Medical coats or gowns are Personal Protective Equipment PPE that medical practitioners in their industry use as uniforms. These healthcare uniforms reduce diseases and infections that can be caused by contaminating their clothes. It also helps reduce the transmission of harmful microorganisms, including viruses, bacteria, and other dangerous fungi, from coming in contact with their patients.
In the medical industry, different gowns have different levels of protection. A gown acts as a barrier between pathogens and the wearer. It is also based on the risk of exposure to bodily fluids with respect to the patient. There are different medical practitioners, and each one has a different gown for the same. Keep reading further to know the importance and uses of different types of medical gowns.
1. Hospital Gowns
- Medical Gowns:
A hospital is one giant petri dish of pathogens. And medical practitioners need to be protected from such pathogens. It is because those are the ones who treat the patients and do not get ill. So, you need to provide them with protective gowns. Medical coats help protect them by reducing the risk of getting germs at work. Below are 3 different types of medical gowns you need for each type of medical practitioner. Keep reading further to know more about it.
- Non-surgical gowns:
Non-surgical gowns protect you from low to moderate risk of contamination as these medical professionals need more than just their regular clothing to protect themselves from contamination of any kind. These gowns cannot protect you from surgery contamination, so you need to make sure that you do not wear them during any kind of surgery because there are special gowns for that. Because there, you need fluid resistance material to help you protect against infections.
- Coveralls:
Coveralls are used for a higher level of protection, especially when working with blood. While working with HIV patients, there are higher chances that you might get it from them if you don’t protect yourself well. So, coveralls are plastic gowns that are waterproof and repel fluids. These are worn over the normal clothing itself so that it does not come directly in contact with the skin.
- Surgical and surgical isolation gowns:
Surgical and surgical isolation gowns are specially designed for surgeries. These gowns are worn by medical professionals who perform surgeries. These are worn when the chance of getting contamination is much higher. It is used for controlling the contamination and splashes of different bodily fluids over the clothing. So, you need to protect yourself as well.
2) Patient Gowns:
Patient gowns are the gowns that a patient wears for various medical procedures. Whether it is a routine exam or an experimental surgery, these are not designed for protection but for the patients. It is like a uniform for such patients, which is required to be worn while they are admitted to the hospital. Keep reading further to explore different kinds of patient gowns.
- Disposable Aprons or Gowns:
Disposable gowns or aprons are usually paper-made gowns that are just used once. These are cheaper than any other gowns, and these cannot be reused. Therefore, you must buy these bulk for large hospitals and labs. You need to throw it and not reuse it after a single use.
- Fabric Gowns:
Fabric gowns are cotton-polyester blend gowns to help cut down the waste. It is because these are not thin like paper, but thicker than that. It helps cut down the waste and provides more coverage to the patient’s body than any other gown. It is more comfortable than disposable ones. Therefore, they can be reused. The cost of buying these in bulk is reduced, as these are washable, and you can use them again later.
- Classic Patient Gown:
Classic patient gowns are the most used gowns. It helps provide full front coverage while the back is cut down to the middle so that any patient can easily wear it without any issues. Because the back can be adjusted according to the patient's body type with neck and waist ties at the back, it becomes easy for them to wear and remove it.
Conclusion:
The healthcare industry is the backbone of your country. And is very important for you, as a medical practitioner, that you protect yourself against contamination. The patient and the doctor need to wear gowns so that there is no direct contact between their skin. It is a compulsion for the doctors to wear it because they need to see multiple patients daily that carry an end number of pathogens. These healthcare uniforms help protect against contamination and keep the clothes clean and dry. It also helps avoid blood splashes. These gowns are designed in a way that it is easy to spot the blood stains on the gowns, if any, and clean them.
