i'm not a nurse so forgive me if i'm out of line. my daughter is in a bsn program and i feel sorry for her and that's why i'm asking this question.
my dentist, from the time he steps foot in the examining room he has a mask on. i don't even know what he looks like after going to him for 6 years! when he talks to me after my exam he continues to wear the mask.
here is my question. why can't nurses wear masks when dealing with a situation that is going to have a horrible order? i can't imagine that it would be offensive to the patient; i'm not offended when my dentist wears his mask.
As a nurse dealing with body fluids, none of you feel wearing a mask is necessary? What if you have an accident and get body fluids on your face, mouth, etc? It doesnt make sense to NOT wear a mask.
But, why isn't it standard procedure or at least an optional procedure to wear a mask when dealing with something that's really obnoxiously smelly?
It is optional- a nurse can don a mask any time she wants.
Personally, I feel that bad odors and other "gross" stuff are some of the easier aspects of nursing and am not too bothered by them.
However, I deal with central venous caths and blood a lot. Wearing a mask and/or a face shield is often required- but for infection control reasons- not because of any odors.
The mask does not help, at all. It is so uncomfortable to breathe with it too.
Yet, in other threads, many people think that wearing a mask non-stop for 10-12 hours at a time is completely reasonable (I think it was on one of the H1N1 threads).
Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
As a nurse dealing with body fluids, none of you feel wearing a mask is necessary? What if you have an accident and get body fluids on your face, mouth, etc? It doesnt make sense to NOT wear a mask.
Oh, nurses who work in areas where there is a risk like that would certainly wear a mask! I think this mom's concern was about smells as opposed to airborne fluids. Her example of her dentist always wearing a mask (so why not nurses?) wasn't really valid because dentists wear masks and face shields to protect them from fluids sprayed through the air with high speed drills, etc., not smells. Also, a simple mask doesn't really protect you (eyes are exposed), so nurses wearing the plastic face shield dentists wear in order to be fully protected would really freak people out!
Most of the time there isn't a big enough risk of getting a body fluid in your face from something like emptying a urinary catheter bag or changing an adult diaper. But as someone else has pointed out, there are exceptions. An example would be trach care. It's possible to forcefully cough enough that fluids become airborne. Even among nurses there are disagreements about this. A while back we had a CNA who was upset because no one told her that her patient was HIV+. Most of the nurses replied that there was no need to tell her, as the risk of her getting infected was very low using standard precautions. It does get blurry at times, that's for sure! :)
Wow, that is really oldy-old school! Haven't heard that rationale since circa 1985. :) The "gloves offend the patient". The patient's dignity is adversely affected by both gloves and "diapers". It turns out the patient's dignity didn't fare too well when a certain really bad retrovirus arrived on the scene, and hospitals could trim time and cost by using those big ol' Depends, instead of Chux. Perhaps they reasoned that a Chux was really a flat diaper, so why not?
Back to the mask issue- OP- patients are very sensitive about their body image in the hospital. They apologize for pooping!! People in isolation are generally depressed. I'm sorry, but the thought of your daughter being around "obnoxious smells" in no way trumps allowing patients to retain as much of their dignity as they possibly can under the circumstances.
Chux? What are Chux? *LOL*
We had no such things. Beds were mitered corners (cotton muslin), and we used "draw sheets". Wash cloths were cotton terry as well. If one was lucky it was possible to salvage the bottom sheet and blanket after a pretty explosive "accident", if not the whold bed had to be changed in addition to cleaning up the patient. Oh yes, this was an older hospital without bathrooms in each patient room, so basins of water had to be fetched and carried down the halls from nearest WC.
Only diapers one ever used in hospital was in Peds, and they were cloth, held together with pins.
i really appreciate all of the posts regarding to mask or not to mask. i feel compelled to say that if i were a patient i would not be the least bit offended if my caregiver wore a mask. in light of so many risks that nurses take i would think that any and all precautionary measures is a good idea. walking into a patient’s room, greeting them, talking to them, and asking them how they’re feeling can all be done without the mask but if a nurse chooses to wear one for a certain task or to lessen a certain order then that should be acceptable and accepted. that’s just my opinion.
when our goddaughter was about five, she was spending the weekend with us and while riding her new "big girl" bike with no training wheels, took a tumble and bruised her face, had a black eye, but kept complaining that her shoulder hurt. when icing it didn't seem to help enough, we headed to the er.
there sat the triage person -- masked and typing. our goddaughter looked both appalled and scared.
my husband had carried her in and was holding her while we waited. she pointed at the clerk and asked in that loud voice little kids have, "i had a bath last night ... or does she think she can catch something??"
'nuff said. off came the mask. she's 30 and has a baby of her own now, but still remembers that woman and her mask. :smackingf:rolleyes:
Anne36, LPN
1,361 Posts
As a nurse dealing with body fluids, none of you feel wearing a mask is necessary? What if you have an accident and get body fluids on your face, mouth, etc? It doesnt make sense to NOT wear a mask.