What is PPE and What Do We Need to Know About it?

PPE stands for Personal Protective Equipment. Since the new virus of COVID-19 outbreak, PPE is badly in need of many countries around the world. We can see from the live news reporting that medical workers are all equipped well for nursing the patients in the hospital. We should send our sincere respect to them. Maybe some of us wonder what define as PPE and what do we have to notice about PPE usage. Here we would like to discuss it in three aspects below.

1. What is Personal Protective Equipment?

Generally, the personal protective equipment could be any safeguard for the protection of our exposed body parts like mouth, eyes, head, hands, or feet. Commonly referred to as "PPE", these equipment are designed and manufactured to minimize the injuries and illness resulted from chemical, physical, electrical, mechanical, or other workplace hazards to our body. All personal protective equipment should be designed and manufactured based on safety and reliable sake. It should properly fit our body in the first place. Besides, it can make the difference between being safely covered or dangerously exposed.

2. How to put on and take off personal protective equipment?

Before we are about to put on our personal equipment, we need to cleanse our hands. Pull your hair back or tie it up if it is too long, then you may take steps on donning the equipment.

Apron/Isolation Gown – Make sure it is full coverage around your body, from neck to knees. Pullover the head and fasten at the back. You may need help from your fellows if you cannot do it yourself.

Surgical Mask/KN95 Respirator – Put it on and cover it over your mouth and nose. Secure the ties or elastic bands in the middle of the head and neck. Fit flexible band to Nose Bridge. Fit snug to face and below the chin. Readjust it to a comfortable position.

Eye Protective Goggles & Face Shield – Just put it on and cover on your eyes and face, adjust it to a comfortable position.

Surgical Gloves – Select a suitable size with your hands. Extend to cover to your wrist. Use free hands washing sanitizer to make your hands smooth for easy wearing.

The order for removing PPE is Gloves, Apron or Gown, Eye Protection, Surgical Mask. As to some disposable equipment like the surgical masks, medical caps, or gloves, we should discard it in a certain place and never throw it around. Remember to wash your hands after taking off the equipment.

3. Can Personal Protective Equipment Reused or Shared?

It is not recommendable to reuse the medical protective equipment. PPE needs to be disinfected at a high level if necessary to reuse. Since the medical supplies and protective equipment become in shortage, some of the PPE would need to be reused. This includes N95 respirator, eyes protective goggles, face shield, or surgical gloves. Do not share personal protective equipment with others, because the hygiene for medical devices is important.

These are the aspects of PPE we would like to share with you. No matter where we go and what we do, we should remember to equip ourselves for the protection of viruses outdoors. We hope our description above could be helpful if you are planning your future career to be a medical worker. Anyway, you should also visit our site for some simple personal protective equipment like KN95 mask, face shield, eyes protective goggles, etc. You may also contact us via email if you need our medical equipment.