Thinking Outside the Box: New Medical Use for Duct Tape

While duct tape may have been invented as a water-resistant sealing tape for ammunition cases during the second World War, it has taken on a life of its own, with new uses being thought up on what seems like a daily basis.
The uses are myriad, from home improvement to car repair, travel to crafts. It is used to stop rips in upholstery, hold together a faulty diaper, repair a ripped tent or backpack. (I know people who won’t leave home without it, be it in a car or for a trip overseas.) Crafty people have designed wallets, purses, and even dresses out of the colorful versions of duct tape.  There are actually more books on the market on duct tape than I have fingers and toes!
Medically, it has been used by runners and hikers as blister cover; as a remedy for wart removal; a temporary bandage or to hold a compression bandage in place, among other things. Now a new use in a medical setting may not only save a hospital money, but it will  help to cut down on landfill and hazmat disposal.
In hospital cases where a serious infection or contagion is present, which happens more often than anyone might realize, the current requirement is patient isolation. For any medical personnel or family to enter the isolation environment, they must don paper or plastic gowns and gloves, and in some cases masks and shoe covers, all of which are disposable and not meant for more than single use.
For a delivery of towels or a meal or to check the level of IV fluids or a monitor, this procedure must be observed. Every time a family member has to step out for food, bathroom or to use the phone, they have to re-gown upon entering. Given a patient in isolation is monitored every hour or so, and often by a team of attendants, the amount of waste generated by one room in one day by the medical team is exorbitant. With many infections, such as C. diff,  there is a minimum isolation time of several weeks, which really adds to the burden.
The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) commissioned a study to cordon off an three-foot perimeter around the bed of patients in isolation. Medical personnel could enter the room unprotected if they stayed outside the perimeter. Direct patient contact or presence inside the perimeter warranted the traditional precautions. 
The study found that one-third of all who entered the rooms could do so without the addition of gowns and gloves, saving the environment, hospital and patient costs, and time—without compromising the patient or the medical personnel.
The concept, called “Red Box” employs red duct tape, a color used as it provides a strong visual reminder to those who enter the room to be aware.source   healthnews