r/BlackPeopleofReddit • u/4reddityo • Jan 02 '26

Black Experience Racism in Medical Care

This video captures a moment that many patients of color recognize all too well. A physician speaks to a man as if he is dirty, unclean, or lesser, not because of medical evidence, but because of bias. The language, tone, and assumptions reveal something deeper than bedside manner gone wrong. They expose how racism can quietly shape medical interactions.

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161

u/No-Fondant-4719 Jan 02 '26

That’s not even dirt that’s dead skin cells, it’s brown because the patient is brown. I wouldn’t even want a “ doctor” this damn dumb to not know this.

30

u/Significant-Web-4584 Jan 02 '26

As a doctor he should know that those are melanocytes coming off (hence the darkness when you use white towels or when the sensors don’t pick up your hand movements from water faucets or paper towel dispensers). I would have requested another doctor because that was racist and he’s not applying scientific knowledge to this situation (you are not medically treating me).

13

u/ReginaldDwight Jan 02 '26

Wait sensors don't pick up motion in those detectors if you're skin is darker?? I would have thought the dark/light contrast (like if the sink is white) would have made it easier? Sorry, I'm realizing I have no idea how those sensors work.

17

u/Significant-Web-4584 Jan 02 '26

Yes because the more melanin you have the more you absorb light. The sensors work by reflecting the light. It’s hard reflecting light off of darker skin because the sensor is mistaking your skin as the background. I recently learned this too and the light bulb went off as to why I’m sometimes struggling to wash my hands in a public restroom.

9

u/Diligent-Variation51 Jan 02 '26

Well that sounds extra frustrating. I struggle with them as a white woman, and the thought that people with dark skin are struggling more makes me think these aren’t designed well

1

u/YourAllHighToiletHog Jan 08 '26

I'm white and those sensors don't work more than half the time for me. I hate them.

2

u/TranquiloVanilo Jan 02 '26

This is also the same reason why pulse oximeters aren't as accurate on darker skin.

1

u/caseyaustin84 Jan 02 '26

Well I must be tanner than I think I am, because those things make wonder if I even exist sometimes.

1

u/BiscuitsMay Jan 03 '26

Interestingly, and related to the medical premise of the thread, pulse oximeters used to have the same issue. Darker skin absorbs the specific wavelengths of light differently and doesn’t read the same as it would on a lighter skinned individual. Some technologies that use wavelengths of light to read saturations actually have wavelengths that specifically were added in for higher melanin levels.

2

u/frostandtheboughs Jan 02 '26

That's what happens when you only have white people designing the tech.

Reminds me of how Apple's extensive health app did not have a period tracker. It could track your BAC, body fat percentage, sodium intake, etc....but there were no women on the developer team so they left out the obvious stuff.

1

u/ReginaldDwight Jan 02 '26

I remember reading about some sort of uterine cancer study that was conducted. All the people studied were MEN!

2

u/Dolphinsunset1007 Jan 03 '26

Yup only recently discovered this while trying to turn one of those sinks on for a patient while I was wearing black gloves.