[Histonet] (no subject)

[Janice Mahoney]

Hello everyone,After being home from the NSH for a few weeks I have been pondering an issue that I think bears discussion on the histonet.There have been several papers published regarding "floaters" and the amount determined to come from traditional staining buckets.  There was also a poster presented at the NSH this year on the subject.When I approached several vendors of H&E stainers about this issue.  The answers were surprisingly pretty much the same.   It is not an issue!  Now I understand how one company can make this claim as their stainer uses fresh stain on each slide.  The explanations from the other companies were insulting and just plain did not make sense to me.  I was told by a Histo tech vendor that "All Histo techs know that floaters come from the water bath."  Well, she was talking to a histo tech and I know for a fact that floaters come from a variety of places.  I have seen them from the doctor's office or procedure room to the stainer and every step in between.  Sometimes if the "floater" is in the block it is very difficult to determine where it originated.  We can however eliminate the water bath and stainer as the origin in these cases.  One company told me that the design of the solution bottle eliminated floaters because floaters float and their stainer draws solutions from the bottom of the bottle.  I have probably changed thousands of staining dishes during my 40+ year career (yes, I am old) and I have seen lots of little pieces of tissue at the bottom of the staining dishes.  So, no, not all floaters float.  I would love to hear feedback from others on this.  I guess I would appreciate feedback about the floater issue as well as how a few vendors can make such claims and expect Histology techs to buy it.  I really felt that a few comments were insulting to our profession and to the knowledge and expertise we possess. JanOmaha