Why Do Doctors Wear White Coats?

The American Medical Association voted Tuesday on a resolution that would recommend hospitals ban doctors' iconic white lab coats, citing evidence that the garment contributes to the spread of infection. (The resolution was referred to a panel for further consideration.)

  

Indeed, a number of studies have shown that the coats harbor potentially harmful bacteria (and may cause "white coat hypertension"). If white coats are so bad, why do doctors still wear them?

Because a white lab coat says "I am a scientific healer." The knee-length coat in medicine crossed over from the laboratory sciences at the turn of the 20th century.

Before that time, medicine was generally seen as the haphazard province of quacks and frauds, and physicians wore street clothes even in the operating room.

As the field developed into a respected branch of applied science in the early 1900s, doctors adopted the costume of the laboratory as a way of bolstering their scientific credibility.

In pre-white-coat times, physicians used primitive tools and techniques and had little formal training. (Medical school could be finished in a year.) Early doctors competed for legitimacy (and patients) with other healing arts like homeopathy and medical eclecticism.

''But the development of antiseptics and anesthesia, among other things, demonstrated the exceptional power of science to improve health. Doctors strove to become more scientific, in practice and in dress''

The lab coat served both purposes by providing a (supposedly) sterile work environment and soothing patients with its air of scientific authority. The traditional lab coat was beige, but doctors adopted white because the color symbolizes life and purity.

(In earlier times, doctors were more likely to wear black, in keeping with the high mortality rates seen at hospitals. The nuns who served as nurses often wore black habits.)

By 1915, physicians working in hospitals had for the most part switched from street clothes to white coats and pants

With their scientific bona fides firmly in place, doctors today are divided on the white-coat question. Supporters say the coat instills docs with a humbling sense of responsibility and puts patients at ease, while detractors see it as an alienating symbol of medical hubris.

More than 100 medical schools host "white coat ceremonies" where first-year med students are outfitted with shortened versions of the white coat, and the coats are ubiquitous at large teaching hospitals where they help differentiate between doctors and students.

However, doctors in smaller hospitals and private practice are more likely to wear regular clothes. A recent study suggests that only 1 in 8 doctors actually sport a white coat at work.

Perhaps the most ardent supporters of the garment are patients: In one study, 56 percent of those surveyed believed doctors should wear coats, compared with only 24 percent of doctors. (Elderly people tend to be most supportive of the white coat.) 

Another study found that patients were much more likely to trust a doctor if they were wearing a white coat than if they were in scrubs.

If hospitals followed the AMA resolution and banned the white coat, what would doctors wear? 

The Scottish National Health Service outlawed white coats in 2008 and instituted a uniform of color-coded scrubs for all medical personnel. The Mayo Clinic doesn't allow white coats; their doctors wear business attire.

Source: Medical Talks

Acha kula chumvi nyingi kuepuka maradhi ya moyo

Dar es Salaam--Inakadiriwa pia kuwa ifikapo mwaka 2020 magojwa ya kuambukiza yatakuwa na uwiano sawa na magonjwa yasiyoambukiza. Hii inatokana na magonjwa yasiyo ya kuambukiza kama maradhi ya moyo kuongezeka miaka hadi miaka.

Moja ya mambo ambayo yamekuwa yakichangia kuongezeka kwa matatizo ya moyo ni ulaji wa chumvi. Chumvi ni moja ya kiungo kinachoweka ladha katika vyakula.

''Chumvi ni muhimu pia mwilini. Huusaidia mfumo wa fahamu katika kutekeleza kazi zake, kujivuta kwa misuli, udhibiti wa kiwango sahihi cha maji na uwiano sahihi wa chumchumvi mwilini''

Chumvi hutumika pia kwa ajili ya kudhibiti wingi wa maji katika damu, ogani na tishu za mwilini. Pale chumvi inapozidi basi figo huwa na kazi ya kuitoa kwa njia ya mkojo.

Chumvi ikiwa nyingi figo hushindwa kutoa kiasi chote na kubakia mwilini hivyo kusababisha matatizo.

Watu wengi hula chumvi nyingi na hujikuta wakiongeza wanapopatiwa chakula. Wengi hawafahamu kama ulaji chumvi kwa mtindo huu ni hatari kwa afya zao.

Msukumo wa damu mwilini hutegemea na uwepo chumvi na pale inapozidi mwilini msukumo wa damu nao unakuwa juu. Hali huwa mbaya kwa yule ambaye tayari ana matatizo ya moyo. Watu ambao kwao kuna historia ya shinikizo la damu ni vizuri kuchunga na kupunguza matumizi ya chumvi katika chakula.

Chumvi nyingi husababisha magonjwa mengine kama vile kiaharusi. Hii hutokea pale msukumo wa damu unapokuwa mkubwa zaidi na kusababisha mishipa ya damu kuathirika.

Mishipa ya artery huweza kuharibika na kuwa myembamba au kusinyaa na kuta zake hukukaamaa. Hali hii huufanya moyo kuwa na kazi ngumu na hivyo inakuweka katika hatari ya kupata shambulizi la moyo la ghafla, moyo kushindwa kufanya kazi au kiharusi.

Matatizo mengine ni kama vile moyo kuwa mkubwa na valvu kuwa na matatizo. Hii inatokana na ujazo mkubwa katika mzunguko wa damu, hivyo kuufanya moyo uwe na kazi ya ziada ili kuwa na mzunguko sahihi unaotakiwa na mwili.

Kadiri muda unavyosonga na uwepo wa hali hii husababisha moyo kuongezeka ukubwa na valvu za moyo huwa nyembamba. Hali hii husababishamaumivu ya kifua, kushindwa kupumua na kuwa na uchovu usioisha. Pia kifo cha ghafla na moyo kushindwa kufanya kazi huweza kutokea.

Chumvi pia husababisha magonjwa mengine kama ya figo, mwili kuvimba na upungufu wa maji, tindi kali kuwa nyingi tumboni na udhaifu wa mifupa.

Namna ya kutumia chumi ipo kanuni ya dole gumba. Kiasi unachofinya ndicho kinatakiwa kiwepo kwenye kila mlo.