In such a “sacred” and mysterious space as the operating room, many ordinary people are curious about its rules.As an important brand soul of the company, surgical gowns Has outstanding performance, through the market test, still has a strong development trend. https://www.customsurgicaldrapes.com/
Why can’t doctors wear underwear? Why do patients have to take off their clothes? These seemingly unspeakable regulations actually hide serious and scientific medical principles behind them.
Today, we will talk about the “cold knowledge” in these operating rooms, and dismantle the medical logic, historical origin and cultural significance behind it.
The operating room is not a place to “casually wear”
Many people think that doctors only wear surgical gowns to “look professional”, but in fact, from head to toe, every piece of clothing is very particular.
Before entering the operating room, doctors must take off all personal clothes, including underwear, and only wear sterile clothes for surgery. This regulation can be traced back to the early 20th century, when the infection control was not perfect. The medical community found that bacteria would spread with clothes and skin residues, which in turn turned a safe operation into a “hotbed of bacteria”.
Modern medical research has further confirmed that ordinary underwear, bras and other close-fitting clothes are easy to hide bacteria, especially cotton and chemical fiber materials, which will increase the risk of infection in the surgical site.
Surgical gowns are usually made of special materials, which can effectively block skin secretions and foreign bacteria. In contrast, underwear can’t do this. Doctors only wear surgical gowns all over the body, which not only reduces the source of bacteria, but also facilitates rapid treatment in case of chemical and blood pollution during surgery, so as to avoid clothes becoming “pollutants”.
Clinical guidelines also clearly stipulate that medical staff should strictly implement the process of changing clothes and washing hands before entering sterile areas, which is a key link to protect the safety of both patients and doctors.
Naked patients: not a shame, but a guarantee of safety
Many patients will be asked to “strip naked completely” before surgery, leaving only a sterile surgical sheet for surgery. Some people feel embarrassed or even wronged: why can’t they wear underwear and underwear to enter the operating room? Is it too harsh? The medical considerations behind this are extremely thoughtful and realistic.
The operation needs to expose the skin, especially the incision site. During anesthesia, doctors need to observe patients’ skin reactions, such as color, sweating and humidity, which are important basis for judging circulation and breathing state. If clothes cover the skin, many early abnormal signals will be ignored, delaying the opportunity of discovery and rescue.
It is inevitable that body fluids, disinfectant, blood, etc. will seep out during the operation. Once personal clothes are contaminated, it will easily become a hotbed of bacteria. Especially in some long-term major operations, patients’ body temperature is regulated and their posture changes frequently, and clothes will become a hidden danger, not protection.
Some documents mentioned that the existence of underwear during operation will increase the probability of complications such as incision infection and bedsore, which are not minor problems.
During the operation, the patient is in a coma or semi-coma for a lot of time, so the doctor must be able to check the whole body at any time. For example, some operations require catheterization, the skin disinfection area is large, and even the body position should be adjusted at any time. The existence of clothes will only increase the difficulty of operation and even affect the safety of operation.
Historical evolution: from “casual wear” to “sterility first”
Looking back at the history of medicine, the early operating rooms were not so particular, and even wearing masks and surgical gowns was gradually popularized in the past hundred years. At the end of the 19th century, with the acceptance of the theory of bacteria, the medical community gradually realized that clothes were actually an “invisible danger”.
In the 1920s, European surgeons began to require all personnel entering the operating room to take off their daily clothes and put on sterile surgical clothes. In the middle and late 20th century, this regulation became the “standard” of operating rooms all over the world.
China has studied the Soviet medical system since 1950s and 1960s, and has also introduced strict operating room management norms. Nowadays, whether it is a tertiary hospital or a primary hospital, the dressing process in the operating room has already become a basic operation. With the diversification of surgical methods and the development of minimally invasive technology, these “cold knowledge” are constantly being supplemented and improved.
The collision between culture and social concepts
Although the medical requirements are strict, the balance between “nudity” and “privacy” is always a sensitive topic in practice. Many patients will resist because of shame and embarrassment, especially among women and elderly patients.
Hospitals usually take various measures to protect patients’ privacy, such as exposing only necessary parts as far as possible, covering irrelevant parts with surgical sheets during operation, and arranging same-sex nurses to accompany them.
Social concepts are also gradually changing. In the past, people were extremely concerned about personal privacy, but with the popularization of health science, more and more people can understand and accept the special regulations of operating room. Behind this is the progress of medical technology, but also the improvement of social awareness of medical safety.
Modern medicine emphasizes “patient-centered” and ensures life safety to the greatest extent on the premise of respecting privacy, which is the fundamental significance of the existence of “undressing regulations” in operating rooms.
Science in detail: seemingly “redundant”, but actually necessary
Many people may think that doctors and patients are “stripped so thoroughly”, isn’t it a bit excessive? But there is scientific wisdom in medical details.
The surface of the skin looks clean, but in fact, there are a lot of bacteria left. Ordinary cleaning can only remove part of it. Thoroughly exposing the skin, disinfecting it and covering it with sterile cloth are effective ways to block infection to the maximum extent. Also, wearing underwear to enter the operating room, even if it is only a thin layer of cloth, may inadvertently rub and bring in external microorganisms, which will affect the healing of the surgical incision.
Medical research shows that strict implementation of operating room dressing and aseptic process can significantly reduce the incidence of surgical site infection. Take surgery as an example. Every one percentage point reduction in the risk of infection will guarantee the life safety of hundreds of patients. Every “unpopular rule” in the operating room is actually the crystallization of countless clinical experiences and scientific research, and there is no room for carelessness.
Exceptions and Humanization in Reality
Medicine is not rigid. In some special cases, doctors will also make adjustments according to the actual situation of patients. For example, special groups such as extreme obesity, pregnant women and children sometimes keep some clothes properly, but these are all on the premise of not affecting the safety of surgery.
Modern operating rooms pay more and more attention to humanistic care, and some hospitals will also prepare special “sterile underwear” or “surgical shorts” for patients, which will not affect aseptic operation on the basis of protecting privacy. Hospitals are constantly optimizing surgical procedures to reduce the psychological burden of patients, so that “naked” is no longer a shame, but a healthy choice.
Doctor’s underwear question: not “formalism”
As for doctors who can’t wear underwear, it seems to be “trivial”, but it is actually very particular. Doctors have to perform multiple operations in one day and change clothes frequently, and underwear may become a dead end for cleaning. The design of the surgical gown has considered many functions such as ventilation, sweat absorption, protection, etc. Wearing underwear is easy to cause sultry heat and breed bacteria.
The most important thing is that in the event of a large area of pollution during the operation, the doctor can take off the contaminated surgical gown at the first time to minimize the risk of subsequent infection. If you still wear ordinary underwear, it is equivalent to “retaining a dangerous area” on your body, which is neither comfortable nor safe.
Doctors often need to stand and bend over for a long time, and the close-fitting clothes are easy to curl and shift, which affects the flexibility of operation. Without underwear, doctors can concentrate more on the operation itself. Medical guidelines at home and abroad all have clear requirements for surgical dress, which is by no means “overkill” but the bottom line of medical safety.
Conclusion: “Cold knowledge” in the operating room warms life.
Every rule in the operating room is not aimless. Doctors can’t wear underwear, and patients must be naked. These seemingly cold rules are actually behind the greatest respect for life. Only by doing every detail to the extreme can we ensure the success of the operation and the safety of patients.
Next time you meet these “strange” requirements, you might as well have more understanding and trust, because it is a scientific consensus that countless medical predecessors have exchanged sweat and data.
Medicine is not a cold rule, but a crystallization of wisdom that warms and protects life.