Coronavirus disease (COVID 19) is caused by a micro virus called coronavirus which was firstly discovered in china in the city named Wuhan in November 2019. After this, it started spreading across the whole world and became a pandemic.
This virus is the one which spreads through the droplets of the infected individual and through physical contact. This came out to be life-threatening as many people around the world are getting infected and are losing their lives.
The virus gets stuck up to the clothes of an individual in the form of droplets and then if a person touches his/her clothes and then nose it may straight away cause contamination and then the person is infected.
Therefore, many people in different countries and continents were grabbed by this virus as they did not know that how can they protect themselves from being infected.
This problem majorly grasped the health workers as daily 100 of cases of infection were caught by hospitals and cases were unmanageable. For this solution, a plan was implemented for the safety of health workers which was praised worldwide.
It prevented every staff of the hospital from doctors to nurses and even the receptionist also. This measure was taken for keeping the safety of these individuals in mind.
How did health workers prevent themselves from cross-infection?
The idea of using a Personal Protective Equipment kit (PPE kit) was taken up by the health workers. This reduced the risk of cross infections and to be safe. PPE kits form a protective covering around the individual who wears it and the droplets of the virus do not come directly in contact with the virus. After one use the kit is thrown off and the other kit is used for the next day so, the individual is saved.
Contents of PPE kit:-
A PPE kit consists of
- Two pair of gloves and eyewear
- An N95 or a 3ply mask
- A pair of shoe cover
- A hazardous bag
- A face shield
- Lastly bodysuit with a hood
These should be worn accordingly to prevent infection.
How to wear a PPE kit?
Wearing of PPE kit is called Donning. Here are some easy ways to wear a PPE kit so that infection does not harm an individual. So as to carry out the safety measure: –
Step1
- Firstly, the individual should check that all the contents of the kit should be present in it before usage.
- Then the hands of the individual are sanitized before touching the pieces of equipment.
- One of the pairs of gloves is worn by the individual.
Step2
- After this, the individual should wear the bodysuit which covers the end of the gloves.
- The suit should be checked before wearing it as can be torn.
- The legs of the individual are first fitted in the suit following the arms.
- Then another pair of gloves are worn over the hands that should be covering the arm part of the suit.
Step3
- A pair of the shoe cover is worn over the shoes and shoes as to protect the shoes from contamination.
- This is followed by wearing an N95 mask which has a pin over it that should be checked and seated over the nose.
- A breathing test is carried out as an individual breathes 3 times to check whether the polluted air is coming it or not.
Step4
- Then the protective eyewear or a face shield is worn. Just to prevent the face from the contact with any droplet.
- Lastly, the hood of the suit is worn.
- The suit is being checked by another person as if it is tightly fitted, no gap should be left after wearing it. Safety is the priority.
After wearing the kit individual should not drink water or eat food or even go to the washroom as can lead to infection by the droplets. If the person does any of these, he or she should use another PPE kit.
How to remove the PPE kit safely without contamination?
Removal of the PPE kit without contamination is a very important step. This is called doffing. If an individual does not carry this step properly it may lead to infection thus causing harm to him\her. There are some of the steps given below: –
Step 1
- Firstly, the gown and gloves are removed as a unit.
- Both the gloves should be removed with the gown as should not be touched with bare hands as can cause contamination.
- The pair of gloves that were inside the suit will still be present.
Step2
- With the help of inner gloves remove the hoody, face shield, and mouth mask.
- This would create a clear vision and so infection is prevented.
Step3
- Now remove the shoe cover.
- Open up the suit cover and remove the suit is then removed.
- The person can take up a bath if he/she wants to prevent the risk of having the disease.
Step4
- Lastly, hands are being washed off and another mask is put on. Hence the individual is prevented from infection.
- The kit is then thrown in the hazardous bag so that any person may not come in contact and get infected.
What happens if the steps are not followed?
If the steps are not followed properly it can lead to the droplets of the infected individual that may affect the person wearing the PPE kit. He/she may end up having coronavirus disease. The individual may get –
- back pain
- loose motions
- Cold
- Cough
- Fever
- lowering of immunity
This may cause damage to the lungs with infection of other organs also. The individual may need to be hospitalized and in a more severe condition, he /she may die.
Hence, nowadays new norms of social distancing are passed, where people cannot meet each other. Nobody can organize a party. Even the neighbors are not allowed to meet. Traffic rules are being made strict as no one can drive a car without a mask. Crowding over a place is being avoided.
Also due to this many governments of many countries have planned lockdown in which not a single individual is allowed to step out of their house. If there is an emergency then he/she must wear a mask for the safety of himself/herself and the individual he/she meets.
So, prevention is better than cure. To be on the safer side PPE kit is necessary to wear. It excludes the risk of infection. Even ambulance drivers are required to wear a PPE kit to avoid any contamination with people going the ambulance.
You are reading this article at www.fmgesolutions.com India’s Best Coaching Institute for FMGE
