COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in bringing special attention towards control over infections and spread. To overcome this, personal protective equipment (PPE) is recommended for health professionals and staff. To procure a PPE gown or disposable isolation gowns during the pandemics’ extreme time can be mind scratching and difficult due to its scarcity. Here, we bring in some key features and contemplations about PPE gowns.

Knowing Isolation Gowns

Disposable isolation gowns (PPE) primary function prevents contact with virus-infected droplets and microorganisms and constrains further spread. Two main categories of disposable isolation gowns are as follows:

• Surgical Gowns- Surgical Gown is a defensive garment recommended for healthcare professionals to protect against any spread of particulate matter, microbes, and body fluids, which needs to be worn during surgical measures.
• Non-Surgical/ isolation Gowns- Non- Surgical Isolation gown’s main purpose is to thwart the user from microorganisms and harmful body-fluids during treatments. These gowns are not recommended during surgical procedures or when there is a high risk of infection or contamination. 

Protection Standards of Disposable Isolation Gowns

FDA brings forward protection Standards under the American National Standard Institute/ Association of the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (ANSI/ AAMI) PB70:2003. There are main four levels maintained under these standards, which are as follows:

Level 1: At nominal risk criterion, basic checkups, standard isolation procedures, and cover gowns for any visitor can be used.

Level 2: At Low-risk situations such as Intensive Care Units (ICU), Path-Labs, and Blood transfusion procedures.

Level 3: Moderate risk conditions such as arterial blood draw, trauma cases, and emergency rooms.

Level 4: At High-risk situations such as significant operations and surgeries, infectious diseases treatments, or when pathogen resistance is required.

For any health workers, Level 1 basic standards norms are recommended to fight the COVID-19 virus. Higher standard level Disposable Isolation Gowns are not advised as there are minimal risks of infected body fluids getting transferred. For other extreme situations, a disposable gown with a higher standard level is advised. One should not go for isolation gowns with higher standard ratings while safeguarding or treating COVID-19 patients. It may just increase the cost of the product rather than provide additional protection.

Why is the product label more important than the product name?

One should pay more attention to the product label than the product’s name, as the product label describes the amount of security the product provides during its usage. During COVID-19 Pandemics, the most important task was to protect our senior frontline health professionals from spreading the virus and its accidental transfer to other health workers and staff. For this purpose, level one standard disposable isolation gown is found to be more than sufficient for its usage. There is no need for higher standard-level gowns as there isn’t a risk of infected blood and bodily fluids getting transferred.

Selection of Disposable Isolation Gowns

Centers for Disease Control advise three things to be kept in mind while choosing the right gowns:

Principle- The main objective during the Pandemic situation is to safeguard our frontline medical staff from infection, and for that purpose, Level 1 fluid resistance is highly suggested. Level 1 Disposable Isolation Gowns are sufficient enough to provide an appropriate level of safety to the user. Higher standard level isolation gowns are not recommended for situations like the COVID-19 pandemic as there is no transfer of infected blood and body fluids during the patients’ treatment.

Fabric- The fabric of the isolation gowns is the second necessity for the users. Synthetic materials are good blockers of microbes and infected fluids and are better than the isolation gowns made of cotton or other materials. Polyethene and Polypropylene isolation gowns can also be a choice while choosing Disposable Isolation Gowns. The gowns’ fabric also provides its users with the feeling of comfort, and it enhances their performance while performing the tasks; moreover, it also safeguards its users from any skin-related issues and problems.

Clean Isolation Gowns vs. Sterile Isolation Gowns- Clean Isolation Gowns are required for isolation purposes, while a sterile Isolation Gown is recommended for invasive procedures. For COVID-19 Pandemic, a clean isolation gown is good to go for any treatment and security. For severe medical procedures, a sterile Isolation gown is a right choice as sterile isolation gowns provide adequate protection against other infections that may occur during the task.

Ease of Comfort while putting on and off isolation gowns

The level of ease while putting on and removing isolation gowns describes the effectiveness of the isolation gowns. These isolation gowns should always be stitched to be easily worn and removed as per their requirements. One should make sure that the isolation gowns should be hemmed to become easy for the user to put on and off.

Size of the Isolation Gowns

The Disposable Isolation Gowns size depends upon its flexibility, where the user gets enough freedom of movement to perform the desired task. Moreover, it should also protect the user from any infections and disease transfers. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, a shortage of PPE’s universal size was the only option. Still, as per the current situation, different sizes are available in the market with different varieties of fabrics as per the user’s requirements.

The market of disposable isolation gowns

As the COVID-19 pandemic started to broaden its feathers over different parts of the globe, the requirement of safeguarding tools such as PPE kits, masks, gloves, and sanitizers suddenly increased, causing a shortage of the above. In 2020 of the COVID-19 pandemic, the most significant part of the market shares was these safeguarding tools. Countries like India took this situation as an opportunity. They started producing these tools in the country itself rather than purchasing them from other countries or institutions, which in return made the nation the world’s largest producer and supplier of these safeguarding tools. This has resulted in helping other nations against the pandemic conditions and increasing the job opportunities for the country’s people.

Looking for Isolation Gowns?

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