Have you noticed surgeons only wear green or blue gowns for surgeries? We are so used to surgeons using these colors that we might haven’t thought about the reason behind green and blue colors, but there’s a scientific explanation for it. It’s more than a visual aspect, it’s to improve patients’ security and surgeons efficiency.
Colors have a meaning and we tend to relate them to something we are familiar with, for example Ferrari’s red color, if we think of this brand, the red color comes to our minds. So the same happens when we picture surgeons, we imagine them wearing green or blue colors.
However, white color was worn in operating rooms in the past, so why did this color change happen? We’ll find it out in this article.
White over any color
In the past, mostly in the 20th century, everything at hospitals was white, like surgeons’ and nurses’ gowns and even operating rooms’ walls. The white color was seen as the perfect color to show cleanliness, hygiene and purity which were fundamentals for a medical setting.
However, there was a problem with this color in operating rooms and they had to change surgeons gowns to green or blue colors.
White color issues on surgeons’ gowns
White surgeons’ gowns became a problem because the operating rooms had very powerful lights (to properly see inside the human bodies), which reflected on white surfaces and were annoying for the sight. With the passage of hours, surgeons suffered from eye fatigue.
Another issue of white color was blood, because it has a very intense color that is highlighted by the white color. This can make surgeons fed up with the blood color all the time. I mean, think about this red blood color being the protagonist on your clothes all the time or that you have to see it on others’ clothes, that mustn’t be a nice experience. At the end of the day.
Solution: green and blue colors
Medical and visual perception professionals used the color wheel and they saw the opposite colors to red (green and blue) helped neutralize the negative impact red blood color had on surgeons’ sight.
As we mentioned before, white color reflects light, but green and blue colors don’t, which makes surgeons improve their concentration and reduce the probability of making mistakes because of eye discomfort.
A change for good
This decision wasn’t made overnight. In the past, surgeons used white color because there weren’t enough studies on this matter to prove how beneficial the color change would be. However, as they gained more experience and more professionals studied color science and the impact specific colors had on surgeons, it was noticed green and blue were more accurate colors for surgeries.
Everything has a meaning
It’s remarkable how everything created is well thought out, most things aren’t made just for the sake of it. Think about Ferrari’s color or the ring hole on cans. We are used to seeing them or even using them, but we never think about why they are designed that way. So, the same happens with surgeons’ gowns.
Next time you see a design, think about this story and find out why something is designed the way it is. Who knows? You might learn about a specific period of time or about a society behind that object. Useful things have an explanation for each of their elements and they tend to be very logical reasons that we have never realized.
We are surrounded by so many colors, so if you are interested enough in what’s the reason behind it you might find another interesting story!