Hate germs? Better read a different article...

A recent study has found germs in one place you'd least expect them: In the clothes of the very people trying to make you well. A study of hospital attire has shown that more than 60 percent of their uniforms carry one kind of harmful pathogen or another at any given time. 

LOS ANGELES, CA, (Catholic Online) - If you're afraid of germs, you might already know that hospitals are great places for getting sick. Despite precautions to keep patients healthy, hospitals are riddled with germs, and naturally so, it's a place where the sick congregate to get better. 

A study published Wednesday in the American Journal of Infection  Control, examined the uniforms of 75 nurses and 60 doctors at a busy university hospital. The results showed that half of the uniforms tested positive for pathogens with 11 percent of those being antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. 

The study strongly suggests that the very uniforms that doctors and nurses wear can be a potentially deadly route of infection for patients trying to get better. 

However, don't avoid the hospital altogether just yet. While the uniforms tested positive for harmful pathogens, there is no evidence yet that patients are being infected in that way. 

What can be concluded from the report is that germs are resilient and can be found anywhere. Hospital workers should not wear their uniforms home or in public, but only at work. They should also wash their uniforms in hot water after each shift. 

Some hospitals already take strong precautions, even without the latest study's results. Such hospitals only permit staff to wear clean uniforms laundered on-site, which reduces the spread of germs. 

Uniforms are only one possible route of infection. Doorknobs, bedrails, and other commonly handled objects are probably more likely to make patients sick. In all cases, good, simple hygiene is key. Washing hands, using clean, sanitized equipment, and common sense can go a long way toward avoiding illness.

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