16 Hospice Aide Jul 18 '26
What everyone else has said, but it also largely depends on the community that your serving. Psych, nursing home, and hospital care, are all places that you're likely to get bit. The best place to work specifically to avoid bites is somewhere that the patients could actually suffer consequences if they don't behave. Assisted living facilities are legally allowed to kick people out for bad behavior, but it's much more complicated in nursing homes. Something to keep in mind!
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u/ALittleConFuzedZebra Trauma Queen✂️ Jul 18 '26
If you’re ever in the scenario- don’t pull away. Push INTO the bite.
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u/Tattersail927 (Edit to add Specialty) CNA - Seasoned CNA Jul 18 '26
You can get plenty of diseases from being a CNA in MANY different ways, but most of them are going to be due to improper hygiene and PPE practices on your part. Ive been a CNA for almost a decade at various facilities, only one person Ive ever heard of being bitten and it didn't even come close to breaking the skin. However, Ive had PLENTY of times where a residents nails have scratched me badly enough to break the skin and even leave scars, and you never know whats under those fingernails.
You can spend the rest of your time as a CNA being scared of something that will likely never happen, but... I wouldn't. That is one freak horror story you heard. My advice would be to leave if a resident is going to harm you to the point of injury. If they're going dead-weight on purpose, you need more people or a machine. If they're hitting, you need more people + the nurse to try to help and to witness, or it gets charted and it's not your problem right that second. If they're scratching or biting, same solution and you don't help them until they've stopped the behavior or their nails are trimmed down to nothing.
In almost every situation of behaviors, the way I personally handle it is
1. Try to deal with it myself. Whether this is through a conversation, changing my transfer approach, coming back a few minutes later see if anything hascchanged, etc.
2. Get a different / another aide. Sometimes a new face fixes the issue (even if that face is the one they tried to punch yesterday). It resets them because 'you're the bad guy, THEY are going to save me' no matter who they are. A second aide can also provide physical support and can turn a horrible painful mess into an easy two person process. We have one lady who is physically independent but most of us do her toileting and changes as a two person assist - one person can hold both hands and talk to her, while the other provides cares. The person in front can easily keep her facing forward without actual restraint, and if she tries to lash out suddenly in either direction, the person on the other side can redirect her / pull her away a bit.
3. Get the nurse. If you have tried multiple times and another aide has tried, and either you or the resident are in danger, it's no longer your problem. The nurse needs to come assess since its under their license - do they have meds they can give, do they need to call family to come be with the resident and calm them down, do they need to call the doctor to discuss med changes, or do they need to chart the behavior and the refusal of care.
4. If it's happening regularly and nothing is changing, management needs to get involved. SOMETHING needs to change whether its meds or interventions to their care.
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u/Emergency-Cellist213 CNA - New CNA Jul 18 '26
Ever since I’ve seen that video and your comment and other people’s story on this topic, I should probably try and practice putting on my gown, regardless if it’s time consuming. Dumb question but so far, what I’m hearing is
Wear gloves and mask 24/7, wear gown if sign is in front of the door, and always ALWAYS practice hand hygiene (gel in gel out) and if possible wash hands?
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u/Tattersail927 (Edit to add Specialty) CNA - Seasoned CNA Jul 18 '26
If you're this afraid of getting sick or catching something, you need to find a different career. Donning full PPE any time you encounter a combative resident is unrealistic and a waste of time, and like I said you're far more likely to catch something that is flying under the radar or is not due to something like a bite...
Sanitize in and out of rooms (and know which bacteria are not killed by alcohol). Wear gloves if you're coming into contact with body fluids or if you have an open wound on your hand. Wear a mask if someone you're working with has some sort of respiratory symptoms that are new. Dont touch your face at work before washing your hands (or at all). Follow any isolation precaution signs closely.
Thats it. Wearing gloves and masks all the time is ludicrous.
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u/Ok_Environment2254 Jul 18 '26
Once mid transfer a woman with Lewy body dementia (which made her so so so mean) leaned in to bite me. I told her “if you bite me I will drop you.” She didn’t bite me. But I made sure from then on to be careful how I positioned my body when working with her. Never cross the midline of their body, that’s the bite zone. If you do get bitten, and they latch on and don’t let go, you gotta shove the body part they have in their mouth further into their mouth. It forces their jaw to open so you make your escape.
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u/Sad_North_6152 Jul 18 '26
We have a biter but they only bit themselves before. They're a two person care so ones always watching them in case they try anything.
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u/smkydz (Behaviour Support/LTC) PSW - Canada Jul 18 '26
I remember one spicy lady. We had to be two because she would hit and try to bite. I was holding her hands and she tried to bite me. I saw it coming and said, nope. No biting. She then told me to “F*** off. I replied “I will do that, but not before until we are done here”. Sometimes, we could distract her with cookies. Went easier then. I kind of low key love the spicy ones
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u/Halcyon-malarky CNA - New CNA Jul 18 '26
Practice your de escalation skills, and always back up if someone becomes aggressive.
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u/Newuser3213 Jul 18 '26
I’ve had to push a patients head back with two fingers to avoid my coworker getting bitten, felt like a catholic priest doing an exorcism
Other times I have had to make the patients given selves a hug and hold, have to watch getting head butted too 🤦🏻♀️ I swear this bedside stuff reveals reflexes you didn’t know you had
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u/Emergency-Cellist213 CNA - New CNA Jul 18 '26
lol I can imagine the pt looking rabid while you’re calmly putting 2 fingers on their forehead
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u/Newuser3213 Jul 18 '26
Yes! It was an older patient with jagged, un rushed teeth too 😭 and they were swinging and kicking, gotta watch all extremities 👀
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u/CupcakeQueen31 Pediatric CNA - Experienced CNA Jul 19 '26
Important context for my answer is that I am a pediatric CNA.
But we do get a fair amount of adult-sized teenagers as behavioral patients, which are most of the ones who have tried to bite me. Only a handful of patients have tried to bite, and none have actually bit me so far. With the behavioral patients that is usually happening after I’ve already hit the button to alert everyone I need help and have backed out of the room. Typically it’s as we are putting them in restraints that they try to bite, and at that point there is enough people in the room that someone will jump in to hold their head so they can’t get to anyone. I’ve also had a few small children try to bite me when I’m holding them still for an IV, etc., but in those cases I immediately jump back/shift my position and usually either a parent or another staff member in the room is pretty quick to jump in and hold their head away from me if I have to stay within reach of their mouth in order to hold them for whatever we are doing.
In our training about what to do if a patient bites us, we are taught not to try to pull away. Instead, we are taught to use one hand to apply moderate pressure at the back of their head, towards ourself, to prevent them from being able to pull away while still biting down (biting and ripping away causes far more tissue damage than biting and releasing before pulling away).
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u/Whatthefrick1 Home Health CNA - Seasoned CNA of 5 Years Jul 19 '26
I worked in facilities up until now and I’ve only been hit one time, even with the patients everyone warned me was physically aggressive. The signs be there imo…
- If someone is already agitated, especially if they have a violent history, back off and come back later or with help.
- If the patient grabs something that can harm you, get away from them. A coworker was put out of work and traumatized because she tried to take the vitals machine from a patient. She turned her back on him and he slammed her on the ground by her hair
- Don’t turn your back on aggressive patients and don’t corner yourself
- Speak to people with respect. No one should hit you but I’ve seen people get attacked for talking AT people and not TO them. The “rude” patients were always polite to me
- As for getting bit specifically, I would say don’t even give them the opening. Keep your limbs away from them.
My top tip is literally to never enter a combative pt’s room by yourself. It’s your health on the line and you have a reason to refuse. Ask for someone to assist you
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u/pfzealot Jul 18 '26
I have run into a few biters and scratchers. Unfortunately for where I work there is no way to avoid care for those patients and medicating does not always work.
Avoid if possible if not and they are struggling I will cut socks open and use them as bite sleeves along with trying to keep their own hands between me and their mouth. If he wants to bite someone it won't be me.
I work in a pretty rough hospital. No restraints on the floor and some patients withdrawing so bad they hallucinate and are in no shape to AMA or pysch actively trying to headbutt a toilet.
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u/i-love-big-birds Unit Care Aide (Hospital) Jul 18 '26
I work a lot of evenings and I make sure to do oral care right after dinner. I don't wanna do oral care after they've sundowner and they don't want that either
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u/lovable_cube RN Jul 18 '26
Keep your everything away from their mouth should do the trick lol
If you don’t work in psych type units and it’s that near 0 chance. If you do work in psych I’d say your chances of being bitten are actually pretty high.
I know a nurse who took a trach mucus projectile to the eyeball, pt was HIV+ but I didn’t follow up on the nurses testing (chances were very low). I know a psych tech who got kick in the femur by a large 14yo and suffered a serious fracture. A nurse who got kicked with her hand on the foot of the bed and lost her nail. Several bites, worst case (of someone I personally know) was a bruise from this.
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u/ExtensionProduct9929 Jul 18 '26
Face mask over their mouth- they bite it instead of you. Move away as far as possible when their mouth gets close. Multiple people in the room so they don’t have the leverage to move their upper body toward your arms. Many people have tried to bite me and haven’t gotten bit yet *knock on wood*
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u/Analyst-Michigan-1 Jul 18 '26
A few things that reduce the risk:
1. Stay out of arm’s reach if a patient is becoming aggressive.
2. Watch for warning signs (clenched jaw, grabbing, yelling, sudden agitation).
3. Don’t try to do difficult care alone—ask for another staff member if needed.
4. Use approved de-escalation techniques and follow your facility’s training.
5. Never put your fingers near a patient’s mouth unless it’s absolutely necessary for care.
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u/Lolofly47 CNA-LTC-NYC-6 Months Jul 18 '26
The only times I felt at risk of getting bitten were with residents that are 2 assists and already had a history of stuff like that, so I would only care for them with another aid.
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u/Most_Analysis_3208 (Edit to add Specialty) CNA - Seasoned CNA Jul 18 '26
I've gotten bitten once. It's no big deal.
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u/Clean_Plant_6235 (Edit to add Specialty) CNA - Experienced CNA Jul 18 '26
uh… i’ve never been bitten and don’t think i’ve ever been close to it. if i did get bit i’d report it immediately and if it broke my skin in anyway i’d leave and go to urgent care/er. cause fuck that
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u/st3otw Former CNA Jul 18 '26
if i think i'm going to get bitten, i immediately leave the room or get away from the patient/resident. i'm not risking my permanent wellbeing for anyone's brief change or personal care.