Dirty scrubs in the house!

Do your spouses wear dirty and even BLOODY scrubs into the house? Mine has even been known to wear his shoe covers home. It bothers me more now that I have a 2-year old who would apparently rather eat her snacks off the floor than out of a bowl! The hospital will wash them if he'd just leave them there, but he can't seem to do that -"well, then I'd have to change clothes before and after work," etc. plus I think there is an issue over where he would keep his clean clothes if he's not on call (hence no call room or whatever). Does anyone have a solution for this? I'm tired of having these nasty scrubs in with my laundry. I have been known many times to make him strip on the front porch and toss them in the garbage!

[Phoebe]

That is a good question. Luckily, my husband usually wears his scrubs to the gym where he changes and showers before arriving home. When they do enter the house on his back, I make him take them off before sitting down on any of the furniture. My bigger concern is his shoes because our baby may be crawling soon. Although he is not in an operating room so he isn't normally stepping in blood.



Jennifer

[DCJenn]

We don't have that problem because the only time he's in scrubs is when he's on-call or doing an inpatient rotation- and he wears his Army PT uniform to and from the hospital and changes once there. He also leaves a full uniform there with boots in case he's running late or has a child get sick on him or other has fun body fluids to deal with!



Jenn

Hee Hee. I'm so happy that you started this post! We went out to dinner Saturday night and we're sitting there at the table. . .my husband has his arms folded and I see what looks like a giant scratch/bruise on the inside of his wrist.

I was like oh my gosh, honey, what happened to you? He excuses himself and returns to the table - the "bruise" is gone. Yes, it was blood. How's that for an appetizer? Amazingly enough, I just went hmm, well OK then.



We had soooooo many bloody scrubs last month b/c of the trauma rotation. I had the same thoughts - someone's nasty blood is touching MY sweater?!? I must have poured two cups of bleach into each laundry load. I am going to find a laundry bag that is solely devoted to scrubs. I will leave the "scrub bag" near the door and just empty the entire load in the washer - maybe I'll even be lucky enough to not come into contact with them if I'm strategic in my emptying! Any more ideas?

My eyes have been opened!!!!! My hubby wears scrubs home all the time but he has never come home with blood on anything. I really think he changes into new scrubs before he leaves the hospital. He LOVES his scrubs. In fact, he is trying to plan the rest of his rotations so that he can wear scrubs as much as possible! Am I totally naive to say the solution is having them change before they get home? Very interesting topic!



Robin

[Meenah]

I have always tried to remove my shoes when I get home from the ER, especially when my kids were babies. My dh, on the other hand, barely remembers to wash his hands between patients!!! There have ben nights when I have taken off my scrubs in the garage and put them in the TRASH!!!!!!!!! Just ask them to think back to Microbiology classes.

Luanne

During residency, my husband was not allowed to wear his scrubs out of the hospital -- it was regarded as stealing from the gov't since he is military. He was always supposed to be in uniform during "duty hours" (I don't know what they are, maybe Jenn does) but since he went in before they started and left after they were over, (and was in the OR or doing deliveries most of the day, which required scrubs) that wasn't really an issue since he would only get called on it while he was walking to/from his car.



Once he did come home with a big ole blood splotch on his running shoe and I was totally grossed out. I took some peroxide to it right away and it faded to the point that I could pretend it was mud. I urged him to PLEASE wear his clogs in the OR and delivery rooms after that.

Yuck! We battled the dirty white coat war! Hubby would bring it home and lay it over the sofa with "stuff" on it.....We ended up comprimising and he left his white coat at work until he was ready for it to be laundered. While he was waiting for the clean coat to be ironed (ummmmm that often was the biggest issue ), he just put on a new coat.



Blood on the shoes, Sally....ugh!



Kris
Time is a Dressmaker, Specializing in Alterations!

I'm tired of having these nasty scrubs in with my laundry. I have been known many times to make him strip on the front porch and toss them in the garbage!

Oh jeeze. Poor DH.... You know they work so hard. My SO has been on general surgery rotation and comes home in the scrubs all dirtied up. I know I'd definitely do that same as yoU! STRIP before you enter. haha.

You don't want dirty scrubs mixed in with your laundry unless you are putting bleach and hot water. Let the hospital wash the scrubs and insist that doc leave them at the hospital. I don't even let DH walk around the house with his shoes.

[Flynn]

We had the same issue. GROSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I banned them. If they aren't fresh scrubs, they aren't coming in the house. I also won't wash them. He takes them back to the hospital in a plastic bag. I made him change in the rain twice and he learned the hard way I was serious.

It's not an issue now...post training.... thank goodness.

[medpedspouse]

DH is pretty considerate about the scrubs & coat...after several discussions. However, the shoes are another story. I do not understand what is so hard about taking them off. :huh:

claudiaismyname - oh-yuck. You are a much bigger person. I would have gotten disgusted and left him there.

[SuzySunshine]

Wow DH doesn't wear his scrubs, coat or shoes home because of what they could be contaminated with. He figures he'll eventually have to throw his clogs out, he said he'd never bring them home. He goes to work everyday in street clothes and comes home the same, yes that means he has to leave 10-15 minutes earlier and gets home that much later but he'd rather do that then have Molly get into the laundry or his shoes, or to have something get in the carpet.

Yuck!

(ETA: Somebody is pulling up some OLD threads)

[Amiens]

Dh wears regular clothes to work, and then changes there. If he is in house overnight call then he will go to work in a CLEAN pair of scrubs and leave the dirty ones at the hospital, and change into clean ones before he comes home.

On the rare chance that he brings home dirty scrubs, we have a sanitary cycle on our washer. Just to be safe I wash any scrubs on that cycle.

[alison]

I think dh's program has started a thing where you're not allowed to wear their scrubs out of the hospital - you have to leave them there at the end of the day and change.

I take the bus with a lot of nurses and physicians, and don't like it when they come on with their scrubs on.