The Advantages of Wearing a Lab Coat
March 20, 2007
Lab coats are used in many professions, such as industries, scientific research labs, chemical testing labs, hospitals, medical schools and even in school labs. The basic purpose for the use of a lab coat is protection against spillage and harm to the clothes and body. However, there are many other advantages of wearing a lab coat, such as:
- Barrier against infections - in medical research as well as hospitals doctors, nurses, lab technicians, etc face dangerous infectious diseases. The lab coats
form a protective barrier between the germs from these diseases and the person and prevent its further spread.
- Contains the diseases from spreading to others - The lab coats work by medical personnel and others such professions are discarded by the end of the day and sterilized before being used again the next day. In this way, germs and infections stay contained. Had these not worn lab coats, they would have carried these germs outside the hospital (and other such places) on their clothes and passed on the germs to the population outside.
- Ensures sterile conditions - patients are often given to wear garments like lab coats
before surgery, to prevent germs being carried inside the operation theatre. These garments would be completely sterile. It would not be possible to ensure that their clothes were germ free otherwise.
- Identification - the lab coats come in different colors and are used often as uniforms as well. White is reserved for medical profession, while green, blue and other colors form the dress code in different industry. Hence, besides protection it also provides a uniform dress code.
- Protection against spillage of corrosive substances - research as well as indusial work almost always involve experiments, which might result in spillage. Wearing a lab coat
would protect the clothes and body from harm when any such possibly harmful substances spill over.