Medical face shields are a recommended piece of personal protective equipment for eye protection and full-face protection when combined with a mask but only when worn properly.
Medical Face Shields: PPE Protection From AWXC
Having quality personal protective equipment is crucial when it comes to staying safe and protected in medical settings. Equally important, however, is that your equipment is worn properly, so today we’re looking at some of the important CDC recommendations for proper use of your face shield.
Masks and Shields = Better Protection
The CDC recommends wearing a face mask with your face shield to ensure that you get full facial protection. Your face shield protects your eyes and skin from splattering and keeps larger respiratory droplets at bay. Your mask provides closer protection against your mouth and nose to keep smaller droplets at bay.
In some instances, wearing a face mask isn’t ideal – for example, individuals who work with those who are hard of hearing. In this case, a face shield may be a better choice because it ensures that the mouth is visible.
Hand Washing Is Still Important
Even with the proper personal protective equipment, handwashing is still crucial. Proper handwashing helps to keep germs at bay, but it also limits the spread of germs and disease. This is particularly important when taking off your personal protective equipment. This equipment may have been exposed to bacteria, viral particles, respiratory droplets, etc. and so when you take off your face shield, you want to fully sanitize the shield and thoroughly wash your hands. DO NOT touch your face/eyes/nose/mouth at all until you have completely cleansed your hands after taking off your shield.
Always Disinfect Your Shield After Each Use
There are two types of face shields on the market – the disposable shield and the reusable shield (like ours). Disposable shields should ALWAYS be disposed of after each and every use to ensure that you are properly protected. Reusable face shields like the FSCVF20 – AWXC™ can be worn for multiple uses, however, they must be completely cleansed following each use. Failure to cleanse your face shield is no different from reusing a single-use disposable face shield.
A Vent Cover For Protection
The CDC notes that face shields are not to be relied upon solely for source control when it comes to things like COVID-19 IF those shields have vents or exhalation valves.) That’s why at AWXC we offer optional vent covers for our face shields so that if you know that you may be in a situation where you need more thorough protection, just add a vent plug to your order. Our vent plugs are easy to snap into place and they seal off the vent on our face shields for better safety.
Shopping For Medical Face Shields?
Shopping for medical face shields? Take a look at our FSCVF20 – AWXC™ face shield! It’s ideal for any setting that requires personal protective equipment when worn properly. Have questions about our face shields or need to place a larger order? Just give us a call at 800-597-4051 (Toll-Free)!