Today I’ll play grumpy old lady and talk about the bad health effects of certain fashion trends. High heels and long nails.
Tuesday’s Atlanta Journal Constitution says that British hospitals are banning doctors’ neckties, long sleeves, jewelry and – horror of horrors – the long white coats, because they only help the spread of deadly hospital-borne infections. A nice concept – deadly hospital-borne infections. I thought the only main fatalities in hospital visits were the loss of time, perpetual inconvenience, heedless staff, and deadly bills afterwards. It turns out that neckties, which are rarely actually WASHED, “have been shown to be colonized by pathogens.”Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA or “superbug”) is responsible for over 40% in-hospital blood infections in Britain.
Since it’s resistant to nearly every antibiotic, they’re trying to control its spread. The necktie is easy to get rid of. I’d rather have my doctor without her white coat than with a superbug.
Another reason for men to ditch the tie. Or start washing their ties–which isn’t about to happen–so just ditch the tie.
Fake nails, jewelry and watches are also some of the main culprits. The first-mentioned is one of my pet peeves. I can’t count the number of times I’ve cringed as nurses with long, painted fake nails have administered medical care to, say, my newborn infant. It feels wrong, but somehow it continues. When I couldn’t wear a simple, unassuming nose-stud and get a job, surely long fake nails should be a no-no for healthcare worker. Definitely a nurse without the fake nails and without MRSA.
Also in the AJC, Dr Brent Tabor. a podiatrist, blames pointy toes and stiletto heels for creating serious foot problems such as hammertoe, Morton’s neuroma (a painful nerve disorder) and bunions. If you must have high heels, he recommends wedges. But if you have very narrow feet, you may be in luck.
Unfortunately it’s too long ago that I used to wear even 3″ heels, but at least I can crow about my low heels and show up those fashionable women, tall in their fancy high heels. And show them up with my short nails too.
Shabana Mir's blog: Koonj - the crane 
According to JCAHO and the CDC articifial nails are not permitted in the healthcare setting! No nurse should have long nasty nails: http://search.jointcommission.org/search?q=artificial%20nails&site=Entire-Site&client=jcaho_frontend&output=xml_no_dtd&proxystylesheet=jcaho_frontend
Although it’s not required some hospitals are saying that chipped nail polish isn’t acceptable either as these super bugs can lodge in the uneven surface.
I’m extremely inspired together with your writing skills as neatly as with the layout to your blog. Is this a paid subject matter or did you modify it your self? Anyway keep up the excellent high quality writing, it is rare to see a nice blog like this one these days..