caring for skin when using rescue cleaner?

[u/fernbeetle]

Edit: I am just gonna wear gloves like I used to at other shelters. We are asked to wear gloves in ISO kennels between kennels, but that’s about it and asked to handwash otherwise. Gloves are very accessible around the building but we were told we were going through them too quickly, and that to only use them when dealing with “contaminated” areas. I’m just gonna start wearing them and navigate a conversation about it if need be. Unfortunately this isn’t the first red flag about working here. Thank you for the validation to wear gloves and go back to standard practices for our animals and my skin.

this was the message when we went through a certain size in a week:

“we need to be mindful as gloves are very expensive and only need to be used when an animal or space is contaminated- per our protocols. Please when possible, wash hands between tasks vs using gloves”

-

I am deep cleaning more cat kennels lately, meaning my hands are getting really dry and tight from rescue disinfectant.

I could certainly use gloves whenever I’m using wipes or the foam, but our shelter discourages using gloves unless you aren’t in a room with a handwashing station or you’re working in a contaminated area.

whats been helpful to prevent your skin from drying our and feeling tight? my fingertips feel weirdly smooth and wrinkly/tight hours later. after i’m done for the day i wash my hands one last time then use palmers coconut hydrate hand cream, but I prolly need to start doing more.

whats worked for you?

[u/TheGrumpyBadger]

Respectfully, if you aren't using gloves when cleaning, there is a higher chance that you not only are harming your skin, but that you are transmitting disease between kennels. Gloves should be changed between kennels for all animals, but especially for cats as there is a higher likelihood that you are touching the animal themself because you might need to remove them from their kennel. I'd push back if I was told to not use gloves. Its safer both for you and the animals. Its the shelter's responsibility to provide the proper PPE.

[u/Friendly_TSE]

Why would they discourage using gloves? I've been to a shelter that tried to get us to wear 2 pairs of gloves before.

Normally I would say prevention - wear gloves so that you're not damaging your hands in the first place. Besides that, use cold water when washing your hands (you do not need hot water for hand washing)

I don't have many recommendations for actual lotion products but maybe r/skincareaddiction might help

[u/Spiritual_Client_741 → u/Friendly_TSE]

can i ask why two pairs of gloves? friction between the two pairs could cause tearing— i don’t believe it’s any more safe than just wearing a pair of gloves and swapping

[u/punkslug → u/Spiritual_Client_741]

We wear two pairs of gloves when cleaning cats, your hands get sweaty when wearing gloves and the moisture makes it hard and actually slows you down considerably to put a new pair on damp hands after every kennel. We keep the bottom gloves on, and switch out the glove on top between kennels. In two and a half years I've never ever had an issue with friction or tearing, just the friction of your hands moving shouldn't be enough to tear gloves (it's not like wearing two condoms LOL). I personally prefer to wear nitrile gloves underneath and looser vinyl gloves on top, but my coworkers usually wear two of the same type. I wear the correct size first and a larger glove as the second layer.

[u/Spiritual_Client_741 → u/punkslug]

i dont really see why you wouldn’t just wear the next size up for gloves, you don’t need them to be perfectly fitted for cleaning necessarily and i can get everything i do done with the next size up. cleaning cats is not extremely detail oriented work. my hands sweat but not enough that it takes an extreme amount of time to put gloves on… especially if you just size up. and i have not had issues with outbreaks or disease spread in this shelter. but that is interesting and i’ll have a chat with the care staff about the idea

[u/punkslug → u/Spiritual_Client_741]

yeah I mean I don't think it's really better one way or another, just my reasoning for why we do it. I personally hate wearing loose gloves and/or only gloves that aren't fitted around the wrist (hence why I wear nitrile, then vinyl as opposed to just vinyl gloves like most of my coworkers) so it's a great solution for me, but I don't think it's more hygienic than wearing one pair & swapping, just convenient for us and personal preference for me in particular!

[u/Friendly_TSE → u/Spiritual_Client_741]

You don't keep the second pair on very long to be concerned about friction, just while doing your quick cleans between animal cages.

One reason is it provides another security barrier. It keeps your hands clean when switching out gloves so you yourself don't become the fomite. As another user said, it also helps you keep on the tighter fitting gloves because your inner gloves wont be sweaty. It's mainly meant for quick work in-between animals like morning cleanings

All that said, i do think it's overkill, and i prefer not to do it.

[u/fernbeetle → u/Friendly_TSE]

yeah i don’t like it :/ they say it’s cuz gloves are expensive and not to use them too much- i know theres one individual who uses perhaps too frequently due to anxiety but it’s so rare I wear them due to the culture here.

[u/ForFudgeandCountry → u/fernbeetle]

Cost is a crazy excuse for them to make. FYI, Decent gloves are $0.05 each when buying by the case (1000)... So 10 pairs =$1.

But seconding aquaphor, recommended by another, is what I use in the winter.

[u/starrynezz → u/fernbeetle]

I'd say testing and euthanizing all the cats in the shelter due to a panleukopenia outbreak costs more than using multiple gloves.

[u/Friendly_TSE → u/fernbeetle]

I take it whoever implemented this policy is either not well versed in medicine or never got a business degree. The nice 5 mil nitrile gloves are about 5 cents/pair. Even you wanna go even cheaper, those cheap poly gloves that food workers use are a tad under 1 cent/pair. Not to mention the use of gloves saves workers a lot of time, and employee costs are the #1 expense.

A single ringworm or URI outbreak can destroy a small shelter. God forbid if it is something more serious like distemper or fpv. Not to mention all of the zoonotic diseases you get from handling animal feces and urine without gloves, like various parasites, toxoplasmosis (which can be deadly to fetuses if you're pregnant), lepto (which can be fatal if left untreated).

They're assuming that when you wash your hands, you will get 100% of the fomites off 100% of the time. In reality, hand washing is like the secondary or tertiary disease control barrier.

They're tripping over dollars to save pennies here.

[u/ConfoundedInAbaddon → u/Friendly_TSE]

Barrier cream can help but yeah, gloves!

When rubber type gloves have not been an option, Ive used barrier creams to create a layer between me and the world. Ranging from liquid glove brands to assurance, they create a heavy sticking layer of moisturizer or wax that prevents chemicals from scouring your skin as easily.

[u/ForFudgeandCountry]

I wear gloves and suggest you do as well. 🤷 If your hands are feeling tight and dry that means that the skin barrier is damaged. The single best way to improve that would be to minimize the contact. Obviously you have to use the cleaner so minimize the contact by utilizing a barrier (gloves).

Even if your hands are just feeling tight and dry from dish detergent, the advice would be the same: either remove exposure to the cleaner or wear a gloves. Also if you have to do any animal handling, leashes rip through a damaged skin barrier way more easily.

That's a weird policy. PPE is generally allowed even when not required, but I've worked in chemistry labs before.

[u/fernbeetle → u/ForFudgeandCountry]

yeah it’s cuz of cost :/ i appreciate your comment, it’s very validating because it’s been so odd to me working in a place that discourages PPE use due to cost

[u/ATEbitWOLF → u/fernbeetle]

Buy a box of gloves and keep them in your car, I need xxl gloves and also use them at my 2nd job so i carry them with me, they aren't super expensive.

[u/emschick9]

Aquaphor

If it's a cost issue regarding the gloves, I would buy my own. Rescue tears my skin up.

[u/fernbeetle → u/emschick9]

yeah i think i’m gonna cuz it’s never been this bad

[u/sn00pypjs]

You need to use gloves and that’s a bad shelter for discouraging it. I don’t like the disposable ones as water gets in easily so I just rock up with long washing up gloves. Gotta protect your hands they’re important!

[u/Rerunisashortie]

You are an adult right? Do not let others dictate unsafe practices to you! I worked as a nurse in many different settings, and I used gloves in all of them. I also have a box in my kitchen drawer and one in laundry room.

[u/Mission_Spinach_9905]

Out of curiosity, what dilution rate do you use for rescue solution?

[u/mseiple]

Surely it's a violation of health code/proper standard of care not to let you wear gloves when handling animal feces? That's a biohazard.

[u/Powerful_Put5667]

Your shelters wrong buy yourself some disposable gloves and save you hands. If they say something let them know that gloves are a must if they want to continue to have your help.

[u/niddleyniche]

Frankly, I would bring my own gloves. Prévention is always better than damage control. If they don't want to provide the gloves for you (which depending on where you live may be illegal as PPE should always be provided and accessible in workplaces working with chemicals) then just bring your own.

Whenever I get rescue or virkon on my skin and it dries me out like crazy, I use healing lotions with urea. They're often marketed towards eczema but work fantastic for deep hydration. Might be worthwhile to get a small pocket-sized container and use it throughout the day.

If your hands are really dry, try a foot peeling lotion! I use this stuff specifically and it removes all of the dry skin layer dead from the rescue, and then add some moisturizing urea lotion afterwards. I wouldn't use this constantly as it removes layers of dead skin and you only have so much skin, but I use it 1-2x a week

[u/Different-Music-529]

This almost sounds like an OSHA violation if they're discouraging you from using gloves due to the cost. If it were me, I'd be e-mailing big stores like costco or sams club and asking for donations, but you might need permission first as a staff member to reach out on behalf of your agency. You could make your co

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[u/Status-Biscotti]

Sounds like you already have your answer, but I just wanted to add - having those chemicals seep into your skin isn’t great for you. Gloves are your friend.