Hand lotion

Nurses General Nursing

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Our infection control nurse has told us that we are not allowed to bring in our own hand lotion for our PERSONAL use at work. We are suppose to use the stuff supplied by the facility. She says it is because of infection control issues. The facility supplied stuff tears up my hands. It is anti-bacterial and eats my hands. I had to see a dermatologist a couple of years ago and he said all this anti-bacterial stuff is not good for my eczema. He says he knows I can't avoid the anti-bacterial soap at work but to try and stay away from it at home as much as possible. Our infection control nurse said she will actually confiscate any lotion brought from the outside. Does anyone else have a policy such as this? If so do employees abide by it? I would think it would be very hard to enforce and especially if the lotion is in your purse. I would like to see our IC nurse go through my purse. :( Heads would roll and it would not be mine. :devil: Any suggestions?

Our hospital lotion....that we give to patients....is just worthless!! It's just plain embarrassing to give a bottle of this stuff out. We don't have an 'anti-lotion' policy where I work....at least not that I know of........our infection control nurse doesn't work nights.:D

For anyone looking for a great lotion, I've been using Avoplex by O.P.I. (same company that makes those nail polishes). I've even gone to the beauty supply to get others for nurses and aides at work...they were hooked after trying mine.

I can't understand why your I.C. Nurse thinks drying and cracking your main "tools of the trade" with this hospital issue stuff is controlling the spread of infection. Have you asked her for the nosocomial infection stats for your facility for before -and- after this policy went into place?? She should have these stats available. Our I.C. Nurse keeps infection stats for all units on either a monthly or quarterly basis....I can't remember which. If there has been no apparant decrease, then this policy should seriously be questioned.

Anne;)

Specializes in MS Home Health.

Yes we had this at my last job but the company bought this cream for us. I think it was called magic glove or something.

renerian

I don't know whether or not our hospital may have somepolicy somewhere, but we always have our own lotions all over the place with our names written on tehm with Sharpies.

Confiscate your lotion? I'm with Kristy. She'd have to rumble with me. :devil:

Provided it is in a container that you don't have to dip into to get the lotion, there should be no dramas and no added risk of infection. The only real reason not to use certain lotions is if they contain petroleum products or mineral oils, then they can degrade the latex in the gloves. That's the word from our IC nurse who actually recommends bringing our own stuff in, especially if you have nasty hands like I do. My new fave is Neutrogena Norwegian Formula, goes a long way to repairing the damage 100 handwashes a day can do.

We have brought in our own soap and lotions but keep them in a cabinet near the sink. That way they arent so obvious if IC comes in to snoop. Our hospital soap and lotion is mounted on the wall. Only way they might get wise is if housekeeping rats on us and tells how often they replace the dispensers.....I cant belive that we have to resort to such cloak and dagger tactics to keep our skin intact!!!!

My fave lotion is Udderly Smooth - udder cream from Wal mart.

Originally posted by KC CHICK

For anyone looking for a great lotion, I've been using Avoplex by O.P.I. (same company that makes those nail polishes). I've even gone to the beauty supply to get others for nurses and aides at work...they were hooked after trying mine.

I use OPI's Avojuice. It smells wonderful (there are 4 different scents...and none are floral--my nose can't take florals) and works wonders! My fingers haven't peeled around my nails since I started using it.:D

A couple of weeks ago, one of the RNs on my floor went and purchased a bunch of Bath & Body Works soaps for us to use in our break room. My hands do much better with that than the alcohol foam stuff on the wall outside of every room.

Luckily we don't have the psycho IC nurse...or at least I haven't been exposed to her yet, and I've been at this job for a year.

Next thing you know she'll be trying to tell you what kind of soap you can use to bathe with before you come to work!

Specializes in Interventional Pain Mgmt NP; Prior ICU and L/D RN.

At my place of employment we aren't allowed to use our own hand lotions either b/c of "infection control". They say some lotions actually promote bacterial growth due to the ingredients that are in them. They supply us with this less than desirable lotion that to me makes your hands drier than before....but what do we know?

Specializes in Maternal - Child Health.

There is a legitimate reason for the IC nurse's stance on hand lotions, although I don't know why she didn't just take the time to explain the policy, and work with those nurses who have sensitive hands and need a special lotion.

There was an outbreak of serious illness, including the deaths of several neonates, in a NICU in Detroit a few years back. Infection control finally traced the cause to hand lotion containers which were growing pseudomonas, I believe. Apparently, larger containers that are in use for a long time develop moisture on their inner surfaces, encouraging the growth of various micro-organisms, which are then passed on to compromised patients.

As I understand it, using small, personal sized containers which are discarded, and not re-filled will help to eliminate the problem. Also, as someone stated before, petroleum-based lotions can degrade gloves made of certain types of latex, also interfering with infection-control measures.

All this said, however, it is completely unrealistic for the IC nurse to mandate such a policy without working with those staff members who have a need for an alternative product.

Originally posted by altomga

At my place of employment we aren't allowed to use our own hand lotions either b/c of "infection control". They say some lotions actually promote bacterial growth due to the ingredients that are in them. They supply us with this less than desirable lotion that to me makes your hands drier than before....but what do we know?

...and the extra surface area of cracked skin doesn't??:rolleyes:

Again, I ask....what do the stats say? I would be surprised if there was a big difference in the spread of infection because 1.) the staff isn't compliant in the first place....and 2.) the extra places bacteria can hide out in skin cracks.

I agree...what do we know?:D

We are not allowed to use our own soaps & lotions- if we have a problem with those offerred we are supposed to go through employee health and work on a resolution there. Where I work many of the organisms are resistant (I work on a long term care ventilator unit) and virulent and I'd rather follow protocol based on studies that might prevent me from not necessarily becoming ill immediately but from even becoming colonized (and thus potentially infected at another time when my immune resistance is low). Anyways, many lotions do break down latex which will then ultimately set you up for a potential latex allergy (not fun in nursing) as your body is exposed to it frequently. So, I follow the standards presented, and if I have a problem/reaction with I will go to employee health because it is a work-related injury at that point. (And then next week theory and standards of practice will change again, eh?!:) )

Originally posted by sjoe

Illegal. What's she going to do--wrestle you for it? What is your union doing about this?

UNION??? :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

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