Hidden science behind the disposable gowns

Hidden science behind the disposable gowns in battling with nosocomial infection.

The nosocomial infection records for practically 20% of the considerable number of infections that begin at the hospital, which can be easily, prevented by implementing use of disposable or no disposal gowns by the medical health professionals. Using these disposable gowns ensures safety by creating a barrier between patients and healthcare professionals reduce the chance of transmission by 90% which can contribute a lot to breaking the chain of transmission of contagious disease.

In tough time times like COVID-19 , a new emerging need of isolation gowns come out to stop the transmission from patients to doctors and health professionals . And for transmission from doctor to patient also vice versa.

There are around 11% of lives of medical professionals have been lost in this pandemic, which are believed that can be saved, by just implementing the use of disposable gowns and surgical gowns. These gowns are used during operation procedures, to prevent the most of the surgical site infection, which are highly contagious like HIV, COVID and other disease like SARS .

Isolation gowns are the gowns which provide a mechanical barrier outside the medical profession, to guard them from highly contagious infections like SARS, COVID-19, and other infection. They protect the spreading of infection from patient to health care professional. These incident can be reduced by use of these PPE kits and other disposable or non disposable gowns.

These gown can of several types..

Cotton gowns: these gowns are used earlier, where muslin clothes are been used, as the clothes have larger holes from which any micro organism can pass through leads to poor and ineffective effects against battling with these contagious diseases . For increasing their efficacy, a new fabrics with a blend of cotton and polyester with treated with flurocarbons  are also blend together to make these effective, but still they acn not be reuse again and on reuse they lose their efficacy.

Multilayer fabrics:These fabrics consist of multiple layer which are aligned together made up of different types of fabrics and materials to provide protective and comfort to health care professionals.The outer layer usually made up of plastic or thick fabric or polyester to prevent any type of penetration, cuts or any type of breakage.The middle layer provides any fluid resistance or any leakage of any fluid or infective liquid to go inside.While the innermost layer provides comfort and ease to the person wearing it. For example, outer layers are designed to resist abrasion and puncture, middle layers ensure resistance of fluid penetration and bottom layers the introduction and rise of hygienic surgical wear which is made from soft breathable fabrics, nonwoven materials and is non-permeable.

Disposable gowns: these gowns are of one time use, generally made up of plastic or thin sheet of plastics, which can not be reuse, are meant for one single time usage only. They help in breaking the chain of transmission of these highly contagious disease chains of transmission.

Non- disposable gowns: these gowns are made up of reusable mission clothes or fine cotton particles, which can be reuse, leading to safe and environment friendly options, in starting of 19th century these gowns are of high usage, but as the time passes, the use of these gown got limited, as per every wash the fine micro fibres of clothes get break and these gowns become less potent. And as the highly infectious disease came, now these gowns are not preferred much.

In making of any gown , raw material plays a major role, mostly polyester plays a dominant role since times, as due to its easy availability and elasticity made it to blend into any of the fabric and make it most reliable usage friendly.

These gowns not only help to protect the medical professionals but also help to break the chain of transmission from patients to doctor, than from doctor to other patients and their family or other normal people. As there is a time gap when the exposed person developed symptoms, while they keep spreading the disease without unknowingly.

Importance of wearing these gowns is a very important and crucial aspect to know about:

Isolation gown prevent the exposure of these fine micro organism to penetrate and to reach to the person wearing it. Provide cleanliness, in surgical procedure where the infection chances can not be tolerated, like in most of the neurological involvement of surgeries, a small infection can lead to harmful affect, which can be easily prevented by the use of disposable drapes and gowns which provide sterile and a microbes free environment.

As per the survey of WHO  in 2001, suggest that there are around 23% risk of surgical site infection occurs in patients from developing and undeveloped countries, while 11% in developed and countries having better resources which can be totally prevented if the use of these gowns have been implemented. Disposable gowns bulk use can terminate the risk of transmission of these deadly diseases by breaking their chain of transmission. Isolation gowns , help prevent transmission of viruses and other pathogens, bacteria, and infection to both the medical healthcare staff as well as the patient from nosocomial infections and serve as a protective barrier. They can also be latex-free

They serve as a highly protection barrier to not only to healthcare professionals but also to the other patients, by blocking the transmission from them to patients.

Now talking about the need of increasing use of these sterilize gowns in hospital and medical facilities, Since the COVID 19 came, every nation loses about 11%of medical professionals to this disease , which is believed that these lives could be safe , if there was proper use of PPE kits and these isolation gowns bulk use by the professionals.