Chemo exposure...when to worry

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Ok, so a school buddy and I both jobs at different retirement communities and she was telling me today that she was spit on by a resident that received chemo yesterday (tiny droplet she thinks) So she continued to tell me that she had gloves on, but it was on her arm and she didn't burger to wash it off...theasked if I thought it wa ok. I said I thought it would be.

So comes my mini lightbulb about how little I know about about exposure. Is she really ok? When do you worry when exposed to bodily fluids of a chemo patient? Just trying to educate myself more as I too someday will probably have to care for someone receiving chemo.

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Sorry, spell check got me. lol We got jobs at the same time, different places and she didn't bother to wash it off.

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Specializes in PICU, Sedation/Radiology, PACU.

Saliva isn't a body fluid that you have to worry about being contaminated with chemo. It's not involved in the metabolism of the drug. The ones you needs to be concerned about are blood, vomit and urine, involved in the digestion, distribution and excretion of chemo.

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Really? That makes sense, guess I just assumed they meant all bodily fluids in school. Good to know. When you are exposed what should you do? Just wash with soap and water? My faculty hasn't educated us on anything like this.

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Specializes in PICU, Sedation/Radiology, PACU.

Chemical spills and splashes aren't all alike. Our facility has a special chemo spill kit that doesn't contain standard soap and water. I'm not a chemo expert, but I imagine the answer would vary based on the medication involved. The best thing to do would be to contact your facility's pharmacist or environmental services department. Explain what happened and what medication is involved so that they can advise you.

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Specializes in ICU.

Somehow I don't think a drop of spit on your skin from a cancer patient on chemo is sufficient a dose to make you loose your hair.

But, hey, that's just my opinion. I am not a doctor and I don't play one on TV either. :D

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Specializes in Infectious Disease, Neuro, Research.
Ok, so a school buddy and I both jobs at different retirement communities and she was telling me today that she was spit on by a resident that received chemo yesterday (tiny droplet she thinks) So she continued to tell me that she had gloves on, but it was on her arm and she didn't burger to wash it off...theasked if I thought it wa ok. I said I thought it would be.

So comes my mini lightbulb about how little I know about about exposure. Is she really ok? When do you worry when exposed to bodily fluids of a chemo patient? Just trying to educate myself more as I too someday will probably have to care for someone receiving chemo.

Chemo, no; Hep, TB, any of the "old school" things that we vaccinate for that the elderly probably haven'y had boosters for & which they are likely to have been exposed to, yes.

Saliva is pretty low on most transmissibility scales, but the question I always ask is: If Bob Stoops (OU football) knew that doing X would give half his players, across the board a 6% increase in performance, would he do it...? (I.e., wash foreign s**t off ASAP)

Play with the percentage, based on the circumstances, but the answer is always, "yes!".;)

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Specializes in Emergency Nursing.
But, hey, that's just my opinion. I am not a doctor and I don't play one on TV either. :D

Yes, but did you stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night?

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I'm curious about chemo, too. I had a patient who had Remicade the night before (on a M/S floor) pee all over the side of the bed and floor, then poop from his shoulders to his knees. We gowned and double gloved to clean him up, but we're not oncology so we don't really know how to handle this stuff. We called our oncology unit, but they weren't very helpful.

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Awesome, thx!!

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Specializes in Gerontology, Med surg, Home Health.

EEEEWWWWW spit! I don't care what's in it, I'm washing it off as soon as it hits my skin.

PS. I've had chemotherapy and my oncologist never told me not to spit on anyone!

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