Anybody work in the OR?

[monkey68]

I started a surgery rotation this past week, but I'm having a real problem with scrubbing. My skin gets so irritated from the soaps, all red and raw, and itchy. Does anyone else deal with this? It doesn't seem like many other people have this problem at the hospital. Maybe I just need to get used to it? We have a few different choices, the chlorhexadate, iodine based, and Avagard. I've tried them all, I use the non latex gloves, but I still get red and swollen. I thought it might be an allergy, but how can I be allergic to all 3 soaps?

Obviously, not scrubbing is not exactly an option, since I am on a surgery rotation, and it's expected that we scrub and be retractor monkeys. But I still have 9 weeks to go, and I kind of got used to having skin on my arms. Anyone have any advice?

 

[princess momma]

Perhaps you have a sensitivity to the scrub solution.

I've never worked in an OR but the last hospital I worked at didn't perform the traditional surgical scrub anymore. They used a waterless system.

 

[monkey68]

princess momma, we have 3 different types of soaps we can use, one is waterless. I feel like I'm sensitive to all of them. The policy is that the first scrub of the day has to be water based, after that you can use waterless. So I don't know if it's the first scrub causing irritation and then getting worse each time.

 

[princess momma]

You might also be having a reaction to the gloves, which is pretty common.

I assume you're in nursing school, you should discuss it with your clinical instructor or preceptor.

 

[crz4mm2]

princess momma, we have 3 different types of soaps we can use, one is waterless. I feel like I'm sensitive to all of them. The policy is that the first scrub of the day has to be water based, after that you can use waterless. So I don't know if it's the first scrub causing irritation and then getting worse each time.

I think the waterless has alcohol. Maybe that is why it burns so much?