Scrubs (clothing)
Scrubs are designed to be simple (with minimal places for contaminants to hide), easy to launder, and cheap to replace if damaged or stained irreparably.
The spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has increased the use of scrubs but can give wearers a false sense of security that they are "clean" when in fact they are as easily contaminated as any other clothing.
(Gut and silk sutures were sold as open strands with reusable hand-threaded needles; packing gauze was made of sweepings from the floors of cotton mills.
)[citation needed] In contrast to today's concept of surgery as a profession that emphasizes cleanliness and conscientiousness, up to the early 20th century the mark of a busy and successful surgeon was the profusion of blood and fluids on their clothes.
Around the same time, operating theatre staff began wearing heavy rubber gloves to protect their hands from the solutions used to clean the room and equipment, a practice surgeons grudgingly adopted.
[6] By the 1940s, advances in surgical antisepsis (now called aseptic technique) and the science of wound infection led to the adoption of antiseptic drapes and gowns for operating room use.
By the 1950s and 1960s, most hospitals had abandoned white operating room apparel in favor of various shades of green, which provided a high-contrast environment, reduced eye fatigue, and made bright red blood splashes less conspicuous.
Nearly all patient care personnel at hospitals in the United States wear some form of scrubs while on duty, as do some staffers in doctor, dental, and veterinary offices.
In England, all NHS hospital trusts have stringent clothing policies, and many of these specifically forbid wearing the iconic white coat for medical staff, owing to infection control concerns.
Health and safety standards are critical to restaurants' success and legal compliance, and there are many opportunities for bacteria to thrive and spread via menus, tables, and shared condiment shakers.
Both colors prevent optical illusions, such as afterimages, which may occur from staring at red or pink for extended periods of time.
This shift in colour perception allows medical professional to avoid visual confusion when looking at white surfaces or objects like drapes or other uniforms.
In England and Wales many NHS trusts use different colored scrubs to distinguish between different branches of healthcare professionals, for example anaesthetists may wear maroon.
Due to concerns about home laundering and sterility issues, these scrubs are usually hospital-owned or hospital-leased through a commercial linen service.
From the 1940s through the 1950s, as a hygienic focus swept the industry, hats became standard wear to help protect patients from contaminants in hair.
