Can you put gloves on after tying tourniquet?

[wish_me_luck, BSN, RN]

I am not talking about when someone is bleeding and you are doing first aid. I am talking about blood draws and IVs. When I have done them, I always got my gloves caught in the tourniquet and I think getting gloves caught will make the tourniquet not as tight as it should be. So, can I tie the tourniquet, then put gloves on and do what I need to do? Or do they frown upon that?

[Altra, BSN, RN]

Yes, you can put gloves on after placing the tourniquet. At that point you may not even have selected your site yet, nor cleaned the site. No harm in not having gloves on to apply a tourniquet to intact skin.

p.s. -- think through the steps and what the purpose of the gloves is ... this will help you understand why/when the gloves need to be on.

[Dixielee, BSN, RN]

My gloves are usually the last thing to go on. You should have already washed or sanitized your hands, and presumably you are working with intact skin. I open all of my IV supplies and arrange them as I will need them, discard extra packaging, assemble tubing, flush lines, tear tape, etc. before I get started. It is awkward to do any of that with gloves, since most don't fit well anyway!

Once I am ready and have the patient positioned properly, I look for a site (sometimes I have already chosen one so I know which side of the stretcher to set up on). I don't want to leave the tourniquet on too long as it is painful and counterproductive so that is the last thing I do before putting on gloves. Then I proceed with the stick, releasing the tourniquet as soon as possible. Once everything is done, i.e. labs drawn, line secured, fluids hanging or lock flushed, needles discarded etc. then I remove the gloves and can wash my hands again.

Universal precautions do not mean you can never touch a patient without gloves on, but you do when you expect to be exposed to blood and body fluids, so a certain amount of judgement and common sense go in to it. If you don't have immediate access to a sink or hand sanitizer, then carry a little bottle of it in your pocket. I know it is much better if the sanitizer is readily available on a wall dispenser on the inside and outside the room doors, but some areas don't provide it. I am fortunate enough to work in a facility where you can't walk 5 feet without being within reach of one :)

[dudette10, MSN, RN]

Universal precautions do not mean you can never touch a patient without gloves on, but you do when you expect to be exposed to blood and body fluids, so a certain amount of judgement and common sense go in to it.

Quoted and bolded for emphasis.

[wish_me_luck, BSN, RN]

I once was assessing a patient as a student (just your general assessment, nothing touching body parts that required gloves) and the nurse came in and told me to put gloves on...the skin was intact. I was thinking 'why do I need gloves to do a general assessment with intact skin?' My instructor told me I was not doing anything wrong.

That's why I get leery of what people think as far as the glove issues go.

[Altra, BSN, RN]

I once was assessing a patient as a student (just your general assessment, nothing touching body parts that required gloves) and the nurse came in and told me to put gloves on...the skin was intact. I was thinking 'why do I need gloves to do a general assessment with intact skin?' My instructor told me I was not doing anything wrong.

That's why I get leery of what people think as far as the glove issues go.

Did you ask later why?

That nurse may have been communicating to you that that particular patient required contact isolation, or was simply prone to incontinence or something like that. It doesn't mean that you should generalize that to not touching any patients without gloves on.

[dudette10, MSN, RN]

To the OP: That happened when you were a student. Nursing school is like Rome, and you do what the Romans do... :)

[umcRN, BSN, RN]

I had a preceptor once (in NICU) who told me to NEVER let a parent see me touch their baby without gloves. Now, yes, in NICU we can be a bit stringent with handwashing, contact (often wearing a gown when holding pts) and especially with out micro-preemies. But the day she told me this we had a full term, two week old (so clean/no mommy goo) who had no IV's and was getting ready to go home. Some of these babies also NEED skin to skin contact when they don't have parents that visit. So, in any case, I am very aware of what kind of handling to do with my patients with/without gloves but I don't overdo it IF it's not necessary

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

I once was assessing a patient as a student (just your general assessment, nothing touching body parts that required gloves) and the nurse came in and told me to put gloves on...the skin was intact. I was thinking 'why do I need gloves to do a general assessment with intact skin?' My instructor told me I was not doing anything wrong.

Could be the nurse was looking for a quiet way to tell you that for THAT patient, it'd be a good idea to put on gloves...scabies, etc would require contact iso, but if the patient hadn't yet gotten to the room assignment change and yanking you out of there would be awkward, well....it's happened.

Otherwise, I've also known clinical instructors who would tear you down if they thought you were ONLY touching patients with your gloves on. In other words, they saw the value of handling patients as thought they weren't lepers, and only putting on gloves when it was a bonafide safety issue.

[Hay, RN]

I generally look at the veins then apply tourniquet, wipe site with tons of alcohol to find a nice vein then wash hands real quick, put gloves on, use chloraseptic wipe then stick it to 'em.