Hand Sanitizer and Asthma

[rnintrouble]

I am a nurse of twenty-four years. I have worked in medical, pediatrics, NICU, and am now working in hemodialysis. I have recently developed workplace induced irritable larynx syndrome. When I am exposed to the hand sanitizer, even if someone uses it ten feet away I become wheezy, have a coughing fit and become very short of breath. This episode then seems to trigger my asthma and I remain short of breath for over a week following the exposure. I am trying to think of a place in nursing that I could work and not be exposed to the hand sanitizer. Does anyone have any ideas? To make it more complicated I can't go into people's homes that have cats. I am very allergic to them and go asthmatic instantly. Has anyone out there had this same issue with the hand sanitizer? I love nursing and would like to continue with it but as you see I face a bit of a dilemma! Thanks for your help

[Susan from IL]

I'm just glad to hear there are other people allergic to hand sanitizers. When I'm near someone and they put it on I go into an immediate asthma attack. Perfume and Lysol cause a similar reaction. I was starting to think I was alone in this.

[Rocknurse, MSN, APRN, NP]

I sympathize. I'm not allergic to hand sanitizer but I am terribly allergic to perfume and cleaning products and most of the responses I get from people are either along the lines of ridicule, disbelief or anger and denial. It's almost as if I'm insulting them by saying they smell. I can't understand why people can't make the distinction between "rights" to wear a fragrance and rights to breathe and not cause distress. I have not found employers to be even remotely supportive. I hope you have more luck than I do.

[realnursealso/LPN, LPN]

I am not allergic to hand sanitizer, but I hate it. I see staff just about bathe in it when visiting my parents when they are in the hospital. When I used it in the past, before retiring, it made my hands feel dirty, not clean. I prefer good old soap and water. Hospitals are the worst offenders, they have that crap outside of every room, like it's some kind of magic potion. If I feel my hands need washing, I look for a sink. Sorry that some of you have such ill effects from it. By the way, it does kind of burn my nose when I smell it.

[ANNIEB01]

I have the same problem with the alcohol-based hand sanitizers. The foaming ones are the worst, but even the Purell is now affecting me. I start getting tight and then have a tight, dry cough. The further into my shift it gets the worse it is. I sound like I'm going to cough up a lung and by the end of the shift I am wheezing and SOB on top of the cough. My inhaler helps a little, but the best relief comes when I get outdoors and get home. No problems on my days off. I had a pulmonary function test and it was within my normal parameters at the time. I also hadn't been back to work for several days when tested. I have asthma and RAD.

[subee, MSN, CRNA]

I watched an OR nurse scrub up with a new product before a case, go into immediate respiratory arrest and intubated right there on floor. No more hospital nursing for her. I've always believed that these type of products will progressively cause increasing allergies. Hospitals are so toxic:(

[NurseSpeedy, ADN, LPN, RN]

When I worked in the hospital we had some patients that had such a bad reaction to the dispensing of Purell in their room that they not only told us we had to avoid it around them but housekeeping removed the bottles of dispenser from the machine in the room until they were discharged.
Ironically this hospital system used a badge system where if you crossed in/out of the parameters of the patient’s bed-it would ‘Ding” you as not washing your hands. Problem is, one sink for a two patient room and you accidentally cross the invisible area to trigger it to go off, you look like you didn’t wash/sanitize your hands. This also happened a lot when reaching to turn off the call light...and when the beds were rolled down the open hallways-anyone near the bed was on the report list. That badge was a pain in the ***.