Dirty Little Secrets
Infection control expert Nancy Andrews answers your questions
By Nancy Andrews, RDH, BS
Editor’s Note: Are your customers asking tough hygiene questions? Here is your chance to ask someone “In the Know.” Nancy Andrews, RDH, BS, will take your questions and tell your tales. Pulling from centuries of experience, endless education, lots of research, and occasional consultation with other experts, Nancy invites your emails at Infectioncontrol@mdsi.org. The best question or tale at the end of the year gets $100.
Hot and bothered
My territory is in the South where it gets humid in the summer. Even with air conditioning, it’s hard to escape the humidity. I tell my customers to change their masks at least every hour so the mask will be effective. But, what really happens to the mask when it gets moist? Do germs get through faster, or is it just harder to breathe through?
The answer to your question is both. A moist mask has reduced capacity to allow air to pass through the membranes, and germs can also “wick” through moist membranes easier than dry material. Telling customers to change masks often is great advice. In fact, masks can become saturated after only about 20 minutes in humidity, especially if worn for procedures that produce spray and splatter. Also, mask material can become saturated from a person’s own hot, wet breath. Since the mask becomes less porous, air is sucked in from around the sides rather than through the mask, undermining the value of the mask. Since germs penetrate moist masks easily, if the outside of the mask is touched or gets sprayed, germs can end up on the lips, nose or face. Masks degrade from use: they rub on the face, moisture and dust occlude pores, contaminants settle on the outside and migrate inside, and gaps may develop as ties or ear loops loosen. Wearing face shields over masks theoretically reduces direct spray and spatter hitting the outside of masks and may extend the life of a mask. I recommend high-quality, fluid-resistant masks that meet ASTM low, moderate or high barrier standards, selected according to the level of moisture and dust anticipated and length of procedure.
Need to clear the air
I have a customer who is allergic to latex. The doctor wants powderless non-latex gloves because she says the powder is poison to latex-allergic people. But two assistants want powdered gloves. Is the powder in non-latex gloves a problem?
Powder in latex gloves can carry latex protein, increasing exposure to latex on the hands and in the air when gloves are removed. The cornstarch used on gloves usually is not allergenic, though, unless someone is allergic to corn. Powder on non-latex gloves shouldn’t be a problem, unless the doctor is allergic to powder. Also, powder remains on hands after de-gloving and interferes with using alcohol sanitizers – hands must be washed when powdered gloves are removed. Perhaps finding non-powdered gloves that are easy to don will make everyone happy. [FI]
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