Corona virus or Covid 19 is a novel virus, meaning that we have not seen it before. We are fighting an enemy that we cannot see, hear, or feel. We are doing things, that we never thought about in the past. We have seen companies shut down, laid off workers, no dine in options (except at your own table, in your home). Many folks are working from home. Many parents are having to become teachers, and the list goes on. Today we are going to talk about those mask and gloves that are being worn for our protection.
A couple weeks ago I posted about hand washing. It seems that everyone is on board with learning new techniques. Actually, old ones, that had become, automatic for so many. Hand washing for 20 seconds. Cleaning under our fingernails. Not turning off the water, with our clean hands. Using a towel or paper towel to turn off the water. We have done fairly well at relearning this skill.
Now, let’s go on virtual trip to the grocery store. You walk in, you are told “the carts are sanitized, please stay 6 feet from others”. You are playing by the rules and try your best. You have a mask on, you have put on your gloves. You are feeling protected, now start shopping. You look at different soups, pick up the can and look at the nutrition label, and sit it down. Then look at the next, and the one after that. Your phone rings so you answer it, your spouse reminds you to pick up some milk. You put your phone back in your purse. Head to the milk isle, and pick out a gallon of milk. Your eye itches and you reach up and rub it. CONGRATULATIONS!!! You just infected yourself with corona.
You thought you were being careful. You are only as clean as those gloves. You have picked up and sat down many items. Not one time did you sanitize your hands (probably because you had on gloves). I would like to believe that this scenario would not happen, but it does every day. Worse, people are not trained on the proper way to remove dirty mask and gloves. Here is a link, to my Facebook page where I have a video about the proper use of mask and gloves.
https://www.facebook.com/102889964651305/videos/158572015484246
As you can see there is a safe way to put on your mask and gloves and to remove them. Following this technique will decrease your chances of infecting yourself with covid 19, or any other illness. Why is it so important to put on, and take off your gloves and mask correctly?
“More than one-third of healthcare workers were contaminated with multi-drug resistant organisms (MDRO) after caring for patients colonized or infected with the bacteria, according to a study published today in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. The study found that 39 percent of workers made errors in removing personal protective equipment (PPE), including gowns and gloves, increasing the incidence of contamination.” Per study reported in ScienceDaily. “(https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/03/190320110630.htm) March 20,2019.
If this happens within healthcare, where they have been trained properly, what is happening with those not trained? Here is a link to video from the CDC on mask and glove training.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html
As in my scenario above with picking up many different items, with the same gloves. This is another example of what was found in healthcare. Again with staff that have been trained.
“The major break in compliance with glove use was failure to change gloves between procedures on the same patient.” Per review article https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26447080, May 15, 2015
The use of facial masks, has long been a belief, that only healthcare workers, working with someone ill should wear them. This is false. Not only do these mask help keep the ill person from spreading germs, they also help protect the healthy person from getting the germs. If both are wearing mask, that will decrease the spread of disease. I have not found any great studies to show figures and if you have some please share.
We are in the middle of a pandemic. We are all worried about becoming ill. We can help stop the spread by a few simple things.
#1 hand washing, at least 20 seconds with soap.
#2 When out in public or helping others wear a mask and gloves. Yes, the home-made ones are better than nothing.
#3 Social isolation as much as possible.
Thanks for stopping by, and reading my post. I challenge you to wear your mask, wash your hands and stay 6 feet from others. Do you have any great ideas, tips or tricks? If so, please share in the comments below. If you like my blog please share it with others.