Over the last few months, as COVID-19 has taken hold of the world, we have heard lots about the use of personal protective equipment, PPE. The use of PPE is easy to get right if you follow a few simple steps to make sure you stay free from contamination during the current pandemic. At our clinic, you will see us wearing this type of equipment when we serve your family.  

What is Personal Protective Equipment?

The answer to this question is personal protective equipment can take many forms. In terms of staying safe from Coronavirus, it involves wearing different forms of masks and protective gloves that can keep germs away from you. 

The different forms of masks can include:

• Cloth masks with strings
• Cloth or paper masks with loops
• n95 masks

Protective gloves are now being worn by many people who are hoping to stay safe from COVID-19. The gloves are latex or plastic. Gloves are a good idea when you are looking for a good way of avoiding germs and lowering your chances of contracting the virus.

How to Wear Masks

Wearing a protective mask of any sort comes with a few steps that will make sure you stay as safe as possible throughout the pandemic. The first thing to remember when wearing a mask of any kind is that the front of the mask should never be touched because of the risk of germs passing onto the area you are breathing through. When placing a mask on your face you should only touch the elastic loops or strings used to keep your mask in place. The mask you wear should cover your nose and mouth and be stored in a paper bag instead of plastic to allow all moisture to evaporate.

*Please leave the n95 masks for health care providers and others that work directly with virus patients.*

How to Wear Gloves

If you choose to wear gloves you must remember they should only be worn once before being disposed of safely. After wearing gloves, you should still use sanitizer on your gloved hands after touching possibly contaminated items, like your phone or a doorknob. When removing gloves, the first glove is removed by pinching the exterior of the gloves close to the wrist and pulling them forward. The second glove should be removed by placing your ungloved hand inside the glove and pushing forward, dropping them directly into a trash can.

If you have any questions regarding PPE, please ask during your next appointment. You can also refer to the video below. Please like and follow our Facebook and Instagram page. We post lots of great information there on a regular basis.