Wearing personal protection equipment (PPE) is crucial to avoid undue exposure to others’ bodily fluids, microorganisms in the air and on surfaces, and risky environments one may find themselves in. It’s also a must to wear PPE when dealing with patients in a health care facility or sick family members at home.
A medical gown, a pair of gloves, and a face mask are just some of the common PPE worn by an individual in clinics, hospitals, and residential care facilities. But how can you make the most of your personal protection equipment? Here are several ways to accomplish that:
Wear Personal Protective Equipment Properly
Gain maximum safety and health benefits from your PPE by making sure you wear each piece the right way. Otherwise, you’re defeating the purpose of wearing protective clothing.
Keep the following tips in mind when putting on PPEs:
- Face Mask: See to it that it covers your mouth, chin, and nose entirely without hindering you from breathing comfortably. Wash your hands thoroughly for at least 20 seconds before and after touching your face mask. When putting on and removing your face mask, touch only the ties or bands. Reusable face masks should be washed after every use.
- Medical Gown: Your medical gown should fully cover you from your neck to your knees as well as from your arms to the ends of your wrists and then wrap around your back.
- Order For Putting On PPE: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has set forth guidelines regarding the proper sequence of wearing PPE. First, you have to wear the medical gown over your medical scrubs, followed by the face mask or respirator, and then a face shield or a pair of goggles. The gloves are worn last.
- Contamination: Always keep your hands away from your face to avoid contamination. Also, limit the surfaces you touch and change your gloves when they’re heavily contaminated or torn.
Stock Up On PPE Supplies
Keeping a stock of high-quality PPE supplies is essential in preparing for the worst. Many people have learned the importance of having backup PPEs during the COVID-19 pandemic. With the uncertainty of mutating viruses, bacteria, and other microbes in the environment, it’s paramount to be prepared at all times. Like the current pandemic, another health crisis may emerge in the future, and it might be more devastating given that right now a number of individuals continue to believe myths about the COVID-19 vaccine. That kind of behavior may only serve to exacerbate the problem at hand.
By having adequate stocks of personal protection equipment, you have the ability to ensure maximum health protection for everyone. But what are the important things to remember when buying PPE? Here are a few of them:
- Choose A Reputable Supplier: Because of the demand for PPEs nowadays, many manufacturers and sellers offering them are thriving. With so many options on the market, you have to be careful when buying medical gowns, gloves, and face coverings. Check the company website of the PPE supplier to find out how long they’ve been in business and which health care facilities they’ve partnered with.
- Opt For High-Quality PPE Products: Determine how the PPE supplies are manufactured. Check the materials, their sources, and the processes involved in making them. Assess how they hold up to factors like humidity, moisture, and high or low temperature and how comfortable it is to wear them. Look into all other factors that may affect the product’s performance and quality. JYCare’s surgical mask Canada made is guaranteed to be produced with high-standard material that secures everyone’s health safety.
- Keep A Decent Medical Supply: Calculate how many sets of PPE you need to order for your personal use or your facility. However, avoid hoarding PPEs to ensure everyone has access to them.
Determine Safe Disposal Of PPE
Optimize your PPE through safe and eco-friendly health care waste disposal practices. In this way, the transmission of viruses and other germs may be prevented. Because of the current demand for personal protection equipment, the environment is at risk of pollution due to the incorrect disposal of PPE products.
Here are a couple of PPE disposal tips to guide you:
- Work With A Reliable Trash Removal Company: Ensure that your garbage collectors are employing legal and environmentally friendly practices in disposing PPEs. Before contracting a provider of junk removal services, verify if they can handle the processes involved in PPE disposal.
- Go For Reusable PPE: You might want to consider investing in reusable PPE made of high-quality fabric. This is applicable to COVID-19 low-risk areas. Reusable PPE products provide sufficient protection for those far from the frontlines.
Conclusion
You can maximize the protection offered by PPEs by sourcing high-quality medical gowns, face masks, goggles, respirators, and gloves. In addition, you have to wear your PPE following the instructions from the CDC to avoid contamination and ensure your safety and health. PPE disposal should also follow the government’s and health sector’s recommended guidelines to prevent the spread of viruses, bacteria, and other disease-causing microorganisms.