Description
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), personal protective equipment “…consists of garments placed to protect the health care workers or any other persons to get infected”[1]
Medical PPE typically includes face protection, goggles and mask or face shield, gloves, gown or coverall, head cover, and rubber boots.
Types of PPE
Gloves: Protects your hands from microbes and minimizes the possible spreading of microbes.
Masks: Cover your mouth and nasal area. Some masks have a see-through plastic piece, which also covers your eyes (shield). A special respiratory mask (respirator) forms a tight seal around your nose and mouth. It can be useful to minimize the inhalation of smaller microbes, such as tuberculosis bacteria.
Eye protection: This includes face shields as well as goggles. They can protect the mucous membranes of your eyes from bodily fluids. If the fluids make contact with the eyes, microbes within the fluid can enter the body through the mucous membranes.
Clothing: Includes gowns, aprons, head covering, and shoe covers.
Where We Should Use PPE
PPE is used in all healthcare settings:
Acute Care
Long Term Care
Outpatient Care
Community Care
PPE is needed where contact occurs with patients, residents, and clients (PRC). The PRCs environment certainly includes physiotherapy departments, clinics and a physiotherapy treatment room in a long term care facility.