Here is an interesting article about how germs can be spread on hospital scrubs and doctors' lab coats, and how this can be avoided.
The next time I see a doctor or nurse on the subway wearing scrubs, I will sit as far away as possible from him/her!
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Someone to avoid on the subway
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2 comments:
I'm always puzzled by the scrubs. I thought the idea behind scrubs was that you changed into them when you got to work, and out of them when you left. On the way in, it's to cut down on the number of germs coming into the place riding on your clothes. On the way out, to cut down on the germs riding out from those patients you saw....
I thought this was the whole idea, yet yes, you see them everywhere! Glad some hospitals are starting to enforce it.
I guess the question I have is: when are uniforms (e.g., nurses' uniforms) to be considered scrubs or just work clothes? I don't see a lot of people wearing the old khaki scrubs (or the newer blue ones) outside hospitals, but I do see a lot of nurses wearing their uniforms to and from work. Perhaps their uniforms should be more rigourously changed? Or more nurses should be wearing protective gear that is changed between patients?
But the doctors' coats really got my attention ... I can see how many doctors would simply hang them up in a locker or in their offices and rarely wash them. (I know when I was doing my science undergrad, I rarely washed my labcoat, even when it got splattered with some nasty chemicals, so I can relate).
I read another article recently that discussed the spread of a particular type of bacteria and how some doctors had isolated it to the design of SINKS that were in some hospitals. The bacteria lived in the plumbing, and the tap hit the drain in such a way that the water, contaminated with bacteria, would spray from the sink in a fine mist onto the patient and the health care providers. They replaced the sinks and reduced the number of infections.
It all makes me think that we have a long way to go to make our hospitals healthy places to be. Ironic. :)
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