Why Do Doctors Wear Green Or Blue Scrubs?

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Why Do Doctors Wear Green Or Blue Scrubs?

Scrubs used to be white — the color of cleanliness. Then in the early

20th century, one influential doctor switched to green because he

thought it would be easier on a surgeon's eyes, according to an

article in a 1998 issue of Today's Surgical Nurse. Although it is hard

to confirm whether green scrubs became popular for this reason, green

may be especially well-suited to help doctors see better in the

operating room because it is the opposite of red on the color wheel.

Green could help physicians see better for two reasons. First, looking

at blue or green can refresh a doctor's vision of red things,

including the bloody innards of a patient during surgery. The brain

interprets colors relative to each other. If a surgeon stares at

something that's red and pink, he becomes desensitized to it. The red

signal in the brain actually fades, which could make it harder to see

the nuances of the human body. Looking at something green from time to

time can keep someone's eyes more sensitive to variations in red,

according to Werner, a psychologist who studies vision at the

University of California, .

Second, such deep focus on red, red, red can lead to distracting green

illusions on white surfaces. These funky green ghosts could appear if

a doctor shifts his gaze from reddish body tissue to something white,

like a surgical drape or an anesthesiologist's alabaster outfit. A

green illusion of the patient's red insides may appear on the white

background. (You can try out this " after effect " illusion yourself.)

The distracting image would follow the surgeon's gaze wherever he

looks, similar to the floating spots we see after a camera flash.

The phenomenon occurs because white light contains all the colors of

the rainbow, including both red and green. But the red pathway is

still tired out, so the red versus green pathway in the brain signals

" green. "

However, if a doctor looks at green or blue scrubs instead of white

ones, these disturbing ghosts will blend right in and not become a

distraction, according to Paola Bressan, who researches visual

illusions at the University of Padova in Italy.

So, although doctors trot down the street these days in a rainbow of

patterned and colored scrubs, green may be a doctor's best bet.

http://www.livescience.com/mysteries/080721-llm-green-scrubs.html