For Doctors: Tie or No Tie?
The tie has long been the quintessential emblem for the professional. Tradition spanning centuries dictates that a professional, such as a doctor, should wear a tie, the one item that completes the professional aesthetic and separates the business-like and formal from the casual.
Unfortunately, traditions and fashion preferences aside, we are living in a day and age of constantly worrying about antibiotic-resistant bacteria, hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) and about how textiles and garments play a nasty role in these problems.
These developments have raised the question of whether it is still acceptable – and more importantly, still safe – for today’s medical professionals to show up at work wearing a tie. Is there enough reason to suspect the humble necktie of something more sinister – reason enough to change the way doctors should dress?
This begs the question: To tie or not to tie? Let’s explore the complexities of this all-important topic.
Ties and the Link to Textile-Transmitted Infections
Recent evidence shows that incidents of hospital-acquired infections are on the rise. It has become so common that in fact, according to the CDC, 1 in 31 hospital patients contracts a infection at the hospital. Multiple studies about HAIs point to linens and garments, particularly those mishandled and exposed to cross-contamination in transit from the laundry facility.
These and other incidents have led experts to look more into how textiles – like linens and clothing – become carriers of infectious pathogens in especially crucial locations like hospitals. One such study sprung from an observation of how doctors’ neckties occasionally come into contact with their patients. Using the neckties of security personnel as its control group against which to compare the neckties of medical professionals, the results show that not only are doctors’ (and other medical professionals’) neckties contaminated with a treasure trove of bacteria including the dreaded methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria, but they also contained a whopping eight times more bacteria than those of the control group.
Although the study did not find significant links to categorically pin down neckties as culprits in the spread of infections in hospitals, experts involved in the study found that they do have some potential.
Domestic Laundering Isn’t Cutting It
There is, however, a more disturbing finding surrounding wearing neckties inside a medical facility: up to 70% of doctors own up to the fact that they do not wash their neckties after every use! This means that whatever pathogens they have gotten contaminated with will only increase over time – practically a ticking time bomb of full of potentially life-threatening pathogens!
Additionally, domestic laundry washing machines and processes are mostly incapable of the intensive laundry requirements to completely render medical linens clean and safe enough for use in the healthcare facility. And this “proper” washing process is not simply about the water temperatures and washing chemicals used in washing doctors’ neckties and other clothing exposed to the healthcare setting. Proper handling of medical linens and garments goes beyond the washing machine and further into its packaging, delivery and storage to ensure complete protection against contact with anything or anyone that could risk cross-contamination.
Safety is Your First Priority: It’s Time to Cut Ties with Ties
At the end of the day, no matter how ties look, they aren’t worth putting your staff and patients at risk. After all, the goal of your medical facility is to improve public health, not to make it worse. So, stay on the safe side, get rid of neckties, and stick to uniform elements that can be professionally laundered like lab coats and scrubs.
At HandCraft, we provide professional and hygienic laundering services to a variety of medical facilities that can help reduce cross-contamination and protect your medical facility. Contact us today for more information about our services!
