Your doctor's gown may pose a risk to your health

The clothing of health professionals, including this seemingly clean white coat that many like to wear, can harbor dangerous bacteria and pathogens.

In a systematic review of several studies, it has been discovered that white coats are often contaminated with strains of harmful and sometimes drug-resistant bacteria, linked to infections contracted in hospitals. Sixteen percent of the white coats were MRSA positive; 42% for Gram-negative bacteria.

Both types of bacteria cause serious problems, including skin and blood infections, sepsis and pneumonia.

The white coats are not the only ones to cause problems: it has also emerged from the review that stethoscopes, phones and tablets can be contaminated with harmful bacteria. In a study with specialists in orthopedic surgery, a 45% coincidence was found between the type of bacteria found in their neckties and the wounds of the patients they had treated. It was also discovered that nurses' uniforms were often contaminated.

Possible remedies include antimicrobial tissues; A randomized study has shown that they can help reduce the presence of certain types of bacteria. The daily washing of the clothing of health professionals can help, although studies show that bacteria can contaminate gowns and uniforms in a few hours.

Similarly, tests were conducted to determine whether the wearing of the white short-sleeved or long-sleeved coat caused a difference in the transmission of pathogens. In a randomized controlled trial, the results of which were published in 2018, transmission rates of viral genetic material were found to be lower with short sleeves. It may be easier to keep your hands and wrists clean when they are not in contact with the sleeves, which can easily rub against other contaminated objects. In the United States, the American Society for the Epidemiology of Health Care already suggests that clinicians consider that there is no tissue in the elbows.

So, using alcohol-based hand sanitizers – often more effective and convenient than soap and water – it's much easier to keep your hands clean without cluttering your clothes.

However, in many health centers, the installation of alcohol-based hand sanitizer dispensers is not as practical as it could be, so that their use is limited. The reason is that at the beginning of the century, US fire chiefs began asking hospitals to remove or move dispensers because these disinfectants contain at least 60% alcohol; that is, they are flammable. Although the World Health Organization describes as "very low" the fire risk of hand sanitizers.

These are mainly located in the corridors and corridors, although their use is more effective near where most patients are (for example, to use just before or just after have taken care of one of them).

A team of researchers wanted to be creative and tried to put dispensers on patients' beds, making them perfectly visible when clinical specialists badisted patients. What was the result? 50% more hand sanitizer was used.

According to an article in the New York Times, the American Medical Association studied ten years ago the proposal that "doctors would hang their coat", concerned about the transmission of bacteria. Perhaps one of the reasons why this proposal has not been retained since is it explained by what was said by a doctor quoted in this article: "The dress is part of what characterizes me, I could not To pbad.

It's a powerful symbol. But perhaps the tradition of wearing it should not be eliminated, but only changed. A combination of white blouses that do not run over the elbows and are washed more frequently, better-placed hand disinfectants and portable disinfectant dispensers could help reduce the spread of harmful bacteria.

Until these ideas or others are fully launched, we could all ask our doctors to disinfect their hands before touching us (even before they shake hands).

* Copyright: c.2019 New York Times Press Service