Scrub caps

[u/TrainWinter7706]

Do you change yours daily? People at my hospital seem to wear the same one days in a row but I thought they were supposed to be changed daily?

[u/Eventer2295]

Unless there’s blood on it, I will wear the same one twice before washing it. I swear some people never wash theirs.

[u/girlswithteeth]

they are supposed to be changed daily, everyone in this thread is smoking crazy pills. even on a personal hygiene level, you mean to say you're all sweating your asses off under the lights and then putting the same hat back on? my greasy ass could never

[u/Sad-Fruit-1490 → u/girlswithteeth]

Literally this!!! My hair is so greasy at the end of the shift and I’ve sweat through my underwear and scrub cap, how would anyone justify wearing it a second day???

[u/Several-Ad-1195]

I’m a bit of a hat collector. Probably have 20+ hats, so I never wear a hat more than once before it gets washed.

[u/Surgerychic → u/Several-Ad-1195]

Same! Honestly I could probably go 2 months w/o repeating a hat.

[u/Ok_Possible_7578]

Yeah, it’s pretty easy. You just buy five hats and then wash them on the weekend. If I forget to wash them one weekend cause I get too busy or if I get called and have to wear a hat twice it’s literally not the end of the world but realistically, if you have the ability to you should be washing them between every use.

[u/Ok-Following-283]

I change mine daily but I also have 100+ hats. I might have a slight obsession 🤣 I’ve been scrubbing 15 years so that’s how I justify my collection.

[u/Effective-Newt838 → u/Ok-Following-283]

I justify my massive hat collection because I make them and love to find unique fabric prints! I change mine daily and cannot imagine wearing it more than once after use.

[u/yesimextra]

Yes and so do my coworkers. Washing daily has been in the dress code policy of every facility that I’ve worked at that allowed us to wear them.

[u/Gator-Police]

My hospital washes ours. I change daily no matter what. If I go outside with the cap or get something on it I change it too.

[u/GeoffSim]

Definitely a clean one every day because it's going to be dirty (sweat, oils, skin, maybe the occasional OR juice drops). Like others, I have a collection that I just rotate through. Given that I've had comments from people that they like my cap (an alien cap, a chicken one, and a Pacman one, in particular), there's no way I'd want those people to realize I'm wearing the same cap the next day!

[u/olliecakerbake]

We’re required to wash them daily. We work 3 12s, so I own like 6 or 7 and it’s enough for a couple weeks

[u/probablygoblins]

We’re required to wear disposables or at least a disposable on top of a cloth one so I just use the disposables. I decided to cut my hair short to keep it easy to cover, but most of the folks I see that do wear cloth under their bouffant change them every day.

[u/NecronomiSquirrel → u/probablygoblins]

This should be the standard. People are gross.

[u/spine-queen]

i wear the same one but i have about 10 in my locker, i just like the brain MRI one cause i do neuro. i take it home often and wash it though.

[u/pk-starstorm]

I've got about a dozen that I cycle through and I wash them every couple weeks. I definitely don't wear the same one 2 days in a row, but people definitely do

[u/imsolarpowered]

Yes, I wear a clean one everyday

[u/Stawktawk]

Yea I notice this too. It’s gross. Wear the facility disposable ones

[u/DeaconBlue760]

just wear the disposable ones, it's less of a hassle

[u/KingdomCakeBatter]

I have a favorite hat which I wash in between uses.

I know someone who has 5 of their favorite hat….

Just because you see someone with the same hat, doesn’t mean they “don’t wash it”….

[u/Sunkisthappy]

I'm taking a first assist course through my new job (required even though I'm a PA with first assist experience already) and it mentioned changing cloth scrub caps daily which is the first I've heard of it.

[u/bearhaas]

Do I wash mine so that I'm wearing a fresh one daily. Not as much as a should. But they do get washed.

The argument to wash them daily sometimes centers on OR sterility. That's BS. Look at other countries and you'll see a stark. In the UK, anesthesia isn't wearing masks. The role of the scrub cap is hair containment and sweat absorption to keep the field clean. An unwashed cap can do that job just as good.

So the real decision point is more personal preference and overall hygiene.

[u/Informationlporpoise]

can't you wear them home? I'm only a student but once I'm on the job I plan on keeping a bunch in my locker and wearing whatever one I pick that day home, no one wants to see my sweaty ass mop on top of my head as I make my way out of the building. is that not possible?

[u/GeoffSim → u/Informationlporpoise]

Shouldn't wear them going to work (basically street clothes at that point, not "sterile" scrubs).

Going home might be down to hospital policy - some don't even allow you to wear your own scrub caps anyway, or require them covered by a bouffant. But you might get looks from people.

[u/furandpaws → u/Informationlporpoise]

my only paid jobs were surgery centers but i did the same during clinicals- i put it on in the car on the drive in, and wore it out at the end of the day. no one ever said anything to me.