Do you wear gloves

[mellow]

Sorry I have so many questions but you guys are so helpful. I was woundering do you wear gloves most of the time, like when taking blood, giving injections etc. I remeber being in a hospital and one of the nurses put some pill like thing up someones bum with no glove. surely this isn't normal practice. Also do you worry about catching something contagious or have you pricked your self with a needle after it's come in contract with someone else.

Thanks

[Nursenan0]

Years ago....I didnt always wear gloves,....OK, most of the time I didnt....I was an STNA then....Now, to many things to catch and drag home to the kiddies let alone have them myself.....ALWAYS>ALWAYS >>WEAR GLOVES!!!!!

Nursenan

[shygirl]

I work in LTC and pretty much KNOW what everyone has. Yes, of course I wear them when giving a suppository. No, I don't wear them when giving shots.

Shygirl

[SmilingBluEyes]

If it is wet and it ain't yours, do NOT touch it. My motto....yes I ALWAYS wear gloves when risking touching ANY body fluid of ANY KIND! My health and that of my family DEPEND on this. NO exceptions, everyone may have HIV or Hepatitis as far as I am concerned.

[shannonRN, BSN, RN]

yes, yes, and yes...my philosophy...better safe than sorry.

[OBNURSEHEATHER]

Originally posted by SmilingBluEyes

If it is wet and it ain't yours, do NOT touch it.

LMAO! If I wasn't running out of room in my sig line, I'd add that!

Heather

[nursedawn67, LPN]

Originally posted by SmilingBluEyes

If it is wet and it ain't yours, do NOT touch it.

This is the best way to describe the need for wearing gloves! :) There is no way any of my fingers are going near anyones butt without gloves in between me and them!!

[nal]

If its going to jeapodise my own health in any way, then the stakes (personal cost) are too high not to wear gloves. As an intelligent critical thinking nurse I will not let anyone tell me otherwise, afterall it will be cheaper for them in the long run ie lower infection rates, less sick days and costs associated with this etc etc.

The gloves are on !!!

Love the motto "If its wet..........."

[Youda]

On a typical 8-hour shift, I go through about 1/2 box of non-sterile gloves. And sometimes a few sterile (depending on what I'm doing). Once, one of my (many) employers announced that we were going through too many gloves, so there wouldn't be any until the next month when the new shipping order came in (do I just have a talent for choosing idiot employers?). So, we all refused to do anything that -- we felt -- required gloves, like removing that pus saturated dressing from the stage 4 decub that you could put your fist into. One of the other nurses started using words like "OSHA" and "workman's comp" and suddenly we had gloves again.

[Nurse Ratched, RN]

My patients fall into two categories - those who have hepatitis, and those I don't know have hepatitis yet...

I practically wear a full body condom if I'm just sitting at home THINKING about work .

I remember having an administrator somewhere along the way ***** about the number of gloves used. Any boss who puts a few dollars for gloves ahead of my health should quickly decide whether or not they want to use a barrier when they kiss my orifice...

[mattsmom81]

I remember as a young nurse I was blase about wearing gloves.

Like many others here I was TAUGHT NOT TO WEAR THEM---we mustn't offend. (25 or so years ago)

I started wearing gloves for IV starts after my first HIV patient educated me. She taught me about HIV before my facility did! The docs didn't think it necessary to tell the nursing staff or document in the chart that she was HIV pos, (and this happened a lot at the start of the HIV epidemic) but she was kind enought to tell me her dx HERSELF as I was starting her IV. She was a good person and she got me thinking .... This was before the days of OSHA's blood borne pathogens rules and regs.

Also remember mixing chemo without gloves way back.

Sometimes I wonder over the course of a 25 plus year career what is more potentially damaging to us: the chemicals, toxins and substances we are exposed to on a multiple daily basis (alcohol /betadine scrubs/waterless cleansers, harsh antimicrobial soaps, latex, hospital's harsh cleaning/disinfecting chemicals). Or the pathogens.

[bewbew]

As a student nurse, we are taught to wear gloves all the time. However, while on clinicals, occasionally I have had comments from the more experienced nurse, eg: 'you don't need gloves to do that'.

I do find them very difficult to work with, but just persist, and think of my family.

Question: How many of you would wear gloves when you take a BSL?

bew :)

[mark_LD_RN]

i try to wear gloves when ever at risk of contacting body fluids but have delivered 2 babies with out gloves . on e was an emergency other was when my wife gave birth:)