Wellness

[SeaMaiden]

I was listening to Drs Radio  on  Sirius FM this morning and they were saying you should always ask the nurse and/or Dr when they come in the room if they washed their hands.  

I know I need to speak up for myself, but I  just feel uncomfortable asking this question.  Today with all the germs spread, it is a question we all should ask.  

Do YOU  ask if your Dr and nurse have washed their hands prior to entering the room? 

I will Need to work on this and ask my next visit if I can gather the strength

. I know my Husband would NEVER ask his Dr.  That  is just him....

[lolakimono]

@SeaMaiden 

Mine usually wash theirs in front of me at the sink in the examining room.

[BirkiLady]

All of my physicians wash their hands after seeing the patient prior to me. It's a given. When they are finished with my visit, they also wash their hands again before going to the next patient.

Pay attention to your physician's routines and you'll know. There won't be the uncomfortable question needed. 

[gizmogal]

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@lolakimono wrote:

@SeaMaiden 

Mine usually wash theirs in front of me at the sink in the examining room.

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Ditto.  My doc, and any staff who touch me, wash their hands in front of me in the exam room. And they all wear examining gloves when doing anything “invasive” like drawing blood. 

If I had to ask, I’d phrase it as “you’ve just washed your hands, right?”   Or you could say “l hope I’m not insulting you if I ask if you’ve washed your hands”. Any doctor will acknowledge clean hands as a fact or respect your reason for asking, and will not react defensively.  It is likely your doctor, if asked once, will remember to reassure you of it the next time. You won’t have to ask every time. 

If your doctor is huffy about it, you need to think about arrogance and disrespect in his practice as much as dirty hands. Doctors who cannot answer patient questions and expectations without attitude will also miss things or not admit errors. Then they are not good doctors.

Remember, you are hiring this practitioner to attend to your health and you have choices. Express yourself and he’ll understand and meet your needs. 

[mimomof4]

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@lolakimono wrote:

@SeaMaiden 

Mine usually wash theirs in front of me at the sink in the examining room.

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This has also been my experience with my PC and kids Pediatrician.  However the medical assistants who perform the weight, measures, blood pressure etc do not.  That makes me think now that you mentioned it @SeaMaiden.

[Bri369]

Mine always wash their hands when they come into the room. 

When they're done, they wash their hands before they leave.  So they're actually washing their hands twice...

[PamfromCT]

On the same topic of concern, if one calls my doctor’s office with a bad cold or other like symptoms, you will be told you must agree to wear a face mask when you enter the waiting room before your appointment.

[dex]

@SeaMaiden @I am like you uncomfortable with that question....but I ask myself this should I risk my life  so I don’t upset,inconvenience or embarrass the docror?

[MomCat]

The doctors I've gone to, and their staff, usually take care of hand cleansing in front of me.  Even my eye doctor hits the hand sanitizer before he even shakes hands with me.  If I had any doubt that these people were not doing everything possible to not spread germs, I wouldn't be going there. 

[Lucky Charm]

I think I get more skeeved out at the dentist.  Seriously.

I just had the Xrays done.  She assembles or whatever to put those darn things in your mouth, with her hands in your mouth.  Of course, she has clean gloves on the whole time.  Fine.

But then she leaves and hits that switch.  !!!

So my mouth germs are now on that switch, the last person's mouth germs are on that switch.  Everybody's mouth germs are on that switch.

Same for the over head light. 

I know they wipe everything down, but do they always wipe the handle when they manuever the light around and then go poking around in your mouth?  Probably not.

And when they are examining your teeth and gums, of course everything is on a computer.  So they are hitting the keyboard with gloves on.

But my mouth germs are on that keyboard now and so are everyone else's.  !!!

Stuff like that just skeeves me out.  That's directly going in to your mouth.  Whatever hasn't been wiped down, autoclaved or otherwise sterilized.