What do the white and red stripes on a barber pole represent?

Before the 1700s, in addition to cutting hair, barbers throughout Europe pulled teeth, performed minor surgery, and practiced bloodletting. During bloodletting, patients squeezed a pole to allow their blood to flow more freely. The pole was often painted red to mask bloodstains. At the end of the operation the pole was wrapped in the white bandages used during the operation and put outside the shop to air. As a result, a red-and-white pole became associated with barbershops and barber guilds adopted it as their trademark.What do the white and red stripes on a barber pole represent?
Teh red stands for the blood,since the barber used to act as the surgeon as well in medieval villages. He bled them at times to get rid of ';impure'; blood.What do the white and red stripes on a barber pole represent?
As others have said, it's because barbers used to perform surgery, and it symbolises the BLOOD!!!





What I want to know is why, here in Japan, the barber shop poles have got red, white %26amp; BLUE stripes round them!?!?!?!?!?!?!?? Strange....!
There are several different interpretations for the colours of the barber pole. One is that red represented blood and white the bandages. Another interpretation is that red and blue respectively stood for arterial and venous blood, and white was still for the bandages. A third suggests that the spiral pattern represents a white bandage wrapped around a bloody arm. The ball, of course, represents the basin of leeches as well as the blood-collection bowl.





Today's barbers more commonly use the updated combination of blue, white and red striped poles as an emblem of their profession. Thankfully, they no longer cut people's arms, by the way.
Years ago in midevil times, the barber was the doctor of the village. He would take care of wounds and treat just about anything. That is where a lot of the home remedies come from . The red is for blood and the white is for health. Look at the Red Cross, notice the red and white symbols of the flag.
Deal with the fact that barbers also use to be bloodletters (i.e. surgeons). The red and white represent the color of bandages (used and clean).
Hmmmmmm... if black and white stripes we'll called zebra isn't it!
Once upon a time, only barbers were allowed to own sharp instruments. Accordingly, barbers did small medical services, such as minor surgery, pulling teeth, and bloodletting. (Yes, it was that long ago.) They'd wash out the bloody bandages, and hang them on the pole to dry. As time went on, barber poles were painted in imitation of this age-old practise.





Nowadays, however, a blue band has been added to American poles, to look more patriotic than sanguinary. C'est la vie!