Do You Wear Gloves When...

chevyv, BSN, RN · Feb 21, 2009

Thank you all for your input. I'm going to continue on with how I do things for now. When I go into the clinic, the lpn/ma doesn't wear gloves to take my vitals and neither does my physician. When I'm in doubt, I wear gloves and always follow universal precautions. It saddens me to know that you need gloves to do vital signs! Some nursing instructors would have gone ballistic had they seen me giving a back rub without gloves! How did they survive 10 yrs ago?

RochesterRN-BSN, BSN, RN · Feb 21, 2009

You can rub as long as there is not a reddened area--though who the heck has time for that??? If I have to as it is ordered I tend to wear gloves. It is often something medicated and though I am not a person who gets crazy with the gloves-- dont wear them for VS, not for insulin SQs and not for all restraints--psych here-- but I do wear them usually for putting on a cream or lotion as the sweat and generally the dead skin you get just kinda grosses me out! lol.

missjennmb · Feb 21, 2009

I am a student, and never intended to use gloves for non-indicated contact (like vitals and massage... my teacher doesnt care one way or another for that b/c its not technically required) Two things changed my mind. First, I massaged an elderly black lady with cocoa butter lotion on her feet and legs and arms, and for TWO DAYS I stank soooo bad of cocoa butter. Three showers before it finally went away. It was gross and I don't know what it was about that brand, but it has ruined me on cocoa butter anything forever. Second, I changed a man's socks in the nursing home...when I took his sock off I was kneeling on the floor near (not under) his foot, and a PILE of dead skin fell off of his foot and onto my leg and all over my hand and lower arms. I have handled everything else I have come contact with without flinching as far as body fluids, and I came SO close to vomiting all over the floor when that pile of skin fell all over me. I had the most toughest time getting it out from under my fingernails (which were short) and had it still in my clothes until I got home and washed them, despite practically beating my legs black and blue trying to brush it out.

So yeah I wear gloves more than I should these days. :) But if the person was healthy (skin not flaking, nourished, not likely to shed or anything else) I would probably not wear gloves. I'm just very much more careful than I used to be about this kinda thing. In the ER especially since you barely have time to know their name let alone what their diagnoses are when you're up to your elbows in caring for them.

*oh yeah and feet, never again will I go near feet without gloves on, no matter what

truern · Feb 21, 2009

If I've just helped bathe a patient and have the time to give a backrub with lotion, I don't wear gloves. I think even the *concept* of a nice backrub is foreign to our CNAs and I know the patients really love it when they get one.

yousoldtheworld · Feb 21, 2009

Like some others, I do not wear gloves for lotioning UNLESS there is broken skin or some other problem. I have had coworkers who will not touch a resident (period) without gloves - I can't imagine what that must feel like to the resident.

Otessa, BSN, RN · Feb 21, 2009

Wear gloves during any personal care including back rubs.

otessa

MAISY, RN-ER, BSN, RN · Feb 21, 2009

Again I have to say, "until you have been exposed to scabies unknowingly and not notified when everyone in the rehab your FIL or family member goes to, and you are touching them their sheets and clothes, THEN UNHAPPILY YOU DIAGNOSE THE CONDITION AFTER A GAZILLION TRIPS TO THE DERMATOLOGIST with FIL who you think has some dermatologic condition from new medications. THEN you have use that medicine a few times on you and ALL your family members and the CAT! Steam furniture and bedding and suffer for a month as those DA%%% MITES DIE ON/IN YOUR SKIN........GROSS!

Then get exposed twice more because you want to give the human touch.....uh, uh, while I am aware we can get the ucks anywhere, I no longer ask for it and feel terrible when the elderly want to touch me. I don't ever want to go through that again!

Unfortunately, you can't understand until you UNDERSTAND!

jmking · Feb 21, 2009

Gloves, please!

ShantheRN, BSN, RN · Feb 21, 2009

I wear gloves for all personal care. I'm diabetic so my fingertips are pretty sensitive from my finger pricks. It's for my own comfort as much as universal precautions. Plus, I work in ALF - I never know what I may be putting my hand in! :) One of my instructors said it best: if it's wet and didn't come from you, wear gloves to handle it.

emnicams · Feb 21, 2009

I wear gloves when lotioning due to my sensitive skin.

I don't wear gloves just for casual contact, though (like vital signs).

dnp2004 · Feb 21, 2009

Point taken MAISY, RN-ER! I decided to revise my original position. Gloves for everything for now on, scabies is something I don't what to ever get.

Roy Fokker, BSN, RN · Feb 21, 2009

I too, cherish and love human touch....

BUT, I've been "surprised" so often, by so many various things (needles, body fluids), in so many different parts of the body and by so many different patient populations - with the added caveat that since I work in the ED the malad(ies) of the patient are as yet unknown - that I never do person-person contact without universal precautions and barrier methods.

Call me paranoid. Call me whetever.

But until you've ever felt the terror of feeling an accidental "needle prick" when you turned over that 35 year old patient to help reposition in bed and a week later they run infectious disease titres on said pt. and it comes back positive for HIV.....

Until then... well, there's not a whole lot more I need to say about that (happened to a colleague and friend at my old job and thankfully she tested negative - but they still put her on the med regimen for 6 months. She's been negative 2 years on now).

cheers,