The white stripes on this are likely a symbol of the bandages used in bloodletting many years ago
... From that point forward, barbers used blue and white poles, while... [DOC] [TLE] The Bloody History of the Barber Pole - Today I Found Out [PAR] Oct 23, 2013 ... Red and white striped, sometimes with a bit of blue, a barber pole ... good 
grooming used to represent blood, bandages, leeches and pain.