# Stethoscope Rot/Hardening



## samiam (Aug 2, 2011)

I was reading my Littmann manual today as I was changing out my ear tips and I noticed this:

_"The majority of tubing used on Littmann stethoscopes is made of PVC (polyvinylchloride) which becomes hard when exposed for long periods of time to the lipids found in human skin. Wearing the stethoscope around the neck may cause stiffening of the tubing over time. If worn around the neck, we recommend wearing the stethoscope over a collar, away from contact with your skin."_


Anyone ever had this problem? 

I have a (really really) old one that had latex in the tubing and it slowly degraded over time but haven't had any problems with my new one.


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## HotelCo (Aug 2, 2011)

Nope, but then again, I don't wear mine around my neck. It's just something that gets in the way. Mine stays in the back, or on the dashboard where I'll grab it when we get a call.


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## Sasha (Aug 2, 2011)

i don't even carry my own scope anymore. I use the one in the truck or around my partner's neck!


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## MSDeltaFlt (Aug 2, 2011)

Yes. It will stiffen after several years of frequent wearing around the neck.  When it wears out, send it back for a replacement.


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## Sandog (Aug 2, 2011)

Sasha said:


> i don't even carry my own scope anymore. I use the one in the truck or around my partner's neck!



Wax recycling... 



> A new study found that about one-third of all stethoscopes used by emergency medical services (EMS) providers is contaminated with the dangerous, sometimes deadly, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria.



http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/16340


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## medicdan (Aug 2, 2011)

Yep, mine has hardened. It's why I don't wear mine around my neck except for when i'm using it. I'm a bit anal about cleaning it with a cancer wipe at the end of every shift, and as often as I remember at the end of a call. Some who chronically wear their scope around their neck invest in a colorful cloth cover (think pedi nurse), and those seem to work


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## Sasha (Aug 2, 2011)

I wipe down the ear pieces prior to use, and eh.. I'm pretty sure we all have MRSA somewhere, at least with all the MRSA patients we take.


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## medicdan (Aug 2, 2011)

I read a study a few weeks ago that said that those who drink coffee regularly have less tolerance to infection with MRSA. Correlation or causation? I'll try to dig it up.


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## truetiger (Aug 3, 2011)

I usually clean mine after every call. Amour All applied to the tubing will reduce the absorption of the oils.


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## JJR512 (Aug 3, 2011)

emt.dan said:


> I read a study a few weeks ago that said that those who drink coffee regularly have less tolerance to infection with MRSA. Correlation or causation? I'll try to dig it up.


I'm trying to translate the phrase "less tolerance to infection" into a JJR512-understandable format... Does this mean regular coffee drinkers are more or less likely to get an MRSA infection?


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## LucidResq (Aug 3, 2011)

Have heard of it happening. I don't think most EMTs will have one around their bare neck enough to see the effects in any reasonable amount of time. It's more of a concern for folks in clinical and hospital settings who always have one around their neck. If you're worried about it just get a cover - or the cheap solution - jerry-rig some tube gauze around it.


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## Sasha (Aug 3, 2011)

LucidResq said:


> Have heard of it happening. I don't think most EMTs will have one around their bare neck enough to see the effects in any reasonable amount of time. It's more of a concern for folks in clinical and hospital settings who always have one around their neck. If you're worried about it just get a cover - or the cheap solution - jerry-rig some tube gauze around it.



Those who do carry it around their neck, I think it more often rests on a collar rather than their actual skin too. I've only seen a few FD's with T-shirts, the rest of the EMS agencies I've seen are all collared button downs or polos.


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