Posted on November 8th, 2022

Ever wondered why doctors wear only blue or green scrubs? While it might seem very insignificant for the patients, it has a major role to play in the operating room.

The blue and green coloured scrubs are a very modern innovation. In earlier days, scrubs used to be white in colour. However, in the early twentieth century, one influential doctor switched to green scrubs.

Green and blue were easier on the surgeon’s eyes and it helped him see better while in the operation theatre. Eventually, all surgeons across the world began to wear green and blue scrubs instead of white ones.

Switching to green and blue scrubs also made it easier for employees at hospitals to remove blood stains from the doctor's garments.

Reasons for wearing green and blue scrubs

Today, most doctors wear green and blue scrubs and it is majorly for two reasons.

The first reason is that looking at blue or green can help refresh a doctor’s vision of red things which include the bloody innards of the patient. When a doctor looks at something that is pink or red for too long, he becomes desensitised to it. The red signal in the brain fades, eventually making it harder to see during surgery. Therefore, looking at green once in a while can help the surgeon.

The second reason is that a deep focus on red for a long time can lead to distracting green illusions on white surfaces. Doctors can see green distracting images when they shift their gaze from the red body tissues to something white. These images tend to follow the surgeon’s gaze wherever he looks. This happens because white light contains all the colours of a rainbow, including red and green. Therefore, wearing a green or blue scrub can help.

Original article: Ever wondered why doctors only wear blue or green scrubs? They have a major role in the operating rooms