Ever forget to put on your gloves?

I generally use the New York State Bureau of EMS's guidelines.

gloves.jpg


http://www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/ems/policy/88-22.htm
 
I wear gloves during all patient contact. Taking vitals, doing an assessment, even while cleaning the cot. I figure I'd rather go overboard with the BSI (to an extent) than not do enough.
 
I "forgot" to put on gloves for my first fifteen years of practice. We didn't even stock them for the first ten. As someone has already pointed out, it's not the end of the world. I managed to survive, and I still don't wear them often. But I wash my hands better and more often than the vast majority of medics who do wear gloves too. Nine out of ten of our patients are no more a threat to our hands than the people you shake hands with and share equipment with at work. I am unconcerned.
 
AJ Hidell said:
I "forgot" to put on gloves for my first fifteen years of practice. We didn't even stock them for the first ten..
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Amazing what happens when somebody dares to put a name to the stuff we had probably already been seeing for years.


AJ Hidell said:
As someone has already pointed out, it's not the end of the world. I managed to survive, and I still don't wear them often. But I wash my hands better and more often than the vast majority of medics who do wear gloves too. Nine out of ten of our patients are no more a threat to our hands than the people you shake hands with and share equipment with at work. I am unconcerned.
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It is when your hands then touch another patient whose immune system may not be as strong as yours that it can become an issue.
 
I have never forgotten to put on my gloves. I carry gloves in my wallet and I wear a holster on my belt with gloves and a cpr shield. When I do events standbys and I wear a fanny pack kit, I keep alot of gloves in a side pocket. Never forget to wear your gloves!! Even if their are no bodily fluids, its a good practice. Remember scene safety and BSI??!!??
 
frdude1000 said:
I have never forgotten to put on my gloves. I carry gloves in my wallet and I wear a holster on my belt with gloves and a cpr shield. When I do events standbys and I wear a fanny pack kit, I keep alot of gloves in a side pocket. Never forget to wear your gloves!! Even if their are no bodily fluids, its a good practice. Remember scene safety and BSI??!!??
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Uhmmm..........lol
 
exodus said:
Uhmmm..........lol
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Scary part is, he is probably serious


I'll attach a photo of someone who I recently saw at a bus stop, and then later walking through a parking lot at the mall in a haz mat suit
 
This thread got entertaining :D

BACK ON TOPIC YO!

On my IFT ride alongs, only time I really wore gloves is when I was in the hospital, or going to stick my hands somewhere icky like under their shirt for breath sounds, or if they actually were icky. But believe me, I used hand sanitizer before and after any contact. But these were all "not sick" people.
 
Hockey9019 said:
Scary part is, he is probably serious


I'll attach a photo of someone who I recently saw at a bus stop, and then later walking through a parking lot at the mall in a haz mat suit
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281mustang said:
Maybe he had AIDS?:unsure:
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JPINFV said:
Pfft, join the 21st century. It's all about MRSA now, no one cares about AIDS.
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100_7659.jpg


This guy never forgets his gloves ;)


Its a hazmat suit. I couldn't get any closer faster. He had a "mask" on and everything.
 
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I'm not an EMT at all yet, nor will I will be for some time...but I will be changing gloves after handling anything and everything. That means going through lots of pairs.
It doesn't matter how 'clean' your patient is ;) there are still things you're not going to see...

I will never touch a patient without gloves...unless I'm so rushed I absolutely forget. ;)

Emily
 
It's not so much about what you get from your patient as it is about what you give to your patient.

Just don't ever use your gloves as an excuse to not wash your hands -- properly -- at every available opportunity. The only medics I've ever seen to engage in proper handwashing were either nurses or had taken microbiology, or both.
 
AJ Hidell said:
It's not so much about what you get from your patient as it is about what you give to your patient.

Just don't ever use your gloves as an excuse to not wash your hands -- properly -- at every available opportunity. The only medics I've ever seen to engage in proper handwashing were either nurses or had taken microbiology, or both.
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I have a perpetual case of "dish pan hands." Cracked, dry, and raw. My microbiology class is next semester, so we'll see what happens to me THEN. I might end up one of those OCD guys that just can't stop.
 
i remember a discussion a while back that we use gloves all too often. If i recall correctly one side of the argument was that you should only wear gloves in situations that required them,open wounds, risk of infection etc. , and that excessive use of gloves was a bad thing.


Now that was before nitrile came in big time so alot of the weight behind it has been removed.


And i have an opinion that anyone who says they have NEVER interacted with a pt without gloves is either very green or has a poor memory
 
FutureParamedic609 said:
And that probably will happen lol.
But the best thing to do, is try to prevent it ;)
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Yes, it will happen.
I'm almost tempted to buy a glove holder to put on my belt.
 
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