Experts say face masks can help slow COVID-19, despite previous claims

[JimMIA]

I'm EMS personnel, albeit in the UK and I can assure you protocol is not to put a clean pair of gloves over dirty ones, we change them, or if for some reason we have double gloved we remove the dirty top pair.

The reason for putting clean gloves over dirty is that your hands are going to be sweaty and re-gloving will be difficult. In addition, you'll have a period of time without any gloves. That's the way they teach it here in Miami, but of course protocols vary widely.

I've also seen guys double-glove on every call and remove and red-bag the dirty outer gloves if necessary. One of the medics I used to ride with would always double-glove one hand.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Yeah, I always knew they were lying because they knew there weren’t enough masks for medical personnel and we also had gotten cut off from the supply coming in from China (3M).

There were articles in the WSJ and NYT outlining the lower than required amts of inventory in the U.S. strategic stockpile of medical supplies including ventilators back around the end of Jan/start of Feb. Much like the financial markets you have to use the information on hand to figure out the near and long term future.

 

[robinb]

I do that now too because I finally scored one squirt bottle of sanitizer at Target on Friday. LOL. It is sitting in my cup holder, next to my clorox wipes.

I bought sanitizer for the first time in forever a few weeks ago. One large one lives in my car.

 

[NYCgrrl]

I bought sanitizer for the first time in forever a few weeks ago. One large one lives in my car.

Didn't buy any hand sanitizer but all those "how to wash your hands properly" PAs are having the desired effect for the man. His mother would be sooo proud! He now knows how to do it after 7 decades on the planet!

Last count there was 18 freebie bottles of personal hand sanitizer here. No need to stimulate the economy since someone already did for us, LOL.

 

[babydoll65]

I'm EMS personnel, albeit in the UK and I can assure you protocol is not to put a clean pair of gloves over dirty ones, we change them, or if for some reason we have double gloved we remove the dirty top pair.

I 100% agree. I work in dialysis and we would be fired on the spot if the company or a state auditor saw this. There is no point to put a pair of clean gloves over contaminated ones as there is absolutely no way for you to apply those clean gloves without touching the contaminated ones. We deal with many ambulance companies and that is not the way you apply proper ppe.

 

[Deploraboo]

based upon prevailing knowledge, this virus cannot be absorbed through the skin. It needs an ACE receptor, (nose, eyes or mouth) to replicate, so all of this touching your face talk, while helpful, is not dispositive, unless one is rubbing eyes, nose or mouth.

Again, n95 mask, to cover nostrils and mouth path, protective goggles, to cover eyes (even sunglasses or eyeglasses would at least help provided cleaned and sanitized regularly) And disposable latex gloves.

plus copious hand washing. Probably followed by face washing and/or showering.

but probably just as important is boosting immunity. Regular exercise, sunlight (10 min per day) Vitamin C, D, nascent iodine, and quinine, which is the raw derivative of hydroxychloroquine. Most may not know that tonic water, which contains quinine, was used by the British Navy to fight malaria. I am not a medical doctor so please consult a physician for your particular situation

 

[JimMIA]

There is no point to put a pair of clean gloves over contaminated ones as there is absolutely no way for you to apply those clean gloves without touching the contaminated ones.

The point of this whole exercise is not to protect the gloves -- it's to protect the hands, and whatever those hands might touch. By definition, anything you touch with contaminated gloves is now contaminated.

Your hands are already protected by the nasty gloves because the nastiness is on the outside of the gloves. The inside of the gloves is still clean.

If you remove the gloves, you have exposed the hands until you re-glove. And you will have difficulty re-gloving because your hands will be sweaty, so the gloves can't just slide on normally. Gloving sweaty hands will waste time, and increase the likelihood of contamination.

The point of gloving over is not to protect your hands, but to avoid contaminating other people/objects you touch.

If you glove over the nasty gloves, the new gloves contain the contaminants on the old gloves, the old gloves continue to protect the hands, and the outside of your double-gloved hands is now clean.

You have transformed a dirty situation into a clean situation without any undue risk.

I'm not talking about a clinical situation, in a sparkly-clean environment -- where you can remove your gloves, wash your hands thoroughly, dry your hands, and then re-glove when you need to.

I'm talking about in the field. Life is different in the field -- not better or worse, just different.

 

[TLSnell1981]

The point of this whole exercise is not to protect the gloves -- it's to protect the hands, and whatever those hands might touch. By definition, anything you touch with contaminated gloves is now contaminated.

Your hands are already protected by the nasty gloves because the nastiness is on the outside of the gloves. The inside of the gloves is still clean.

If you remove the gloves, you have exposed the hands until you re-glove. And you will have difficulty re-gloving because your hands will be sweaty, so the gloves can't just slide on normally. Gloving sweaty hands will waste time, and increase the likelihood of contamination.

The point of gloving over is not to protect your hands, but to avoid contaminating other people/objects you touch.

If you glove over the nasty gloves, the new gloves contain the contaminants on the old gloves, the old gloves continue to protect the hands, and the outside of your double-gloved hands is now clean.

You have transformed a dirty situation into a clean situation without any undue risk.

I'm not talking about a clinical situation, in a sparkly-clean environment -- where you can remove your gloves, wash your hands thoroughly, dry your hands, and then re-glove when you need to.

I'm talking about in the field. Life is different in the field -- not better or worse, just different.

Short and to the point. Clinical vs field setting...

 

[Sjm9911]

I've never seen that done ever. What happens when you need a 3rd set, put that over the 2nd? And how do you safely remove them all once there on? Many layers makes taking them off harder, and if you need to remove one set at a time there is more chance of contamination when removing them. Hazmat suits utilize multiple gloves but of diffrent sizes and materials.

 

[TLSnell1981]

based upon prevailing knowledge, this virus cannot be absorbed through the skin. It needs an ACE receptor, (nose, eyes or mouth) to replicate, so all of this touching your face talk, while helpful, is not dispositive, unless one is rubbing eyes, nose or mouth.

Again, n95 mask, to cover nostrils and mouth path, protective goggles, to cover eyes (even sunglasses or eyeglasses would at least help provided cleaned and sanitized regularly) And disposable latex gloves.

plus copious hand washing. Probably followed by face washing and/or showering.

but probably just as important is boosting immunity. Regular exercise, sunlight (10 min per day) Vitamin C, D, nascent iodine, and quinine, which is the raw derivative of hydroxychloroquine. Most may not know that tonic water, which contains quinine, was used by the British Navy to fight malaria. I am not a medical doctor so please consult a physician for your particular situation

I'm glad you brought up glasses...also boosting our immune system. Always good to be healthy!

 

[babydoll65]

The point of this whole exercise is not to protect the gloves -- it's to protect the hands, and whatever those hands might touch. By definition, anything you touch with contaminated gloves is now contaminated.

Your hands are already protected by the nasty gloves because the nastiness is on the outside of the gloves. The inside of the gloves is still clean.

If you remove the gloves, you have exposed the hands until you re-glove. And you will have difficulty re-gloving because your hands will be sweaty, so the gloves can't just slide on normally. Gloving sweaty hands will waste time, and increase the likelihood of contamination.

The point of gloving over is not to protect your hands, but to avoid contaminating other people/objects you touch.

If you glove over the nasty gloves, the new gloves contain the contaminants on the old gloves, the old gloves continue to protect the hands, and the outside of your double-gloved hands is now clean.

You have transformed a dirty situation into a clean situation without any undue risk.

I'm not talking about a clinical situation, in a sparkly-clean environment -- where you can remove your gloves, wash your hands thoroughly, dry your hands, and then re-glove when you need to.

I'm talking about in the field. Life is different in the field -- not better or worse, just different.

I'm going based on the fact that you stated that it is what most ems does which if they are following their own policy, is not true. At least not where I am from but I'm sure the average person not in the medical field would do this.

 

[JimMIA]

Short and to the point. Clinical vs field setting...

Exactly. And we were talking about a grocery trip...not a surgical suite.

Babydoll65 has the ability to practice clinical asepsis in her workplace, and the practices she describes are perfect for that setting. I don't have that on a Rescue truck...or at Publix.

 

[Sjm9911]

And thats the point really, that most people dont use the PPE as its intended. If you dont use it in the proper way, you have a greater chance of contamination. It doesn't matter where that is. Thats why they said not to use n 95s for the general public. Its only a grocery store i can re use it.

 

[JimMIA]

I'm going based on the fact that you stated that it is what most ems does which if they are following their own policy

I said it is what units I have ridden with do, it is their policy, and it is what our EMT and Paramedic schools train us to do here in Miami.

Another poster, also an EMS person, said their protocols are the opposite -- and I acknowledged that EMS protocols vary widely from place to place.

 

[C&Jx2]

I'm talking about in the field. Life is different in the field -- not better or worse, just different.

Absolutely true. You guys have a whole different set (or should I lack of ) rules than in the clinical setting. You do what you gotta do.

*** People DO double glove sometimes when caring for patients, especially for super messy situations. You put on two or three pairs, as you’re administering your care you take the soiled glove off and have a new one ready to go. Of course that doesn’t apply to any kind of aseptic technique... Pretty much just for cleaning up patients.

 

[TLSnell1981]

Absolutely true. You guys have a whole different set (or should I lack of ) rules than in the clinical setting. You do what you gotta do.

*** People DO double glove sometimes when caring for patients, especially for super messy situations. You put on two or three pairs, as you’re administering your care you take the soiled glove off and have a new one ready to go. Of course that doesn’t apply to any kind of aseptic technique... Pretty much just for cleaning up patients.

Sometimes it can get really grody.

 

[C&Jx2]

Sometimes it can get really grody.

And you will always have an uncontrollable itch on your nose.

 

[JimMIA]

Absolutely true. You guys have a whole different set (or should I lack of ) rules than in the clinical setting. You do what you gotta do.

Oh, we have LOTS and LOTS of rules.

We have MOM (our Medical Operations Manual, which is about six inches thick), and whenever there is a question one of us smart-alecs will ask, "But what does MOM say?"

 

[JimMIA]

And you will always have an uncontrollable itch on your nose.

THAT is the real reason we wear masks, lol!

 

[TLSnell1981]

Everyone swaps gross stories during the holidays. The EMTs ALWAYS win