Should I not even consider nursing if I am prone to contact dermatitis?

[jewelipooli]

Hi all,

I wasn't entirely sure if this is the right category to post in--(sorry, first time poster and still figuring everything out!)

I am considering applying to nursing school right now. I'm particularly interested in working as a midwife and/or women's health nurse practitioner, but am open to other options within the healthcare world.

The thing is, I have sensitive skin and suffered from severe contact dermatitis after working in a coffeeshop for four months. Having to wash dishes in hot water with harsh detergents is what set it off, although I already had sensitive skin. My hands hurt all the time and getting them wet made the pain worse--it was pretty depressing. They improved after several months after quitting the job, but I still get occasional patches of sensitive itchy skin when I use harsh soaps etc.

I'm afraid that that this may make it impossible to pursue nursing, with all the hand washing with strong soaps and antibacterials and disinfectants etc involved.

Any thoughts? Are there specialities in nursing that aren't AS hands-on that I could consider? (Psychiatric etc). Any other healthcare related good careers that wouldn't involve constant hand washing?

[Rod, Male Nurse]

My wife has the same thing, though not as severe apparently. It started when she began her RN career. Its not really practical for her to carry around her own personal bottle of hand soap so she just deals with it. Some weeks are worse than others. There are other options out there aside from direct bedside care so you wont have to wash hands so much. I don't think its a reason not to do nursing but its certainly a reason not to do certain types of nursing.

[jewelipooli]

Thanks Rod, really appreciate the response. Good reminder that there are different options asides from direct bedside care.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

Those "non bedside" jobs normally require a considerable level of clinical competency that is only available through bedside experience.. classic Catch-22. I know of several nurses who had to leave direct clinical areas due to chronic dermatitis. One even qualified for partial disability because it was too severe for her to continue to function in her job. Although this may be the sort of problem that could be managed with "reasonable accommodation", most employers don't want to provide special (more expensive) supplies when they are needed only for one or two staff members.

[jewelipooli]

Thanks HouTx for weighing in. I'm definitely feeling the tension of the catch-22 and am increasingly uncertain whether I want to pursue something that would likely result in dermatitis again.

Well, I guess it's back to the drawing board, as far as next step career-choices are concerned!

[angeloublue22, BSN, RN]

I actually have suffered from this. It got so bad my hands would bleed. I looked up natural cures. This may sound weird but I slather my hands in coconut oil and wear gloves over them before I go to bed and wear them all night. I don't have the issue in anymore.

[Secretperson]

So, if you have four years to get a degree, just get a degree in something else perhaps engineering or IT. at least you you would make a decent wage and not have worry about it. If you have any hesitation, it's going to compound exponentially and you will regret it.

[twiddlywinks]

I do take my own hand soap to work. I don't get to use it every time I need to wash, but I try to use it more often than not. I also butter myself with lanolin, coconut oil and just plain lotion after every couple hand washes. I also think using actual soap and water to wash dries your skin out less than the alcohol foam. I was also scared of this going in, but if you find a good system you can protect your hands.