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How Clean is that Lab Coat?
You know that white lab coat most doctors wear while they’re examining you? Well, recent studies have shown that it can transmit infection, including methicilin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) the potentially deadly “superbug” that’s resistant to most antibiotics.
In a study reported in May, researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University showed that bacteria from a white cotton lab coat can cause infection even just minutes after touching skin. In a related study, 90 percent of doctors reported wearing white coats most days of the week, yet 62 percent said that they wait two weeks or longer to wash them. A previous study of doctors’ ties at a New York hospital found that nearly half carried bacteria. If you think about it, this isn’t surprising; when was the last time your husband or boyfriend washed his ties?
Wearing lab coats and ties is not just a health hazard to other patients at the hospital or in doctors’ offices. Since some doctors wear their white coats out in the street (I’ve seen plenty at my local Starbucks) this practice can expose the rest of us to nasty germs. How many of us would wear the same clothing two weeks in a row without laundering? Already, in Britain, white coats, long sleeves, and neckties are banned in health care settings in an effort to prevent the spread of infection. In fact, they’ve implemented a “bare below the elbow” policy to discourage the spread of bacteria and encourage health care workers to wash their hands up to their elbows.
In my office, I stopped wearing a white coat several years ago (it was impossible to keep clean, and white isn’t my color), and I often wear short sleeves, since I find that sleeves can get in the way of examining patients and doing procedures. It may be a challenge to convince doctors to give up their white coats, but this research shows that it’ll be better for our health if they do.
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urbane scrubs
In a study reported in May, researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University showed that bacteria from a white cotton lab coat can cause infection even just minutes after touching skin. In a related study, 90 percent of doctors reported wearing white coats most days of the week, yet 62 percent said that they wait two weeks or longer to wash them. A previous study of doctors’ ties at a New York hospital found that nearly half carried bacteria. If you think about it, this isn’t surprising; when was the last time your husband or boyfriend washed his ties?
Wearing lab coats and ties is not just a health hazard to other patients at the hospital or in doctors’ offices. Since some doctors wear their white coats out in the street (I’ve seen plenty at my local Starbucks) this practice can expose the rest of us to nasty germs. How many of us would wear the same clothing two weeks in a row without laundering? Already, in Britain, white coats, long sleeves, and neckties are banned in health care settings in an effort to prevent the spread of infection. In fact, they’ve implemented a “bare below the elbow” policy to discourage the spread of bacteria and encourage health care workers to wash their hands up to their elbows.
In my office, I stopped wearing a white coat several years ago (it was impossible to keep clean, and white isn’t my color), and I often wear short sleeves, since I find that sleeves can get in the way of examining patients and doing procedures. It may be a challenge to convince doctors to give up their white coats, but this research shows that it’ll be better for our health if they do.
_____________
urbane scrubs
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