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So, I've finally gotten into binging Star Trek and I can't explain this:

Why do they almost never utilize protective wear? Multiple times I've seen an epidemic break out onboard a starship and even the doctors don't wear anything, no breath filters or gloves, let alone a biohazard suit and because of this they end up infected. (TNG: Unnatural Selection, TNG: The Naked Now)

When going on away missions no one ever takes anything protective, even if they are simply exploring an uninhabited jungle where they have no clue about the possibly dangerous flora and fauna. Riker almost dies because he got stuck by a vine thorn.(TNG: Shades Of Grey)

Suggested answer from here talks about armour for battle, that was not my question, my question is about the fact that there is zero protection from biologicaly hostile environment: Doctors are in no way separated from their patients and away teams have no precautions against wildlife. I understand you do not go armed to the teeth on an diplomatic mission, but when your patient has the plague you get yourself a mask. Another answer is they take precautions that we do not see, again not true because doctors are infected by their own patients.

Filip
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    Excellent question! Especially since they did have protective gear -- even in the time of TOS (see "The Naked Time", where they were to expose themselves to nothing, and the whole problem happened because one fellow took off his glove for a few seconds). Nonetheless, most episodes do not have protective gear, even though people are frequently injured, pricked, exposed....TOS is the same. – Basya May 19 '19 at 13:20
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    This is all speculation, so I'm not inclined to "Answer". I compare your Question to our news cycle. Everyone reads headlines and become frantic that planes are dropping out of the sky everywhere. No, they're not. If they were, it wouldn't be NEWS. ie: something unique and not-routine. In "Star Trek", what we see in episodes are the incidents that are unique and not-routine. We don't see dozens of "another day, another alien planet" standard encounters. Commonplace (for our heroes) exploration where their precautions and procedures work absolutely fine. – Blaze May 19 '19 at 13:27
  • I do not think the "this is just a unique occurence" answer is sufficient. We tend to be quite protective of our lives and even if only 1 in a 1000 planets with life have life that is actually dangerous, the first scouting party (tng shades of grey: La Forge says they are the first away team) should have some basic protection. And more importantly this does not explain their horrendous ability to handle an epidemic onboard a star fleet vessel – Filip May 19 '19 at 13:58
  • In Star Trek it is possible for Earth humans to be infected by diseases from alien planets. Therefore it should be possible for alien planets to be contaminated by Earth diseases which infect alien life forms. Therefore Starfleet should take precautions against infecting alien planets, but doesn't seem to. The reasons might be related to the reasons for their medical carelessness. – M. A. Golding May 19 '19 at 14:45
  • I was starting to answer, but found this possible duplicate while researching sources. Out of universe it is so you can see your favorite characters easier and in universe I was in line with the accepted answer... It is also the same with the seat belts. Out of universe it is easier to just sit in a chair than have to unbuckle all the time; in universe there is no reason not to have them... – Odin1806 May 19 '19 at 16:44
  • This has definitely been asked before. – Ham Sandwich May 19 '19 at 16:51
  • edited to clarify. – Filip May 19 '19 at 17:27
  • @Filip - Your question is still answered in the dupe I found. Prior to entering the hazardous environment the crew would have done a scan from the ship to determine if extra precautions were necessary or not. If the scan came back unsafe or with unclear results they would have worn extra equipment. Sure there are cases where a random batch of poison ivy might get you, but there is the balance of protection vs. capability to consider. If you don't understand that I could throw an answer together to explain it for you but basically a tank can't fit through a doorway... – Odin1806 May 19 '19 at 18:12
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    @HamSandwich - The dupe link leads to a completely different question, primarily about armor. This is the dupe link as I initially mentioned in my comment: https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/6782/is-there-a-canon-explanation-for-why-star-trek-away-teams-dont-wear-environment – Odin1806 May 19 '19 at 19:34
  • I seem to recall that, in TOS but the episode escapes me, Bones McCoy saying an infected patient just needed to go through the transporter beam. The beam would recognise the infection as 'foreign' and not transport it with the infected person. (Thinking back it was maybe something I read in one of TOS books in the late sixties/early seventies) – Danny Mc G May 19 '19 at 22:38
  • I disagree with the duplicate link. Odin1806 has a better dupe suggestion. The 'duplicate' question is asking a very different question, and the accepted answer is not at all relevant to this question. – Basya May 20 '19 at 09:47

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