Doctors Are the People Spreading Infections

While I know a few doctors that will disagree with me, they are the ones that don't use hand or equipment sanitation, refuse to wear gloves, and in general ignore good safety standards. Some of these same doctors are the ones insisting on touching patients and giving them comfort according to them. I say comfort my !@@, I would rather know that the stethoscope has been sanitized and see them wearing gloves, than using an unsanitized stethoscope and not wearing gloves.


Another writer on the internet and a patient advocate agrees with me. About two weeks ago now, I received an email from a wife asking me if she had been wrong in insisting that the doctor wash his hands, wear gloves in examining her husband who was in the hospital with second degree burns over approximately 25% of his body and third degree burns on about 5 percent.


She stated that she had to wear a special gown and gloves when visiting her husband and she was aware of at least two other patients in adjacent rooms that had MRSA and did not want it spread to her husband. I emailed her back immediately and told her by all means and stand between her husband and the doctor until she knew that the doctor has sterilized his stethoscope, hands, and put gloves on. The next day I received another email saying that the doctor had refused to see her husband and had sent a nurse practitioner in while he remained out in the hall. She stated that the NP had washed her hands and gloved up before taking the stethoscope out of the sealed packaging and then examined her husband.


After they had finished rounds the NP had returned to thank her for correcting the doctor even though he refused to do any of what she had requested. The NP stated as she left that he had seen both MRSA patients before entering her husband's room.  That made the wife feel much more positive about what she had insisted on and she knew she would stand her ground until she was sure there were no more MRSA patients on that floor. A week later because of his improvement, he was transferred to another hospital and she was thankful because everyone there followed sanitation rules and had set the rules she was to watch for herself and other visitors.


Yet the author of the blog that got me wrapped up in this, does not like gloves and apparently other safety precautions and feels that human contact is essential. I am sorry Dr. Sibert, but I think I could not let you be my doctor or anesthesiologist in this case. Just stay out of the operating room if you are afraid of wearing gloves. To my way of thinking, you are the unclean person.