Do you clean bedpans or throw them out?

[RNdynamic]

Do you actually rinse out plastic bedpans?

I will always empty and rinse out bedpans that contain straight urine, but if somebody has a BM in a bedpan, I often don't empty it at all. I just throw the bedpan, stool and all, straight into the trash can and get another one for later use. I think it is so gross to rinse out stool over the sink as it drips and splashes all over the place. It can also be difficult and time consuming to wash out large, sticky pieces of stool from the plastic.

However, recently another nurse told me that it was against policy to throw out bedpans that contain stool and that the housekeepers get mad about it. I haven't been able to find documentation of that but just to be safe, I sometimes will cover the bedpan with paper towels after tossing it.

How do you handle bedpans? Do you wash them out or throw them out?

[RNperdiem, RN]

I like to line the bedpan with a chux. The chux liner gets thrown out and the bedpan remains clean for reuse.

[proud nurse, BSN, RN]

I like the idea of the chux. I've seen people rinse and/or throw them out. I rinse it out with the sprayer over the toilet. So far I've been lucky to not have any BM splash back at me, but you can best believe the minute I do I'll change my ways.

[icuRNmaggie, BSN, RN]

I do not clean disposable emesis basins or bedpans. Not happenning. They go in a red bag then in the biohazardous waste can.

We have known for a decade that flushing a toilet generates a plume of aerosolized water that travels for up to 15 feet and stays in the air for up to 90 minutes.

I am exposed to enough infectious disease without having to breathe it in as well. My health is worth more than the cost of a cheap plastic bedpan or emesis basin.

[xoemmylouox, ASN, RN]

It depends. If the patient has something like cdiff.. it's getting pitched. If its a normal BM I might rinse it out. I LOVE the idea of the chux lining it..

[proud nurse, BSN, RN]

It depends. If the patient has something like cdiff.. it's getting pitched. If its a normal BM I might rinse it out. I LOVE the idea of the chux lining it..

Definitely...I should add to my post that it has to be a normal BM to get rinsed. I have long legs and arms, so I'm able to stand back from the toilet. I agree it totally depends on the illness and consistency. I am particular about my health (and uniforms/shoes).

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

Please review your facility policy & procedure... if it doesn't reflect current evidence-based practice, start raising cain & notify the 'powers that be' that it needs to be changed. However, failure to follow P&P, even if you have a justifiable reason for your decision, can have negative consequences.

[Fiona59]

Line pan, dispose of contents and liner. Plastic pans go in the bin for reprocessing. Disposable get disposed of.

Only our emerg gets disposable stuff. Us floor staff have to deal with plastic and once I saw a metal bed pan (the stuff of legend)

[Caffeine_IV]

We don't have disposable liners at my facility any longer and haven't for awhile.

I hate rinsing them out but I usually do using the lever spray arm on the toilet.

[suga_junkie, BSN, RN]

All our bedpans, urine bottles and vomit bowls are disposable paper mâché and go straight in a macerator after use. So glad I don't have to clean bed pans!

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

I like to line the bedpan with a chux. The chux liner gets thrown out and the bedpan remains clean for reuse.

That is brilliant!

Throwing our stool in the regular garbage isn't fair to the housekeepers not wearing "protective gear". Try to get rid of most of the stool and whith the chux it is contained

[toomuchbaloney]

Wow, I didn't realize that hospitals were still using plastic and not disposable (cardboard) bedpans.

Back in the day, when I worked acute care and interacted with poopy bedpans, I sprayed them in the toilet but I gowned before doing so and wore protective face shield. I figured that was only fair to my other patients, my coworkers, myself, and my family.

yuck.