SMELL from Anatomy Lab

[zeebra44]

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I can't get the SMELL off of my hands from Anatomy Lab, and it's driving me batty. I go to eat, get a whiff and immediately lose my appetite. The dog our lab group is dissecting is a HUGE German Shepherd mix, and he's pretty juicy. Anyone else having this problem/have any suggestions? I don't want to smell myself for 32 weeks.

 

[Horsingaround31]

I have a friend in med school who swears by Dr. Bronner's soap. You'll find it in the health food aisle of grocery stores. She said it's the only thing she's found that actually takes the post-anatomy smell out of her hands.

 

[Tiktaalik]

Ugh, I hate that smell, I have to be really well fed beforehand or it makes me dizzy.

I hear that nitrile gloves help keep the smell out a bit better than latex. I hate nitrile, though (loss of dexterity really gets to me) so I'll just have to deal.

 

[OnceBitten]

Oh, memories lol.

To be honest, no soap ever worked well enough for me to get it all off, so what I wound up having to do was only eat food that required the use of utensils and/or use utensils for food that didn't require them lol. I feel your pain.

 

[turnbackhelly]

I've been finding that the nitrile gloves really do work well, especially if you change them frequently. I think that may be the key, at least for me. Once I leave lab and change my clothes (I dissect in scrubs and a lab coat, with designated anatomy lab sneakers; some of my classmates just throw their lab coat on over whatever they are wearing), I only ever catch a faint whiff of it in my hair every once in awhile - haven't yet noticed the smell staying on my hands at all.

 

[lizinwonderland]

.

 

[sumstorm]

Nitrile gloves also provide a better barrier to the chemicals for health/safety. Seriously, dexterity is not that important on cadaver study. Here, nitriles are required.

Change gloves more frequently. Some of the hand cleaners made for mechanics work really well because they are designed to break down oils and other chemicals. it sounds weird but moisturize a bit before lab; if your skin is hydrated it will pick up fewer odors. Wash as soon as possible.

 

[LMMS]

As already recommended, nitrile gloves are your best best. However, if you're dead set against them, you can try double gloving and creating a seal with your gown. It's what I do for necropsies and it works even after the poor beasts have been sitting a few days or so. As I'm not sure what type of gown your wearing this may not be feasible because it requires a disposable gown/suit... You want to don your first glove and then poke your thumb through the wrist area. After that, don the second glove over top. Alternatively you can try to use a barrier lotion or Bag Balm under your gloves. This seems to help keep the smell down and will help your hands from cracking from all the washing. Good luck!!

 

[zxz130]

I always keep a box of nitrite gloves next to my lab area and change about once an hour. My group-mates also appreciate that as they can change as well 😀. A little wasteful I guess but it definitely works to keep the smell off.

 

[svendenhowser]

I always used to get hungry in our anatomy pracs. I could have my head 5cm from the dog with my hair dangling in (I'm short sighted 😛), all the while thinking about what I'm going to have for lunch..

I found the only smell I had on my hands was from the gloves, not the dog. All I could smell were latex or nitrile (depending on what I was wearing), not the juicy dead dog. But I'm also an RN so I could be cleaning a massive code brown and longing for my lunch/dinner break..

 

[chris03333]

I can't get the SMELL off of my hands from Anatomy Lab, and it's driving me batty. I go to eat, get a whiff and immediately lose my appetite. The dog our lab group is dissecting is a HUGE German Shepherd mix, and he's pretty juicy. Anyone else having this problem/have any suggestions? I don't want to smell myself for 32 weeks.

get nitrile gloves. DO NOT USE LATEX.
that should help.

 

[chris03333]

Ugh, I hate that smell, I have to be really well fed beforehand or it makes me dizzy.

I hear that nitrile gloves help keep the smell out a bit better than latex. I hate nitrile, though (loss of dexterity really gets to me) so I'll just have to deal.

You likely had crappy nitrile gloves. There are many brands which have just as good of dexterity as latex. You just have to find many types you can try (working in a human hospital gave me that oppertunity).

 

[luplodw]

I have a couple of boxes of nitrile gloves that are purple and are pretty thick...I dont like them. I also have some aloe nitrile gloves that are a lot thinner and are green. They are amazzzzzing!! I will never buy any other kind. My hands never smell when I leave lab either.

 

[twelvetigers]

We had some light grey nitrile gloves on one of the days during the VIDA trip... they were very thin! I don't remember the brand or anything, of course, but they do exist (and they're light grey, lol).

 

[GellaBella]

Yup there are very thin nitriles. I talked about this on the Veterinary side of the forum under the Supplies thread.

But if you want nice, thin, easy to move in nitriles, I recommend Protege (they are blue), Tranquility (white, look like latex), or FreeForm (also blue) brands. They are awesome. They're the only nitriles I would order in my lab because they are fantastic.

 

[HopefulAg]

Dittoing Protege. Can't speak for the rest though, but I was quite dextrous in the protege gloves.

I also have some aloe nitrile gloves that are a lot thinner and are green. They are amazzzzzing!! I will never buy any other kind

What brand?

 

[luplodw]

not sure. I'll look when i go to lab tomorrow

 

[BlacKAT33]

Aurelia Protege!!! love them!!

*i owe special thanks to GellaBella who recommended them months ago*

I bought a case and they were about 5$ a box i think . yay! i wasnt sure if i'd sell the other half to a classmate but i think i have decided to keep them for the next 4 yrs because who knows when i'll need more gloves!!

 

[zeebra44]

Thanks, everyone! Nitrile gloves are definitely on my list of things to get now.

 

[Tiktaalik]

You likely had crappy nitrile gloves. There are many brands which have just as good of dexterity as latex. You just have to find many types you can try (working in a human hospital gave me that oppertunity).

I'll give it a shot if I ever get access to something other than that purple brand whose name escapes me. I still don't trust 'em. Is it too early in my career to be set in my ways? 😛

 

[eventualeventer]

I just ordered a single box of the Aurelia Protege to make sure I like them/have the right size. If so, I'm getting a case thanks to the reviews on here. Maybe they want to become SDN sponsors???

 

[PearlDVM]

I just ordered a single box of the Aurelia Protege to make sure I like them/have the right size. If so, I'm getting a case thanks to the reviews on here. Maybe they want to become SDN sponsors???

where did you order the single box - so far all i can dig up are cases online 😕

i'm picky about my gloves - so i'm SO glad that this came up 👍

 

[HopefulAg]

I just ordered a single box of the Aurelia Protege to make sure I like them/have the right size. If so, I'm getting a case thanks to the reviews on here. Maybe they want to become SDN sponsors???

Also: how much did it cost? Cheapest I can find online for single box is $10, which I'd be sorta willing to pay (50 latex from wal-mart is $5) but they kill me on shipping charges ($9).

 

[twelvetigers]

Do they not offer you a sample of the gloves (like, a single glove) to try for size and feel? Then you could feel okay ordering the giganto crate.

 

[BlacKAT33]

Do they not offer you a sample of the gloves (like, a single glove) to try for size and feel? Then you could feel okay ordering the giganto crate.

you can order samples!!! they give you a package of all the sizes. i posted it in the vet forum
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=744751

basically, on the main website there is a thing that says "order samples" but it asks for a company. i wanted it to go to my house so i just emailed customer service and she asked for my personal info and i got them pretty fast (dont remember exactly).

Then i ordered the case on amazon through Dental Supply, dental supply is also really nice because i emailed them directly about a question to make sure i got the right size case. He took my info down and it was all perfect!

There really is no point in trying to look for single cases. you'll need them for the whole year. And IMO it would be nice to have them for all 4 yrs who knows when. But splitting a case with one person is ok too because 5 boxes per person will get you through the whole year with a little extra.

This is the link i ordered from (size small), you'll need to find the other links for medium etc...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002DQZFW2/ref=oss_product

59$ for 10 boxes, so about 6$ a box. Great price!

 

[HopefulAg]

Do they not offer you a sample of the gloves (like, a single glove) to try for size and feel? Then you could feel okay ordering the giganto crate.

They do. I was quite impressed by the Protege samples. Fits like a latex but is a nitrile (or so they say...).

 

[eventualeventer]

Oh, doh, forgot about BlacKAT's tip about samples before I ordered. Oh well, at least I know now where to get them cheap when I love them!

 

[Ausrural]

Ditto protege. Anatomy class smell never really worried me. Having said that i'm at work atm and my beef strogonoff has a distinct dead sheep/infected rumen fluid taste from my hands ... Apparently gloves and washing my hands four times since the autopsy cant get rid of that smell. Lol and i'm going out for dinner and drinks tonight =P

 

[eventualeventer]

Mmmm, good ol' stroganecropsy.

 

[Ausrural]

lmfao

 

[BlacKAT33]

EE- this was great to wake up to

so far no problems with the smell of my hands after anatomy lab. i only wear one glove per 3 hrs and i can still eat my sandwich happily lol