smelly stethescope?

[all4schwa]

I had a stethescope in school that developed a weird smell, i tried washing it, cleaning with equipment wipes, everything. i finally quit using it. then i got a littman for graduation and now it smells too. i have a cotton scope sock that i put on it from day one and it smells through the sock. i can't stand to have the thing around my neck. then the other day, i was standing in a pt room while the doc was talking to the pt. she asked to borrow my steth and i gave it to her but i was soooo embarassed. i finally ordered a hip clip maybe that will work out for me...but what i'm wondering is...

Has anyone encountered this? I'm thinking it's gotta be my chemical makeup or they say some people have acidic skin... i'm thinking that is breaking down the plastic of the scope, what do ya'll think?

[all4schwa]

i never thought to ask anyone else if they could smell the smell. that's a good idea. this has happened to two different steths, made of different materials. this one is a littman and it's only a coupla months old. i generally use alcohol swipes to wipe it down, but i've also used the bigger equipment wipes.

[puggymae]

Try calling Littman - they may have a solution for your problem. They may even offer you new tubing.