The Importance of PPE - Coronavirus Edition

Healthcare professionals rely on personal protective equipment every single day to protect themselves and their patients from the spread of germs and infectious diseases. But now, with the coronavirus pandemic spreading like wildfire, PPE is more important than ever.

Now, healthcare professionals are seeing the real risk of failure to use PPE, rather than discussing risk as a hypothetical worst-case scenario. Healthcare workers are now the most at-risk population for coronavirus simply because they see so many infected patients. 

Worse, when healthcare workers do get sick, their constant exposure to sick patients means that their viral load will be much higher than the average person and they face a far greater risk of incapacitating or fatal infections. 

In light of the current dangers, we’re taking a closer look at PPE – coronavirus edition. Here are some of the most essential forms of PPE and what they do to protect your workers during the pandemic.

Face Masks

The key feature of the coronavirus is respiratory symptoms, such as dry coughing, and it spreads primarily through saliva droplets or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes. This is why masks (and even custom plexiglass sneeze guards) are essential – for the infected and those around them.

While it does help to cover your cough or sneeze and face away from others, covering your mouth with your elbow or sleeve does not fully contain saliva droplets flung into the air. A face mask keeps saliva and discharge completely contained, protecting those around you.

In addition, face masks protect healthy individuals by preventing them from breathing in saliva droplets of an infected person.

The most efficient and effective masks are N95 respirators, which must be fitted to the individual wearer. These are also difficult to acquire at the moment because they’re in high demand, and should only be worn by medical personnel. The same goes for surgical masks, which must now go through decontamination to be reused because of severe shortages.

To help conserve resources for medical personnel, non-medical workers should wear cloth face masks.

Gloves

According to the National Institutes of Health, coronavirus can stay stable on surfaces for several hours, similar to the original SARS virus. On plastic and stainless steel, for example, scientists found viable traces of COVID-19 two to three days after exposure. And because coronavirus is a virus (and thus isn’t exactly alive) you cannot necessarily kill the virus by disinfecting surfaces the way you would kill germs.

Safety gloves are critical PPE because they prevent your hands from being exposed to the virus on surfaces. We use our hands for everything, and because the virus can live without a host for quite some time, it’s astonishingly easy to spread the virus via touch.

Granted, touching someone with infected gloves is no better than touching them with your bare hands, but gloves do protect the wearer from exposure – as long as you remove and dispose of them properly.

Understanding PPE for the Coronavirus

We understand that this is a difficult time for many workers, especially healthcare providers. We hope to be a safety resource during this period. Share this PPE – coronavirus guide with your workers as part of safety training.

How to Use Hand Sanitizer

By now, you’ve seen guidelines for washing your hands with soap and water. Scrub for 20 seconds. Pay attention to your thumbs and fingernails. Don’t touch the faucet once your hands are clean, and use a clean towel.

The emphasis on using regular soap and water is no accident. It’s the best way to get rid of germs of all kinds, and when done correctly, it’s effective against the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

You should wash your hands regularly, especially after spending time in public, before preparing food or eating, and after you sneeze, cough, or blow your nose.

But you may not always have access to hand soap and a sink. In a pinch, hand sanitizer can be a convenient alternative.

To use hand sanitizer effectively against the coronavirus, you need the right type, amount, and application method.

Choose the Right Hand Sanitizer

Because the COVID-19 pandemic has made some name-brand sanitizers harder to find, you may see new brands on store shelves. Before putting a bottle in your cart, read the product label.

You should choose an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol.

The Food and Drug Administration has also advised against hand sanitizers that contain methanol, a substance that can be toxic when rubbed into skin. Some hand sanitizers are labeled as containing ethanol or ethyl alcohol but actually contain methanol. You can use the FDA’s searchable database to make sure your hand sanitizer brand isn’t one of the offenders.

In addition, the FDA has not approved any hand sanitizers, so steer clear of brands labeled “FDA-approved.”

Homemade hand sanitizer is not recommended. If it’s not made correctly, hand sanitizer can be ineffective or even harmful to your skin.

Use the Right Amount of Hand Sanitizer

One mistake many people make is using too little hand sanitizer, especially if your dispenser doesn’t provide enough in one squeeze.

The World Health Organization recommends applying a “coin-sized amount” of gel. In other words, you need enough hand sanitizer to cover both sides of your hands and between your fingers – just as you do with hand soap.

Apply Hand Sanitizer Correctly

After applying the gel, rub it in thoroughly. Pay attention to the back of your hands, thumbs, and between your fingers. Like washing your hands at a sink, this process should take about 20 seconds.

When you’re done, your hands should be dry. Don’t wipe or rinse off the gel.

Read more: buy hand sanitizer online

Storing Hand Sanitizer

Chances are, you’re using more hand sanitizer these days than ever before. But sanitizer does have a shelf life. Its alcohol content gradually drops as the expiration date approaches. If you have expired hand sanitizer, dispose of it and get a new bottle.

Store your hand sanitizer in a cool, dry location. Avoid direct sunlight and repeated exposure to heat.

When you return home, bring your hand sanitizer inside instead of tossing it into the glovebox or a cup holder. While there’s little risk of combustion, extreme heat can speed up alcohol evaporation—especially if air gets inside the bottle.

Hand Sanitizer Safety

Keep these safety tips in mind to avoid irritation or poisoning:

Never ingest hand sanitizer.

Keep hand sanitizer out of the reach of children and supervise their use.

Don’t touch your eyes, nose, or mouth immediately after use.

Don’t handle fire or open flames immediately after use.