What is PPE and How Does It Help? 

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is a protection suit or apparel, helmets, PPE goggles, or any other equipment intended to keep the wearer's body safe from infection or injury. Physical, electrical, heat, chemicals, biohazards, and airborne pollutants are among the risks covered by protective equipment. 

Wearing protective equipment is necessary for occupational safety and health reasons, as well as for athletics and other outdoor activities. Wearing protective equipment is necessary for occupational safety and health reasons, as well as for athletics and other outdoor activities. Personal protective equipment) is used to minimise employee exposure to hazardous substances where technical and administrative controls are not helpful or efficient in reducing these risks to appropriate levels.

PPE has its own limitations like that of not eliminating the danger at the source and exposing the workers to the danger if a PPE failure occurs.

A Brief History of PPE in Healthcare

Early PPE, such as body armour, boots, helmets and gloves, were designed to shield the wearer's body from physical harm. PPE in healthcare came to a lot later.  To avoid the spread of disease while dealing with plague victims, the doctors in sixteenth-century Europe wore something similar to the protective coverall. It included a full-length robe, mask, glass eye coverings, hand protection gloves, and boots.  These were made of dense plastic that was then waxed to make it water-resistant. To avoid the spread of miasma, the obsolete theory that bad smells spread illness through the air, a mask with a beak-like structure was stuffed with pleasant-smelling flowers and herbs.

Types of PPE and their uses 

There are various types of protective gears like medical protective clothing, welding PPE, hand protection gloves, full-body protection suit, medical safety goggles, and more. They can be broadly categorised into- 

Respirators- 

Respirators keep the patient from breathing in toxins in the air, thus protecting their respiratory tracts.  Respirators are further classified into two categories.  One form of respirator works by separating chemicals, gases, and airborne particles from the breathed air.   This form of respirator includes gas masks and pollutants respirators (such as N95 masks). A different form of respirator protects users by supplying clear, breathable air from a different source. Airline respirators and self-contained breathing equipment are examples of this type. Please note that surgical masks are considered as medical PPE but not respirators. 

Physical Injury Personal Protection Equipment- 

This PPE list includes various items such as full-body protection suit, welding PPE, helmets, safety glasses, face shields, hand protection gloves, hard hats, guards, and more. Wearing PPE for head safety can help you prevent injury from falling objects or moving objects. Furthermore, the head protectors are intended to protect you from colliding with stationary objects. Heat, cold, shocks, burns, injuries from heavy and sharp instruments, biohazards, and chemical hazards can all be avoided with hand protection equipment.

Skin Protection-

Skin hazards that cause occupational skin disease can be divided into four categories. Chemical agents may enter the skin through direct contact. Temperature extremes and ultraviolet or solar radiation may be harmful to the skin if exposed for an extended period of time. Friction, abrasions, and lacerations are all examples of mechanical trauma. Parasites, microorganisms, insects, etc are examples of biological agents.

Skin PPE can be described as any type of PPE that serves as a barrier between the skin and the agent.  Hand protection Gloves are an important item for providing skin protection since too much work is performed with the hands. Rubber gloves, latex gloves, nitrile gloves, cut-resistant gloves, and heat-resistant gloves are some types of gloves widely used as PPE. 

Eye and Ear Protection- 

According to studies, approximately 90% of work-related eye injuries can be prevented. Eye injuries may occur from a variety of sources. The majority of eye injuries are caused by solid objects that enter the eye, such as metal piece, wood, sand, or cement particles. Chemical burns, biological agents, and heat agents are also some factors in occupational eye injury. PPE goggles and face shields are used for eye protection. 

Earplugs are examples of hearing protection PPE. Employers should offer hearing safeguards to workers who are routinely subjected to noise levels above the NIOSH recommendation.

Conclusion

PPE kits, gears and coveralls are essential and must never be avoided. It is also important that PPE kits are of high and reliable quality. Global Trade Plaza is one of the best B2B portals. They will connect you with top PPE kit manufacturers in India and worldwide. They have listings of some of the best PPE manufacturing company in India. The products provided are of exceptional quality and have a reasonable price range.