I was away from the hospital for a week or so. When I went to the outpatient clinic after this gap, I was in for a surprise. I knew there was a perpetual problem with the supply of latex gloves for examination of patients. This time I found they had supplied us with gloves that were so short, that I would have thought of those ultra mini skirts or shorts some people wear in modern times. I did not think of those at that time probably because I am no longer young. But the glove rim barely reached the junction of my forearm and hand, and it was so loose that I could see my palm through the gap. I felt sort of vulnerable. I examined all patients with those gloves, and prayed I would not catch anything dangerous. I washed my hands with a handwash regularly, but that was not primary prevention. Looking at those gloves, I thought of Grecian tip condoms.
"What are Grecian tip condoms?" I asked my Assistant Professor and Resident doctors.
"Don't know" they said. By today morning they had asked one another, and the entire lot did not know what it was.
"Could you not find the answer overnight?" I asked.
"I read all the relevant books, but could not find the answer" my Senior Resident said.
"Which books are relevant in your opinion?" I asked.
"Um... the regular ones" she said.
I Googled the term and was surprised that even Google had not heard of it. Of course Google found 14,400,000 results in0.47 seconds, but not one of them was relevant. I did not check all the results, but definitely the leading ones. No wonder they could not find it. I am waiting for them to ask me again for the source of that information. If they had read my book that they read for their practical exams for MS, they would have found it right away. Perhaps that book is not relevant. Perhaps they will read my blog. In that case I will put it down here. Grecian tip condoms, also called as American condoms, were small
sized condoms meant to cover only the glans penis. Highly inadequate for contraception, just like the gloves in our outpatient clinic were highly inadequate for health protection.
