Vag exams with sterile gloves or regular gloves?

when you are in the pre-hospital setting and don't have any sterile gloves and it is a medical emergency... prolapsed cord. Even in the pre-hospital setting... any ambulance service should have at least 1 OB kit.

When would "you" allow someone to use something un-sterile on "yours?" (Generalized you, i'm not pointing fingers or judging i promise!)

I've never seen sterile gloves used for non OB exams.

The vagina isn't remotely sterile and barring lacerations or OB considerations (possibly even then), clean gloves are perfectly acceptable. In the OR the vagina is classified by AORN guidelines as Class II/Clean-Contaminated.

For example, say with a laparascopic hysterectomy (or other similar cases where cross contamination between the two sites is possible) there is a 'sterile' filed and a 'clean' field and once anything (glove, instrument, gowned elbow, etc...) touches anything from the vagina or something that's been in contact with the vagina, it's considered contaminated.

So I don't see where you'd need sterile gloves for a vaginal exam. Clean gloves (not dropped on the floor first, of course) should be fine.

i defer to experienced professionals

we always use sterile gloves.

Sterile gloves ALWAYS when checking a pregnant vag exam. True the vagina isn't sterile. But when you are doing an exam you always run the risk of adding pathogens that aren't normally in there. Not really a big deal if there is no baby in that uterus. But when there is, it is always better to be safe that sorry and use a sterile glove.

When I do prenatal paps and pelvic exams I do not use sterile gloves/technique. When someone is term, r/o labor at any point, r/o PPROM/PROM/SROM I do. We do sterile spec exams for r/o SROM. That's the procedure for our practice.

Going in for my 39 week check up tomorrow and I'm going to watch what they use. From what I remember as a non ob nurse/ mom of 5...non sterile at the docs and sterile while at the hospital.