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Are the surgeons who aren't washing their hands today not doing so because they don't believe in bacteria?
by tedunangst 6y ago
Are the surgeons who aren't washing their hands today not doing so because they don't believe in bacteria?
- redis_mlc 6y agoYoutuber SerpentAZ has reported that in China, doctors generally don't wash their hands because: 1) washrooms are not stocked with soap. (In general, after something is built, there's no on-going maintenance.) 2) the older generations of doctors don't believe in bacteria 3) the current generations of doctors halfway believe Chinese traditional medicine and Western medicine. With corona and a shortage of PPE, it's also likely gloves are not being changed between patients. OTOH, most of the hospitals in Silicon Valley are on a watch list for MERSA contamination, so hygiene is a struggle even with hand-washing.
- sammalloy 6y agoThere was an article that explored this question many years ago, and IIRC, the answer was because the surgeons were in a hurry and didn’t have much time. This problem isn’t as common today with the ubiquity of hand sanitizer dispensers.
- corty 6y agoAlso, try washing and desinfecting your hands 20 times a day. Your skin will start causing problems after a few days, usually dryness, itching, rashes, blisters. Cream helps a bit, but not always. Medical personnel invariably do have skin problems on hands and forearms.