Wearing scrubs home??

rn/writer, RN · May 30, 2006

Posted by rn/writer:
> I shudder to think back a few decades to the starched and pressed cotton uniforms (skirts, no less!) that older nurses had to contend with. Today's fabrics often have a stain-resistant quality that inhibits absorption. The old cotton whites might as well have been sponges in comparison, and that can't have been very sanitary. They may have looked cleaner, but that doesn't mean that they were.
Please don't write off those starched white uniforms so quickly. First of all they were washed in HOT water, treated with chlorine bleach. and after being
starched in a solution made with boiling water, they were ironed with a hot iron. That kind of treatment will kill most common micro-organisms, won't it?
Commercial laundries performed these services at very attractive rates.
The reason those uniforms were white was to remind the nurse to avoid as much contamination as possible. We were expected to have a spare clean uniform always available in case we needed to change.
The original scrubs worn in hospitals were designed to be bleached, washed in hot water, and ironed flat. They were never worn by anyone except those who worked in specialized areas like surgery, L & D, Nursery, or ER, and they weren't even acceptable in the hospital dining room. Before we had all the antibiotics we have today, we knew that we had to be very, very careful about infections. A case of osteomyelitis was usually a death sentence.
Yes, I remember when penicillin was a brand-new idea, and it was an aqueous solution that was administered every two hours, around the clock. So fast-forward a few years and we now have stronger and nastier bugs. Evolution at work!

I'm not saying that they didn't start out clean, only that cotton is so absorbent that they must have been a challenge to keep clean.

As for the unit-specific scrubs, perhaps there are departments which still ought to be using them in that original way. Seems like an important area for research. If the science bears out the need, then certainly the hospitals ought to step up and supply the necessary.

I do wonder how a hospital would then set policy to keep those who are wearing its scrubs from venturing into public areas.

Another observation. I work on a postpartum unit that allows us to wear our own scrubs. Our infection rate is minuscule. NICU and antepartum nurses also wear their own scrubs. L&D wears hospital scrubs, although I think this is more to prevent the transmission of microbes OUT rather than IN. Infection rates are very low. They are comparable among all the units, regardless of type of scrub and are often traceable to something the mother brought in with her, rather than to the nurses transmitting infection from one patient to another.

If research backs up the contention that certain units would have lower infection rates with the use of hospital-supplied scrubs, then hospitals ought to go ahead and supply and launder those scrubs. Such scrubs should have an uncommon and easily identifiable color/logo so as not to be confused with staff-owned scrub wear.

Don't most hospitals use a combination of hospital-owned and employee-owned scrubs anyway?

Miss Mab · Jun 1, 2006

Here's what I do....

After a long twelve hour night shift if I find I have to run to the store, do errands, etc., I simply apply one of those red bio-hazard stickers from my unit onto the front of my scrub top which allows me to get what i need done while giving fair warning to fellow citizens that I am a germ covered, guaranteed infectious, RN.

Works for me....

RoxannMM · Jun 1, 2006

If a germ was going to take me out, it would have succeeded at work a looooong time ago. And as far as taking things home to the family, didn't we learn in school that exposure to germs, bacteria, and viruses boost our immune system? Or did I hallucinate that lesson?

I have to agree with this statement. I understand that it is our job to take care of patients. Though at home I feel like we need to take care of ourselves so that we can continue doing our job. Exposure to germs is what keeps us strong.

Just like while at home you should not use ANTIBACTERIAL/ANTIMICROBIAL soaps. Because it is weaken our immune system thus leading to the spead of infections and more importantly nosocomial infections. Something to keep inmind.

Stay strong and continue On.

Faeriewand, ASN, RN · Jun 11, 2006

I use antibacterial soap because it keeps the soap clean :lol2: I heard that your soap can pick up a lot of germs from all those grimy hands touching it. Well we all use liquid soap now so I guess that's not much of a problem anymore.

I'm a CNA working as an HHA. I wear scrubs to and from my assignment. I'm not sure how many germs I am picking up from my clients but I do wash my hands often.

And If I need to stop off at a grocery store on the way home I would do it.

The only reasonable solution I see is that we not judge those whom we see in public wearing scrubs since we don't know their story.

Now for those who work in a hospital: Do you take extra scrubs with you to work in case what you are wearing gets visibly soiled? Or what do you do when your scrubs become visibly soiled?

tatgirl · Jun 11, 2006

As soon as I get home, I take a shower and my scrubs go directly in the washing machine (by themselves!). since I work in a ltc facility there is no locker rooms for us to change our clothes.

Wendy

danaheil · Jun 20, 2006

i think that nurses fall into two classes regarding germs...the paranoid and the blase

I suppose this is somewhat true. Although, I have been known to switch from one group to the other dependant on my situation at the time.

My unit usually does not launder scrubs unless they have become grossly soiled. We have hospital srubs we can wear for surgery if we choose, but are otherwise requered to provide own scrubs and wear to and from work. I usually launder scrubs in the same fashion I launder my other clothes (seperate load for scrubs). I switched to the paranoid group when DH was diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy and radiation. I started using hospital scrubs exclusively and even showered in our employee bathroom before going home each morning. Maybe I freaked out a littlt too much, but better safe than sorry. We already had too many problems as it was without worrying about whatever infection i could have brought home on my clothes.

SOOO glad that particular crisis has resolved. Now I'm back to laundry as usual. DH is now working as an RN in ICU. We now launder all scrubs together. Who knows, maybe we'll breed some new germs in the washing machine (j/k).

sorry for any typos

LADYFLOWER · Jun 21, 2006

I guess that we are lucky here in Germany- every hospital provides scrubs- each and every worker gets their own locker(with key) to keep valuables, clothes, a snack, drink in. What do you all do with your valuables? Is there a place to lock up/keep your street shoes or change of clothes or whatever?

We are Blessed in the Good ol' USA! I'm not a nurse but I know a couple RN's, and I belive most of our hospitals provide lockers for their staff too.......

crazylilkelly · Jun 21, 2006

so, do hospitals have showers nurse's can use to freshen up b/f going home?

rninme · Jun 21, 2006

:uhoh3: Well!! I must be the Typhoid Mary of the upper east coast!!

I always wear my scrubs home -- unless they are soiled at work and then I change ASAP! The only time I change into hospital scrubs is if I get floated to the nursery. I've been working in healthcare for .... oh, let me see....27 YEARS!!! According to some of the posts on here...I should be responsible for wiping out the majority of the midwest and part of the east coast by now.......hmmmmm! Now....if I worked in a bio-level 4......that would be a different story!!!!

marilynmom, LPN, NP · Jun 21, 2006

Have there been any studies done showing that those wearing scrubs worn at work are making family members sick? I'm not talking about visably dirty scrubs worn home.

I can't imagine our scrubs are as infectious to our families as some seem to think (unless visable soiled with blood or whatever).

I am not a nurse yet (student), but I just change and take a shower when I get home--we have clinicals 2 times a week and I have 3 pairs of scrubs so I can wash them all once a week and still have one pair for a backup. If I get visable contaminated with blood or something, I'll change at the hospital.

I think not washing hands is FAR more likely to spread disease to your family members than your scrubs.

LADYFLOWER · Jun 22, 2006

Well!! I must be the Typhoid Mary of the upper east coast!!
I always wear my scrubs home -- unless they are soiled at work and then I change ASAP! The only time I change into hospital scrubs is if I get floated to the nursery. I've been working in healthcare for .... oh, let me see....27 YEARS!!! According to some of the posts on here...I should be responsible for wiping out the majority of the midwest and part of the east coast by now.......hmmmmm! Now....if I worked in a bio-level 4......that would be a different story!!!!

You are so funny!:roll

LadyEJ BSN, RN · Jun 22, 2006

so, do hospitals have showers nurse's can use to freshen up b/f going home?

That's what I wanna know...:chair: