Nikki talks about draping the scale.  Yes, I do that, too (put something on
the bed of the scale so baby is not lying on bare plastic).  The part I wipe
down is the touch pad and the grams/lbs & oz switch on the side of the
scale.

  What bugs me at the dentist is when I can see that they are wearing
gloves, but are reaching around touching things (cupboard doors, adjusting
the lights, etc) and then putting their gloved fingers back in my mouth.  I
want to know those surfaces are wiped down before the next person comes in.
Otherwise, those gloved hands are more for the STAFF'S protection than for
mine.  I want ALL of us protected.

 So if I have had a gloved hand near an infected nipple, for example, on the
last consult, and that finger then touches the touch pad of the scale during
a weight exam of the baby, that touch pad surface may become a place where
germs can reside briefly.  If I carry those into the next house I visit, I
may expose the next family to unfamiliar germs.  So I wipe down. I also
periodically spray off the outside of my bags with Lysol and try to only dry
my hands on paper towels.  Infection control is very important these days as
more MRSA staph is emerging and more mastitis is resistent to standard
antibiotics.

Barbara Wilson-Clay, BS, IBCLC
Austin Lactation Associates
LactNews Press
www.lactnews.com
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