Question for OR nurses with hand eczema

[Wonders]

Hi everyone, I work in the surgical unit and have always been interested in working in the OR ever since nursing school.

The main thing that is stopping me from applying for OR training is my hand eczema, I have dyshidrotic eczema on my fingers and at times I will get many blisters on my fingers that will pop open and then become very dry.

Lately, I have been having a hard time working on my surgical ward with the constant frequent hand washing and sanitizer, I have contacted occupational health and they have provided me special gloves and a more mild soap to use, I asked the occupational health nurse what are my chances if I wanted to work in OR and she basically told me to choose another speciality.

I was wondering if there are any OR nurses out there with hand eczema that could share how working in OR is for you? what has your hospital done to help you or advice you might have?

My main concern is when I wear nitrile gloves for 2-3 minutes or longer my hands will start to sweat making my eczema areas very itchy and the blister areas tend to get weepy. I can't imagine wearing sterile gloves for hours.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post!

[mhy12784]

I mean you could always work somewhere where the OR nurses dont scrub (or not scrubbing is an option)

Then you simply could be a circulator nurse, which is what many OR nurses are anyway. And as a circulator the most youd have to wear sterile gloves is long enough for you to put in a foley

[Wonders]

Thank you for the response @mhy1278! Obviously there is still a lot for me to learn about working in the OR field, I actually thought circulator nurses wear sterile gloves for most of the duration ! I have applied for the training program and have an interview with them :)

[SQueenRN, BSN]

We wear sterile gloves during surgical prep. Definitely for a few minutes.

[Wonders]

Thank you SQueenRn, a few minutes in sterile gloves I is definitely doable for me. For some reason I was thinking being in OR (scrubbing and circulating) would have to wear sterile gloves for longer period of time.

[SQueenRN, BSN]

Scrubbing, yes. Circulating, no.