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Would this bother you at all?


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Maybe I am just being silly but I am a bit of a germaphobe. Would it bother you if your SIL, a nurse, (or anybody) had worked a full shift in a hospital (hands on with patients) and then came over to your in-laws house to visit while you were there with your dd (5) and she still had her scrubs on and was hugging your dd and holding her? She lives 5 minutes from my in-laws, I don't understand why she couldn't just go home and change first.

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Maybe I am just being silly but I am a bit of a germaphobe. Would it bother you if your SIL, a nurse, (or anybody) had worked a full shift in a hospital (hands on with patients) and then came over to your in-laws house to visit while you were there with your dd (5) and she still had her scrubs on and was hugging your dd and holding her? She lives 5 minutes from my in-laws, I don't understand why she couldn't just go home and change first.

 

No, it would not occur to me to be worried.

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Maybe I am just being silly but I am a bit of a germaphobe. Would it bother you if your SIL, a nurse, (or anybody) had worked a full shift in a hospital (hands on with patients) and then came over to your in-laws house to visit while you were there with your dd (5) and she still had her scrubs on and was hugging your dd and holding her? She lives 5 minutes from my in-laws, I don't understand why she couldn't just go home and change first.

 

I don't know that I would have thought about it, but now that you mention it, yes, it would bother me.

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I'd probably be a little worried and would ask her to change (providing some of my own clothes for her if she didn't have others with her). I'd apologize, though, and tell her I was being over-protective and phobic. I wouldn't want to offend her at all and would do everything I could to keep things pleasant.

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It depends. My mom is a retired nurse who worked on a hospital floor for many years. She usually changed out of her scrubs and shoes as soon as she got home, especially if she knew she was in direct contact with some gross stuff. If it was a slow night, without much going on with the patients, it wasn't such a big deal and she would hug/kiss before changing.

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It depends. My mom is a retired nurse who worked on a hospital floor for many years. She usually changed out of her scrubs and shoes as soon as she got home, especially if she knew she was in direct contact with some gross stuff. If it was a slow night, without much going on with the patients, it wasn't such a big deal and she would hug/kiss before changing.

 

:iagree: This is how my mom handled it, too. She worked for years in L & D. She would often change into new scrubs because hers got bloody or fluid-y. Ha!

 

It wouldn't/didn't bother me at all.

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It would depend on what kind of nurse she was. But generally, although it wouldn't bother me too much, if I DID think about it I would think it was better to change. Or, should I say, although I wouldn't get upset, if it were me I'd change. My mom was a nurse when I was growing up and at that time you NEVER wore your scrubs/work clothes/etc out of the hospital. You changed into street clothes. Also, I worked in the veterinary field for about 18 years, and always changed before going anywhere, because I was gross.

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No. I'm a nurse and I hug my kids when I get home from work without changing out of my scrubs. Now the shoes on the other hand...they get left on the porch.

This. Most nurses I know have their shoes tied in such a way that they can slip them on and off without having to touch them.

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I was an RN for years and for me it depended on where I worked and what I did, but I will say that most of the time I did not want my kids or anyone touching my scrubs when I got home, just in case. Why take a chance? Even if I personally didn't get something gross on my clothes there is every chance in a hospital that someone else did and spread some of those germs around somewhere I touched or sat.

 

Another FYI, don't touch her pens either! You wouldn't believe the nurses who would grab their pen with their gloved hands and write with it, then later take off their gloves, wash their hands, and pick up the SAME pen. Some of these nurses would even stick their gloved hands into their scrub pockets to get the stupid pen too! And do NOT get me started about those id cards worn around the neck on lanyards.....you do NOT want to know where those things tend to land when one bends over something........

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I worked in a nursing home and there is no way I would touch my kids after a shift. I wouldn't even stop at a store. Straight home to the shower end of story. I mean the things that you come in contact with are just gross. The floors are gross. Every other nurse that worked there was the same way.

 

I am not a freak out at germs person either. After the things I saw with the little light thing on my first day there is no way I would touch someones kid. That was like part of the first day, the DON walked you around showing you things with the black light thing.

 

Nasty.

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I read an article recently that said that scrubs should never, ever be worn in public as the germ issue can go both ways.

Scrubs worn out in public can carry germs into a medical area, while also carrying germs back out into public.

I just did a quick on-line search for the article, though, and came up with a dozen hits - stating both sides - icky and a-okay.

 

While I think it is icky, I also find them tacky. But I'm not one to wear sweat pants in public, which is what they remind me of. I have worked in jobs where I needed to change clothes as soon as my shift ended - it doesn't take that much time to rinse off and change clothes.

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I do have germaphobic tendencies, and what the op described would bother me A LOT. It also drives me crazy when adults touch a newborn or infant's hands. And don't get me started about the friendly people at church who will shake hands, pat the cheek, or tweak the nose of one of my children when they (meaning the church people) obviously are sick themselves. (Uh, oh ... I'm ranting now!:D)

 

 

Another FYI, don't touch her pens either! You wouldn't believe the nurses who would grab their pen with their gloved hands and write with it, then later take off their gloves, wash their hands, and pick up the SAME pen. Some of these nurses would even stick their gloved hands into their scrub pockets to get the stupid pen too! And do NOT get me started about those id cards worn around the neck on lanyards.....you do NOT want to know where those things tend to land when one bends over something........

 

This kind of thing drives me crazy. For instance, at the dentist's office, they are gloved, but then sometimes touch their glasses or put their face mask up with those gloved hands.

 

It's good that God is sovereign over all things, even germs, or else I'd really have a hard time in medical situations.

 

I find germs to be hard to deal with well. There are some safety issues that have defined ways to be cautious ... for instance: in the car I make sure everyone is strapped in appropriately and drive responsibly, but we don't wear 5 point safety harnesses and helmets. But with germs it's much harder (at least for me) to know what's reasonable and what's over the top.

 

One of these days, I'll have to start a thread about this...

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It would bother me. I've read several articles about that lately, including this one: http://boston.cbslocal.com/2011/08/02/curious-about-what-is-on-hospital-scrubs/ .

 

I'm in the better safe than sorry camp. I think taking off shoes when coming inside, and washing one's hands immediately is more important, though - for everyone.

 

It would be easier to be less vigilant if we could see germs, that's for sure.

Edited by RoughCollie
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I am a dental hygienist. I never leave the office in my scrubs OR shoes I wear in the office. We all change even when we are leaving for lunch. We also all wear scrub jackets.

 

Although I do not shower before hugging my kids, I would never hold them in my scrubs. People bring in babies for us to see at the office and I refuse to hold them.

 

I think it is icky to wear scrubs anywhere but the workplace for anyone with direct patient contact.

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Nope. I have a bunch of family members who work in the medical field, including my physician DH who probably brings all kinds of stuff home. I will say that we rarely have flu/colds/virus stuff here and I've often wondered if it's because we get a low level exposure all the time. The only time DH really worries is during RSV season when we have a baby or young toddler in the house. That is the one of the few occasions where he has come home and showered/changed before touching the kids.

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I live 20 miles from the hospital I work at and I wear my scrubs to work and back home. Our hospital does not provide surgical scrubs for the general nursing staff. No way am I going to go home and change before running a couple of errands...it just isn't feasible at all. I'm also not going to take clothes with me to change into. I am careful about washing my hands but I am no germaphobe by any means. We are rarely sick at my house FWIW.

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Absolutely not. Don't forget that intact skin is our best barrier against all sorts of stuff. And lots of germs normally spread via airborn means don't live long outside a host. Most people will change their uniform or scrubs if they get ick on them anyway. I keep several uniforms in my car for just that purpose.

 

So, absent any obvious stuff on the scrubs I would have no trouble with someone hugging my kids. I'm assuming no immune issues here. Of course, I'm sitting here at the table in my uniform (the paramedic version of scrubs) finishing the first meal I've had since noon yesterday. My kids ran & hugged me when I walked in the door and my dh didn't seem too put off, either. I actually had a shift where a patient didn't bleed, pee, poop, vomit, or spit on me. Unfortunately, I also worked 26 hours and am.just.dead.tired.

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Absolutely not. Don't forget that intact skin is our best barrier against all sorts of stuff. And lots of germs normally spread via airborn means don't live long outside a host. Most people will change their uniform or scrubs if they get ick on them anyway. I keep several uniforms in my car for just that purpose.

 

So, absent any obvious stuff on the scrubs I would have no trouble with someone hugging my kids. I'm assuming no immune issues here. Of course, I'm sitting here at the table in my uniform (the paramedic version of scrubs) finishing the first meal I've had since noon yesterday. My kids ran & hugged me when I walked in the door and my dh didn't seem too put off, either. I actually had a shift where a patient didn't bleed, pee, poop, vomit, or spit on me. Unfortunately, I also worked 26 hours and am.just.dead.tired.

:iagree:

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Absolutely not. Don't forget that intact skin is our best barrier against all sorts of stuff. And lots of germs normally spread via airborn means don't live long outside a host. Most people will change their uniform or scrubs if they get ick on them anyway. I keep several uniforms in my car for just that purpose.

 

So, absent any obvious stuff on the scrubs I would have no trouble with someone hugging my kids. I'm assuming no immune issues here. Of course, I'm sitting here at the table in my uniform (the paramedic version of scrubs) finishing the first meal I've had since noon yesterday. My kids ran & hugged me when I walked in the door and my dh didn't seem too put off, either. I actually had a shift where a patient didn't bleed, pee, poop, vomit, or spit on me. Unfortunately, I also worked 26 hours and am.just.dead.tired.

 

:grouphug:

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When I worked on a med/surg floor with lots of patients in isolation I never, never let anybody touch me until I'd stripped and showered.

 

When I worked on an orthopedic floor I wasn't as worried unless we had med/surg overflow.

 

When I worked in oncology I wasn't worried at all, patients were more susceptible to germs from me than the other way around.

 

When I worked in nursing homes I changed every day.

 

It is not paranoid to tell her you are concerned about this and ask her to change; however you should know that antibiotic-resistant bacteria are prevalent everywhere, and you are probably growing them in your own house if you use antibacterial soap.

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