diff --git a/fhash.f90 b/fhash.f90
index c05af60..7d55e4b 100644
--- a/fhash.f90
+++ b/fhash.f90
@@ -392,7 +392,12 @@ subroutine next(this, key, value, status)
     VALUE_TYPE, intent(out) :: value
     integer, optional, intent(out) :: status
 
-    do while (.not. associated(this%node_ptr) .or. .not. allocated(this%node_ptr%kv))
+    do
+    
+      IF(ASSOCIATED(this%node_ptr)) THEN
+        IF(ALLOCATED(this%node_ptr%kv) ) EXIT
+      END IF
+      
       if (this%bucket_id < this%fhash_ptr%n_buckets) then
         this%bucket_id = this%bucket_id + 1
         this%node_ptr => this%fhash_ptr%buckets(this%bucket_id)