Safety goggles. They’re everywhere these days. Healthcare professionals, in particular, are employing safety goggles with their face masks in the fight against COVID-19. But why safety goggles – the answer might surprise you.
There’s a lot of focus on face masks as the primary form of personal protective equipment, otherwise known as PPE. The truth about face masks though is that, on their own, they’re ineffective at guarding against the virus.
Face masks work best when the person wearing them is already infected with coronavirus and doesn’t want to infect others. In this scenario, a face mask works. It is a barrier against virus transmission from the inside-out.
If you aren’t infected and are wearing a face mask to protect yourself from others, social distancing is far more effective. In fact, some healthcare experts even say face masks are borderline useless as COVID-19 protection.
In healthcare settings, the terms are a little different because social distancing cannot be maintained. A nurse or physician is right up in a person’s face. In this example, a face mask protects against the virus better than not wearing one does.
What COVID-19 PPE looks to do is ultimately cover the areas where the virus is most likely to get inside the body. A face mask just covers your mouth and nose. Your eyes are still exposed. Fortunately, this is where safety goggles begin to come in handy.
Safety goggles are transparent so they don’t obstruct vision. They are easily sanitized and reusable. Safety goggles allow for air circulation without giving away the risk of COVID-19 transmission. They even fit over prescription glasses if a healthcare worker wears them.
Normally, safety goggles would be used around machinery to prevent debris from getting in a wearer’s eyes. They can do the same for COVID-19. An alternative to safety goggles is a face shields, carrying the same sort of transparent plastic, reusability, and easily-disinfectable properties.
When COVID-19 arrived, the world was unprepared. As a nation and world, we are still very unprepared. That said, things are improving. Safety goggles for COVID-19 have been procured by the thousands, giving healthcare workers the opportunity to protect their eyes without negatively impacting eyesight.
Even Google and other similar tech companies have recommended COVID-19 safety goggle designs. Google optimized a 3D printer safety goggle template, releasing it to the public to produce their own from the comfort of their own countries.
Face shields and safety goggles are likely what the future of healthcare looks like in Canada. COVID-19 vaccine development underway. Finding a vaccine could change this dynamic. However, we expect to see more face-masks-and-safety-goggle combinations for the next year. Visit Living.ca to get yours.
Featured photo by cottonbro from Pexels
