A very odd day

Weird day. Had one little old person I had to teach ho to self inject, and she was brilliant. Understood soap, water, handwashing, not an issue, lets keep it clean, how do I dispose of the needles, thatnk you very much. She had been described to me as frail, difficult, hard of hearing , and not well educated. Well. So much for report.

Second was a small business owner who needed the same teaching. College educated, young ( that would be MY age), laptop at the bedside kind of person. Got angry when I mentioned that soap was an important part of washing ones hand, that licking ones fingers pretty much negated the effect of washing hands, and that yes, you have to wipe the spot on your skin with alcohol. "How about hand lotion?" "Uhm, what?" "Hand lotion. Alcohol is very drying, everyone knows that, and I don't like the smell. Hand lotion is much more soothing." Well, it's to kill any germs on the skin's surface before you PUNCTURE it with a NEEDLE and inject your medication. "Germs", I was informed, "don't run in her family." I knew I should have finished that MS, because golly, I did not know that .

On handwashing I had this odd conversation with another nurse about handwashing in disgusting bathrooms. Worse, or better that skipping and using Purell or washing outside the bathroom, at a nice sink that is pedal or sensor operated, thus protecting mine cuticles from contamination of the last person who inexpertly washed their hands and then touched the taps. This other nurse has rocking hand hygein, and I would let her do a sterile dressing change on my very own body, any time. We figured it was a draw, but neither of us ever wants to be seen NOT washing our hands in the bathroom. We both wash in the bathroom, and then at the very next sink, to get the bathroom sink cooties off.