[nabs-l] Sanitizing canes for use in hospitals

Sat Aug 15 21:59:44 UTC 2015

Hi all,

I think that in certain situations you would put on booties with
scrubs for full protection, but it is specific.  I just feel like I
need to be prepared for any situation in my career, especially if I
work in preop and postop like I would like to do.

Changing the cane tips would be to prevent tracking unwanted
substances that might spill onto the floor to other places.  E.G,
blood, spilled meds, vomit or other liquids.  It would be an extra
step because the cane tip would be most likely to touch these things
on the floor, I would think.

The biggest challenge would be getting disposable things in mass
quantities so I am prepared to have a stock of them.  If I get them
made with a cloth of some sort like scrubs it wouldn't be hard to ask
someone who makes medical stuff to sew them propperly for cheap, but
the disposable ones would be more of a challenge.  I'd need something
that's at least 56 inches long to go over my cane.

On 8/13/15, Elizabeth Mohnke via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hello Kaiti,
>
> I have never thought of sanitizing my cane when visiting someone in the
> hospital before. If you could find some kind of plastic tubing, I think
> that
> would probably work. If I remember correctly, the scrubs I have seen people
> throw away in ICU units are plastic like aprons that tie in the back. So I
> think your plastic tubing should work just fine.
>
> However, I am a bit confused about changing out cane tips though. I would
> consider this to be the same as changing one's shoes when visiting
> different
> patients in different rooms. From what I can recall, I have never seen this
> as any kind of protocol when working with high risk  patients before. If
> anything, I would think you would want to sterilize the part of the cane
> that you touch rather than the part that touches the floor as this would be
> the part of the cane that would most likely come in contact with the
> patient.
>
> I have visited someone in ICU several times, and this was never really an
> issue. However, I can also understand your concern. I would think the Lysol
> wipes would be sufficient for most situations. For the times when the Lysol
> wipes are not sufficient, some kind of plastic tubing you can throw away
> when you are done visiting the patient should work just fine.
>
> I hope this helps you with your situation.
>
> Warm regards,
> Elizabeth
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kaiti Shelton
> via nabs-l
> Sent: Thursday, August 13, 2015 10:35 PM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Kaiti Shelton <crazy4clarinet104 at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Sanitizing canes for use in hospitals
>
> Hi, Jamie,
>
> This was sort of what I was thinking about.  It would definitely work in
> most situations.  The only tricky part will be figuring out something for
> those very risky situations.  I know some units have scrubs that are
> washed,
> while ones on intensive care units are just thrown away to minimize spread
> of germs in the wash rooms.  I think then getting some sort of plastic
> tubing might work, possibly?
>
> I do like the idea of keeping a few cane tips around, or possibly getting
> scrub-like covers made for the tip.  I haven't decided how feasible it will
> be for me to switch tips if I need to do my job quickly, but it's an
> option.
> The other idea I have since come up with is to just keep multiple canes
> around so I have one that stays home from the hospital or at least away
> from
> any of the patients, one that I keep on-hand for everyday cases and those
> with minimal protection required (like the little sheet cover), and a third
> kept somewhere else that I would just use for special cases with high risk
> of contamination and I would clean thurroughly immediately after each use.
>
> I'm still looking for someone who has experience in this, but so far no one
> seems to be or know of an authority on the issue.  This has given me ideas,
> though, and it probably won't be hard to have covers made.  If I have
> several of them ready to go, I can change them out each day.
>
> On 8/13/15, Jamie Principato via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> One thing you could do is make a sanitary sheath for your cane out of
>> the same material as the scrubs and head/shoe coverings you already
>> use in sterile environments. It would be like a cloth tube that you
>> slide your cane into tip first and tie off at the top of the handle with
>> a
> drawstring.
>> You'll need to wash it and store it somewhere clean like you would
>> your scrubs, but it would be more convenient than washing the entire
>> cane by hand. You might also consider keeping a clean tip that you
>> only ever use in sterile environments and swapping out tips before
>> washing
> your hands.
>>
>> -Jamie
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>>> On Aug 13, 2015, at 6:08 PM, Kaiti Shelton via nabs-l
>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi all,
>>>
>>> I'm hoping to work in a hospital for my job, and recently was there
>>> to visit an ill relative.  It occured to me while I was putting on
>>> gloves and a gown that in some situations I will need to clean my
>>> cane as well.  Music therapists do work in isolated areas on
>>> occasion, and also may work in preop or postop.  In this case, I was
>>> visiting someone who had an infection that could be contageous.  The
>>> idea of washing my hands and scrubbing up, but not sanitizing my
>>> cane, then washing up afterwards and touching the cane again kind of
>>> grossed me out.  Not only could it track in germs from the outside to
>>> the sick person in the room, but it also could transfer anything the
>>> person has back to me.
>>>
>>> I already do sanitize my cane because I work a lot with kids and/or
>>> elderly people, but in this situation Lysol wipes won't always be
>>> sufficient.  Has anyone had experience with this?  I'm just asking
>>> around and will try the human services division as well.  I've also
>>> asked an Orientation and Mobility Speciailist if he's ever seen this
>>> done.
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>>
>>> --
>>> Kaiti Shelton
>>> University of Dayton-Music Therapy
>>> President, Ohio Association of Blind Students 2013-Present Secretary,
>>> The National Federation of the Blind Performing Arts Division
>>> 2015-2016
>>>
>>> "You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back!"
>>>
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>>
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>
>
> --
> Kaiti Shelton
> University of Dayton-Music Therapy
> President, Ohio Association of Blind Students 2013-Present Secretary, The
> National Federation of the Blind Performing Arts Division 2015-2016
>
> "You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back!"
>
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-- 
Kaiti Shelton
University of Dayton-Music Therapy
President, Ohio Association of Blind Students 2013-Present
Secretary, The National Federation of the Blind Performing Arts
Division 2015-2016

"You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back!"