Tshirt Art House

Posts Tagged ‘lab coats’

Although they started out as a form of protection, white lab coats have become a symbol of prestige and distinction for doctors and scientists.

A white coat lab coat developed from a knee-length smock worn by medical workers and laboratory technicians to protect their street clothes.

Today white lab coasts are made from white or light-colored cotton twill or a cotton polyester blend (usually 65 percent polyester, 35 percent cotton). These types of fabrics show dirt and contaminants easily, and they can be washed at high temperatures to kill any germs on them and better assure no cross-contamination.

Once made from linen, white lab coats today are more likely to be made from a cotton polyester blend (usually 65 percent polyester, 35 percent cotton) or cotton twill, in white or a light color. Contaminants such as blood and other bodily fluids are easily seen on white lab coats, so they can be thoroughly washed, and in some cases sterilized, to kill any germs.

By the mid-19th century, many significant scientific advances had been in medical care, such as Louis Pasteur’s development of smallpox vaccine and Joseph Lister’s theories on germs as the cause of disease. Doctors began wearing knee-length white coats as a way to protect themselves from blood and other bodily emissions.

Even with advanced medical techniques, doctors are still treating the human body, one of the dirtiest organisms known on the planet. Blood and other kinds of bodily fluids can be present any time there’s an injury to the body. A white lab coat still serves to protect a medical worker from contamination. That’s why doctors change from their hospital scrubs and lab coats into street clothes before they leave. Medical uniforms are considered contaminated, even if nothing shows, by the germs of dozens of people. They’re thoroughly washed and sterilized before being used again.

A British study several years ago found that patients liked their doctors to wear white lab coats; it gave them a sense of being treated by a professional. However, a more recent American study found that patients preferred it when their doctors wore street clothes. Respondents in the American study said they felt like their physicians were more approachable when not wearing the familiar lab coat.

Recent studies back up the Mayo Clinic’s perspective. For instance, studies have uncovered the incidence of a condition known as “white coat hypertension.” Research found that the blood pressure of patients with hypertension was higher in a doctor’s office or clinic than it was in the patients’ readings at home. The discrepancy was attributed to a dense of stress or powerlessness on the patient’s part. An American study later confirmed that those patients didn’t care what a doctor wore, as long as he or she (the patient) received good care and made a complete recovery.

For free tips and information on medical lab coat visit Lab Coat Blog.