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While the COVID-19 pandemic may have contributed to a series of changes in healthcare best practices, PPE manufacturers and distributors are challenged to provide the correct equipment to support healthcare workers and the public to uphold these new protocols. As a distributor rep, you may be asked to guide someone’s purchasing decision to help ensure their institution obtains the correct kinds of gloves in sufficient quantities to meet the unique demands of these pandemic conditions. 

Here’s a brief overview of infection prevention best practices during lockdown and self-isolation, and how Ventyv’s range of disposable gloves can help stem the tide of COVID-19 infections.

Best practices in infection prevention

Healthcare workers may find themselves undergoing increasingly more stringent infection prevention measures than members of the public, as they’re at greater risk of being regularly exposed to carriers of the COVID-19 virus. 

The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) recommends that healthcare workers adjust their infection prevention practices to match their level of exposure risk to the virus. Those performing administrative duties in non-public areas of healthcare facilities are recognized as having the lowest risk of exposure, and those who are actively treating patients with confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection have the highest risk. For each level of risk, the following infection prevention practices are recommended:

• • Engineering controls to shield healthcare workers, patients, and visitors from people with suspected or confirmed COVID-19. These include use of physical barriers or partitions, and airborne infection isolation rooms (AIIRs). 
• • Administrative controls that minimize the number of personnel interacting with people with suspected and confirmed cases of COVID-19. These include the labeling of patient room doors once transmission-based precautions are in place, and rolling  out additional health and safety training on the appropriate use of PPE.
  
• • Safe work practices that include implementing systems that: clearly differentiate clean areas (where PPE are put on) from potentially contaminated areas (where PPE are removed); handle disposal of waste and infectious materials; clean, disinfect, and maintain reusable equipment and PPE.   
  • Appropriate use of personal protective equipment when exposed to patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19. OSHA recommends that these healthcare workers wear gloves, gowns, eye protection and N95 filter facepiece respirators. Gloves are especially recommended for protection, and should be worn when removing other potentially contaminated forms of PPE, such as the respirators. 

Members of the public may be better protected from any risk of coronavirus infection by quarantine restrictions that largely limit their environmental and social exposure. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) still recommends the following general safety practices:

• • Hand hygiene. Healthcare workers and public alike are encouraged to regularly and thoroughly wash their hands with soap and water, or an alcohol-based sanitizer.

• • Social distancing by maintaining a space of at least 6 feet between themselves and others.

• • Avoiding touching the face and thus transferring the virus from hands to the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose and mouth.

• • Respiratory hygiene. This involves covering the mouth and nose with a bent elbow or tissue when coughing or sneezing.
• • Seeking medical care early if displaying symptoms such as a fever, coughing, or difficulty breathing.
  
  

How Ventyv® gloves can help 

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 infects a host mainly when it enters the body through the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose and mouth. As our hands can easily make unconscious and frequent contact with these areas, avoiding touching the face, and the appropriate use of disposable gloves can greatly contribute to minimizing infection. 

Ventyv® is dedicated to helping healthcare workers and the public Outsmart Infection®. Our disposable gloves cater to a range of infection prevention demands. No matter what your customer’s needs are, there’s a glove for them. Here are a few examples of how you can match their requirements to products from our range:

• • If your customer needs heavy-duty protection, you can recommend the Kangaroo or Bull. These 0.05mm gloves have the fit and feel of traditional nitrile gloves, and provide extra protection for clinical settings — even being tested for use with chemotherapy drugs.
  • If they’re regularly changing their gloves, the Stallion provides superior barrier protection and a polymer coating to aid easy, quick donning and doffing.  
  • If you have customers looking for gloves that don’t leave their hands feeling cracked or dry, our Flamingo or Polymed TLC may be their perfect product match. They’re both coated with Aloe and Vitamin E to boost skin health, without sacrificing barrier protection.
  

Wearing the right gloves, in appropriate circumstances, is one significant way we can fight against the spread of COVID-19 together. We’re all responsible for stemming the tide of the pandemic, and we’re dedicated to providing up-to-date information on our products to help make this easier. For the latest on how the Ventyv® range of gloves helps you protect your customers from COVID-19 and other pathogens, read our FAQ.