Articles: personal-protective-equipment.
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Am J Infect Control · May 2019
Alternative doffing strategies of personal protective equipment to prevent self-contamination in the health care setting.
Health care workers routinely contaminate skin and clothing when doffing personal protective equipment (PPE). Alternative doffing strategies, such as hand hygiene on gloved hands and double gloving, have been suggested but not validated by comparison against the standard Centers for Disease Control and Prevention procedures. ⋯ Participants experienced self-contamination when doffing PPE with both a surrogate marker and live bacteria. Close attention to doffing technique is necessary for optimal results, and one-step procedures may be more effective.
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A comprehensive understanding of infection prevention and control is essential for nurses when seeking to protect themselves, patients, colleagues and the general public from the transmission of infection. Personal protective equipment (PPE) - such as gloves, aprons and/or gowns, and eye protection - is an important aspect of infection prevention and control for all healthcare staff, including nurses. ⋯ Understanding the role of PPE will enable nurses to use it appropriately and reduce unnecessary cost, while ensuring that the nurse-patient relationship remains central to care. This article defines PPE and its components, outlines when it should be used and details its optimal application.
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Personal protective equipment (PPE) is defined as equipment that protects the wearer's body against health/safety risks at work. Gloves cause many dermatoses. Non-glove PPE constitutes a wide array of garments. Dermatoses resulting from these have hitherto not been documented. ⋯ Clothing, footwear, facemasks and headgear need to be recognized as causes of dermatoses occurring at body sites less commonly associated with occupational skin disease.
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J Occup Environ Hyg · Mar 2019
Pilot study on the efficiency of water-only decontamination for firefighters' turnout gear.
Firefighters are exposed to toxic environments upon entering burning structures. Many structures contain synthetic materials which release toxic chemicals when on fire. These chemicals can enter the body through multiple routes of exposure, including inhalation and skin absorption. ⋯ All firefighters came to a central location for sampling after completing their job responsibilities. Water only decontamination did not appear to be effective, resulting in an overall 42% increase in PAH contamination. The unexpected increase may have been due to disparate pre- and post-decontamination sampling sites on turnout gear.