What is PPE? Personal Protection Equipment
November 16, 2019
What is PPE?
It is
Personal protective equipment
such as protective clothing, helmets, goggles, N95 masks or other clothing or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection. Basically protective equipment is to protect against physical injuries, electrical hazards, heat, chemicals, biohazards, and airborne particulate matter such as the
Corona virus
or Hepatitis. Protective equipment may be needed or required for job-related occupational safety and health purposes like in our
trauma and blood cleaning services
as well as, sports and other recreational activities. We see it used daily in everything from football games with helmets and shoulder pads to doctor’s offices using disposable gloves and surgical masks. And some of us use PPE every day because we are in an industry that requires it. As part of our everyday job here at
Exit Biohaz
ard and Crim
e Scene Cleanup
we wear a wide range of PPE to keep us safe from the dangers of dealing with biohazardous materials such as blood and bodily fluids that may or may not contain infectious diseases. We could not do our job without it.
Let’s talk about work safety purposes and ignore the needs of things like sports and recreational PPE which of course is important but for our purposes we will focus on PPE for industry needs . The use of personal protective equipment is to reduce employee exposure to hazards when personal safety can’t be achieved within the general controls of the project or job. Meaning that PPE is needed when there are hazards present that can’t be mitigated by any other means. An example is that a factory can be made to be very safe by the controls and rules they put in place. But the factory cannot make every operation personally safe for anyone to walk in with no protective needs. Things like safety glasses or hearing protection may still be needed to ensure a safe working environment. So that is wear PPE comes in. There are some instances that you need more protection than can be managed by the confines of the job and the protection systems in place. An example would be having to be close to very loud machinery in order to do the job required. That person needs some PPE in the form of hearing protection. PPE is used when there is no other way to protect the workers in these circumstances. Safe practices and protections let us all go to work and come home safe.
PPE is used to lower the risk of a procedure but could result in employees being exposed to the hazard if the equipment fails so proper training is also particularly important. Any item of PPE imposes a barrier between the wearer/user and the working environment. Of course, this can create additional strains on the wearer such as making the wearer of a hazmat suit much hotter and need to take more frequent breaks and drink more liquids to do the job safely. It’s important to wear PPE but make sure that in doing so you understand the possible issues that can arise from doing so. PPE can impair anyone’s ability to carry out their work in the same fashion as if they didn’t have it on and it can create significant levels of discomfort so understand the limitations and benefits of each piece of PPE you require. Comfortable and well designed PPE can help the users work safely and minimize discomfort during their work.
Some examples of PPE that you generally see are items such as surgical masks, respirators, n95 masks, dust masks, safety googles, face shields, disposable gloves, helmets, hazmat suits, fall protection safety harnesses and hearing protection to name a few. And there is so much more depending on the task and what you are trying to protect. Protective equipment is a must for crime scene cleanup and many other jobs out there where specialized equipment and procedures are required because the job I inherently dangerous. We at EXIT Biohazard and Crime Scene Cleanup services use all of these examples depending on the situation we find ourselves in. We are protecting ourselves from everything from contagious diseases to bodily injuries so we stay safe everyday by using the proper PPE.
But don’t forget, it’s also good to have some general PPE on hand for everyday projects and general purposes that may come up in your life. Using dust masks and safety glasses while cutting wood or mowing the lawn is just a good idea. Remember that its important to stay safe when you can. Personal protective equipment is made for just that. Protect yourself.
Let’s talk about work safety purposes and ignore the needs of things like sports and recreational PPE which of course is important but for our purposes we will focus on PPE for industry needs . The use of personal protective equipment is to reduce employee exposure to hazards when personal safety can’t be achieved within the general controls of the project or job. Meaning that PPE is needed when there are hazards present that can’t be mitigated by any other means. An example is that a factory can be made to be very safe by the controls and rules they put in place. But the factory cannot make every operation personally safe for anyone to walk in with no protective needs. Things like safety glasses or hearing protection may still be needed to ensure a safe working environment. So that is wear PPE comes in. There are some instances that you need more protection than can be managed by the confines of the job and the protection systems in place. An example would be having to be close to very loud machinery in order to do the job required. That person needs some PPE in the form of hearing protection. PPE is used when there is no other way to protect the workers in these circumstances. Safe practices and protections let us all go to work and come home safe.
PPE is used to lower the risk of a procedure but could result in employees being exposed to the hazard if the equipment fails so proper training is also particularly important. Any item of PPE imposes a barrier between the wearer/user and the working environment. Of course, this can create additional strains on the wearer such as making the wearer of a hazmat suit much hotter and need to take more frequent breaks and drink more liquids to do the job safely. It’s important to wear PPE but make sure that in doing so you understand the possible issues that can arise from doing so. PPE can impair anyone’s ability to carry out their work in the same fashion as if they didn’t have it on and it can create significant levels of discomfort so understand the limitations and benefits of each piece of PPE you require. Comfortable and well designed PPE can help the users work safely and minimize discomfort during their work.
Some examples of PPE that you generally see are items such as surgical masks, respirators, n95 masks, dust masks, safety googles, face shields, disposable gloves, helmets, hazmat suits, fall protection safety harnesses and hearing protection to name a few. And there is so much more depending on the task and what you are trying to protect. Protective equipment is a must for crime scene cleanup and many other jobs out there where specialized equipment and procedures are required because the job I inherently dangerous. We at EXIT Biohazard and Crime Scene Cleanup services use all of these examples depending on the situation we find ourselves in. We are protecting ourselves from everything from contagious diseases to bodily injuries so we stay safe everyday by using the proper PPE.
But don’t forget, it’s also good to have some general PPE on hand for everyday projects and general purposes that may come up in your life. Using dust masks and safety glasses while cutting wood or mowing the lawn is just a good idea. Remember that its important to stay safe when you can. Personal protective equipment is made for just that. Protect yourself.
What is a Hoarder
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If you have a case of CDIFF and need help call EXIT BIOHAZARD CLEANUP and have us come and disinfect your home. What is CDIFF? C.diff stands for Clostridium difficile (klos-TRID-e-oi-deez dif-uh-SEEL), which is a germ or bacterium that causes a symptomatic infection due to the spore-forming bacterium, Clostridium difficile. It causes many Symptoms which include watery diarrhea, fever, nausea, and abdominal pain. It makes up about 20% of cases of antibiotic-associated diarrhea. It most commonly affects older adults in hospitals or in long-term care facilities. Complications may include pseudomembranous colitis, toxic megacolon, perforation of the colon, and sepsis which can be life threatening. One in 11 people over age 65 diagnosed with a healthcare-associated C. diff infection die within one month. In general it causes severe diarrhea and colitis (an inflammation of the colon). It’s estimated to cause almost half a million infections in the United States each year. C. diff can affect anyone. Most cases of C. diff occur when you’ve been taking antibiotics or not long after you’ve finished taking antibiotics. There are other risk factors such as being 65 or older, a recent stay at a hospital or nursing home, a weakened immune system, such as people with HIV/AIDS, cancer, or organ transplant patients taking immunosuppressive drugs, or previous infection with C. diff or known exposure to the germs. Because 1 in 6 patients who get C. diff will get it again in the subsequent 2-8 weeks . If you have been taking antibiotics recently and have symptoms of C. diff, you should see a healthcare professional as soon as possible. Getting diarrhea is fairly common while on, or after taking, antibiotics, but in only a few cases will that diarrhea be caused by C. diff . So if your diarrhea is severe you need to talk to your doctor and do not delay getting medical care. Your doctor will review your symptoms and order a lab test of a stool (poop) sample. If the test is positive, you’ll take a specific antibiotic (e.g. vancomycin or fidaxomicin) for at least 10 days. If you were already taking an antibiotic for another infection, your healthcare professional might ask you to stop taking it if they think it’s safe to do so. Your doctor may decide to admit you to the hospital, in which case they will use certain precautions, such as wearing gowns and gloves, to prevent the spread of C. diff to themselves and to other patients because it can be very contagious . its important to use a separate bathroom if you have diarrhea, thoroughly wash hands with soap and water every time you use the bathroom and always before you eat, and take showers washing well with soap. Cleanliness is key to beating this and stopping it from spreading to others or back to you. Because C.DIFF bacteria can last for months. When the bacteria are outside the human body they can be virtually anywhere in the environment. They are in a dormant state and essentially shutdown waiting for a new host. This enables them to survive for a long time from weeks to months in any number of places and that's why its very difficult to destroy and it is also why people often have the infection reoccur. The ability of it to be dormant and survive outside the body enables the generally easy transmission of the bacterium. It can last a long time sitting on surfaces, in soil or feces, in water areas, or even in food. Once the bacteria finds their way into a person's digestive system, they "wake up" and can begin to produce infection again. That being said, its not the easiest bacteria to kill. its not like covid which is pretty weak in the environment and generally dies quickly. this has some staying power and requires special cleaning and disinfection procedures. We often kill corona virus and other germs during our disinfection fogging services to help stop the spread of covid 19 and we kill 99.99% of germs and viruses in general for most of our services including our biohazard cleaning services, but CDIFF is something special and its much harder to kill so we have to bring out the big guns to do it. We mean specialty chemicals and procedures to kill what is there and what is hiding dormant. At Exit Cleanup we just think of this as another service we provide but as you can see its not your typical disinfection. If you have Cdiff or someone in your family does and you want us there to kill it, please just call and we will prepare for germ warfare for you. We will fight this for you.
This is to describe the 4 levels of biohazards and the 6 types of biohazards. Biohazard cleanup is important because we could encounter a biohazard anytime anywhere. Learn more here. A biohazard could be anything from animal feces or rancid meat to blood from a crime scene or materials from a laboratory.
Support after a Tragedy is Essential
The Aftermath of a crime or Death can be Overwhelming and Traumatic
A suicide in New Orleans. Exit cleanup doesn't always get the job but we do all we can to help in any situation. Most of the time, your home owners insurance pays the biohazard cleanup but if the deceased lived in an apartment, it may be something that the property owner may want to pay for. Its sometimes complicated but Exit will help. This situation was difficult because the resident committed suicide and the property owner wasn't available. Long story short , we helped out the sister of the deceased a bit so she could get things sorted and did what we could.
RYOBI Fogger review is to talk about the good and bad of the Ryobi 18v fogger. We here at Exit Cleanup use fogging for our disinfection services that we provide in the Louisiana area. We disinfect and decontaminate for viruses such as the Covid Virus, Mrsa, HIV, CDIFF, Hepatitis and more. We use fogging as one of our tools to kill the germs. you can also see our review of the Ryobi 18v electrostatic sprayer.
Exit Cleanup are Louisiana's blood and biohazard experts and we can help. We are here to deal with all biohazard cleaning siuations from blood spills to virus protection. We clean up death and crime scenes as well as the aftermath of suicides and any situation involving blood and bodily fluids. We also help cleanup hoarding properties and work with hoarders to get things back to a working normal in their homes. We get asked a lot about Blood cleanup so this article gives a bit o what to do in that situation.
Types of Biohazards we may have to deal with
