Medical gowns are predominantly used in the healthcare industry. A critical piece of personal protective equipment, gowns are important for any infection control protocol. Gowns are used to protect the wearer against infections or illness that may spread through contact with a potentially infectious person. A patient may release liquid or solid materials containing pathogens which may infect the healthcare workers. Additionally, gowns are also useful in preventing wearer from transferring the microorganisms to other patients.
American National Standards Institute/Association of the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (ANSI/AAMI) PB70:2003 have been recognized by the FDA in 2003 to ensure better and effective use of protective apparel such as gowns in health care facilities.
The standard has classified the protective apparel according to 4 levels, based on their intended use:
- Level 1: Minimal risk use, such as basic patient care
- Level 2: Low risk use, such as during blood draw, suturing
- Level 3: Moderate risk use, such as inserting an IV line, arterial blood draw
- Level 4: High risk use, such as surgery
The green or blue color gowns
Nowadays, doctors are usually seen in blue and green dress code while performing a surgery. However, this was not a trend before 1914. Earlier, surgeons used to wear white clothes during a surgery.
There’s actually a scientific reason behind the use of green or blue overalls during surgery:
The surgeons involved in the surgery may feel like loss of vision when they shift their gaze from the dark red color of the blood to completely spotless white overalls of their colleagues.
The effect is quite similar when one goes outside in winter and sees the sun’s reflection on the snow.
It is also said that green or blue are the opposites of red and any blood stains on the gown doesn’t appear uncomfortable to look at.
PPE and gowns
PPE or personal protective equipment is incomplete without gowns. In simple terms, PPE is used to ensure a person’s safety against viral or bacterial infections. PPE consists of different things, such as: head covers, gowns, face shields, gloves, face masks, sanitizers, and overall.
Just like any other element of PPE, gowns are designed with utmost care to ensure complete safety of patients and health care workers. Wearing PPE makes it easier and safer for health professionals to work in highly infectious environments like Covid-19 Wards.
Most of the demands for gowns are received from health care industry. It is critical to preventing the spread of infection among people.