Coronavirus: Does wearing face masks, gowns cause skin damages among health care workers

New Delhi, May 02: Several medical professionals, who wear the personal protective equipment (PPE) while treating coronavirus patients such as face masks, goggles, face shields, and protective gowns, is said to be the victims for skin damages.

According to a study, the process puts the medical professionals at increased risk of infection.

In a new study by a large team of Chinese researchers, and published in Advances in Wound Care revealed that the study covered 4,308 medical staff from 161 hospitals, with responses from 4,306 valid.

The study said that the medical staff worked for 8 to 12 hours everyday wearing PPE. Among them, 42.8 per cent has experienced serious skin injury related to use of PPE. Flagging the increased risk of infection, the researchers said, "The skin injuries among medical staff are serious, with insufficient prevention and treatment."

The researchers have also identified three main types of PPE-related skin injuries. They are, device-related pressure injuries, moist associated skin damage and skin tear. Several factors increased the risk for skin injury, including gender.