4 Types of Protective Surgical Supplies for your Head

Operating Room staff members wear personal protective apparel to prevent themselves from acquiring an infection during a surgical procedure. From head to toe, there are different products and materials that provide protection and comfort.

Protective Gear Options:

• Surgical Caps
• Hoods
• Eye Protection
• Surgical Masks

Material Options:

Surgical Caps

• A paper-like absorbent material called scrim reinforced material

• Multi-layer polypropylene, for fluid resistance balanced with ventilation spun lace, the most absorbent, while still comfortable and soft

Surgical Hoods

• Lint-free, latex-free options lightweight multi-ply and heavy-weight polypropylene

• Lightweight single-ply polypropylene or heavyweight polypropylene material

Eye Protection

• Disposable Face Shields provide maximum eye and face protection. This product has a contoured foam material that wraps across the forehead, and the shield extends down from that foam band to protect the face. The shields typically resist fogging.

• Goggles that protect from fluids are used over normal prescription eyeglasses. These are typically made of soft, vinyl frames with built-in air vents and anti-fog lenses.

• Safety Glasses are usually the most economical choice for eye protection. Most manufacturers make them with a built-in brow bar and side shields with wide view lenses.

Surgical Masks

Procedure: Procedure masks have a few options for materials within this category alone. The basic materials however consist of a tissue material on the inner and outer of the mask, with the potential to opt for a softer cellulose material on the inside as well. Additionally, the polypropylene styles improve fluid resistance for the wearer.

Isolation: Fluid-resistant on the outside, with the comfort of cellulose on the inside, these masks also have a bendable nosepiece to ensure proper fit.

Hypoallergenic: These are helpful for people with sensitive skin. Manufacturers can achieve the hypoallergenic feature by not using any dyes or other colorants in the masks. These masks still are able to provide comfort by lining the inside and outside of the mask with cellulose, and by including a bendable nosepiece for enhanced fit.

Breathing Chamber: The breathing chamber mask looks like a Procedure Mask with the area in front of the mouth tented outward away from the wearer's lips. This keeps the mask off the face for easier breathing and clearer speech. The inner and outer lining could be cellulose, or the outer lining could be polypropylene for added fluid protection.

Cone-Style: Cone-style masks are easy to put on. The elastic-like headband straps over the back of the head, the nosepiece can be pinched by the wearer to ensure a tight fit around the nose, and the mouthpiece extends away from the wearer's mouth to provide easier breathing and speech.

Anti-Fog: Anti-Fog masks work to keep the wearer's eyeglasses from fogging. They accomplish this with a foam strip lining across the top edge of the mask which prevents condensation from escaping up behind the eyeglass lenses. There are Chamber-Style and non-Chamber-Style Anti-Fog masks available on the market.

Fluid-Protective: Manufacturers make "fluid-protective" masks typically with cellulose on the inner and outer linings. They will often incorporate the foam strip at the top edge of the mask to limit condensation from escaping. A full-width nosepiece provides the wearer with a custom fit.

Fluid-Resistant: It's important to clarify here that "Fluid-Resistant" means that it provides better protection against fluids than "Fluid-Protective". Fluid-Resistant masks generally are made of polypropylene on the outside for fluid resistance and cellulose on the inside for comfort while still providing a degree of fluid resistance.

Fluid Resistant/Protective with Eye Shield: Both the Fluid-Resistant and Fluid-Protective style masks can be found with an added eye shield option for enhanced eye and face coverage. The eye shield extends up from the mask and cover the eyes and the forehead to beyond where the surgical cap meets the forehead, thus ensuring no skin exposure in that area of the body. The eye shields are made of non-glare material to maintain optimum visibility, and a foam strip is in place to protect against condensation from rising up from the mask.

By wearing these types of protective supplies, medical staff not only increase their own odds in avoiding infection, they also help protect their patients from the same problem.

For a wide range of surgical supplies, from caps to masks - take a look at Supply Doctor's website and place your order today!

Why are medical scrubs usually green or blue?

Medical professionals can choose from a wide variety of scrubs with different colours and patterns. So why are plain blue and green ones so popular?

It used to be that doctors, especially those performing surgeries, didn’t even wear special work garments and simply operated in their regular clothes and with bare hands! However, the 1918 flu pandemic and the rise of antiseptic theory led to the use of surgical masks and rubber gloves and, eventually, antiseptic drapes, gowns and caps in the operating room.

Early OR garments were white, which emphasized cleanliness, but led to eyestrain and headaches for surgeons and their staff. Sometime in the mid-20th century, hospitals began to ditch white linens and switched to various shades of green, which made things easier for both the institutions and their surgeons.

For the hospitals, doing laundry was less of a headache. Ever try to wash blood out of something white? At best, you’re left with a green/brown discoloration. While white linens had to be frequently tossed and replaced (either because the discoloration was too bad or because frequent washing and bleaching destroyed the fabric); green and blue scrubs have a bit of a longer lifespan.

For surgeons, operating was less of a literal headache. Green and greenish-blue surgical linens make looking at the inside of a human body easier on the eyes, since they’re opposite red on the colour wheel.

Looking for high quality surgical scrubs, as well as gloves, masks, and so much more? Visit the Supply Doctor website and order your medical equipment quickly and conveniently!

Surgical Instrument Trays: Making an Informed Choice

When working with specific medical procedures it is convenient to have everything you need all in one easy to access tray. Surgical instrument trays are designed with just this in mind, easy access to the basic and advanced instruments and medical equipment supplies you need to treat the patient. There are several different styles and designs of surgical trays allowing you to choose the one that is right in the particular surgical theatre or treatment area.

One very popular style of surgical instrument tray is the stand type. The stand itself is adjustable so you can locate the tray right at the level you need it to be at for easy access to the materials. These instrument stands with the trays are typically made of stainless steel, which is very easy to clean and sterilize. The tray itself is fully removable from the stand allowing for easy tray preparation and cleaning as needed. The stand and tray are designed to be tip resistant with braces that prevent the stand from tipping forward with the weight of the tray or with pressure on the tray itself.

A perforated instrument tray is a must in the operating room, with the small holes along the bottom and sides allowing for immediate cleaning and drying of instruments and equipment. The trays typically have a slightly raised or rolled bead to prevent the supplies from sliding or being knocked off the edge of the tray. Easy to clean and sterilize these trays are durable and long lasting, resistant to any type of damage and most types of wear. Drying trays, which come in a wide variety of sizes, have a flat, solid bottom and sides and are very practical to store, clean and use in any type of operating or treatment room.

Surgical instrument trays may also be designed with a much taller and more pronounced side or edge. This type of tray can be covered to keep items sterile and clean prior to the procedure. The covered tray is also important for being able to stack and store surgical materials when not in use. The deeper design of the covered trays allows larger equipment and instruments to be secured and maintained than the shorter sided drying trays. Like the other types of trays there are different sizes in covered styles, each with a corresponding cover.

Supply Doctor remains dedicated to providing the very best and the very latest in medical supplies and equipment.  Order your medical products from us today!

The differences between forceps and hemostats

Doctors need many tools to perform their jobs, especially for surgeons. To complete a surgery, a physician needs many other instruments, usually more than one. Two important tools are forceps and hemostats. Without them, many surgical procedures could not take place…

FORCEPS
Forceps can either be tweezer-like implements or tools that resemble scissors. Forceps that look like tweezers are pinched in the center to make the tips meet to grasp objects. Other forceps pivot like scissors, but have a locking ratchet on the inside of the handles causing the forceps to lock. Some forceps have smooth tips, and others have ridged tips that create a tight grip. Forceps can come in many different sizes with various tips. They are usually made of a stainless steel alloy, although plastic forceps can sometimes be used. Each type has a specific function to assist surgeons in all areas of the human body.

Uses:
Forceps can be used to touch sterile bandaging when a physician cannot touch it. Forceps can also hold onto small pieces of tissue during surgeries or in areas where the fingers cannot reach or fit. Intestinal forceps have a very long and narrow tip. Its design was to prevent damage to the intestines while blocking off the bowels. Another type was designed to hold organs like the bladder.

HEMOSTAT
A hemostat is essentially a type of a forceps. It is built similar to a pair of scissors, except it does not cut. The hemostat also has the locking function found on other forceps. They can have straight tips or curved. One difference is that the tip can be much smaller than those of forceps. This is called a mosquito hemostat. A carmalt hemostat has a straight tip, but has a rough surface for gripping certain tissues. All hemostats are made of the same materials as other forceps. Like forceps, the type of the hemostat serves an individual function.

Uses:
The primary use of a hemostat is to clamp and hold onto blood vessels. It is important to block off blood vessels during surgery so that the patient does not bleed to death. In fact, the beginning of the word, hemo, is a Latin prefix word that means blood. There are many types of hemostats that handle all the different types of blood vessels in the body.

Surgeons have important jobs and they need many different tools to do them properly. Forceps and Hemostats are two of the most vital instruments to a medical professional, so knowing exactly what they are used for is beneficial.

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The importance of wearing medical gloves

Medical gloves are one of the most important pieces of medical equipment in the medical and health industry. They are an essential PPE that the Food and Drug Administration regulates, and they must ALWAYS be leak and tear resistant and packaged in sterile packaging.

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Medical gloves are disposable, so they are specifically designed to be worn only once. The main purpose of gloves is to protect patients and health care workers from germs, infection and from coming into contact with certain dangerous substances.

Gloves should be worn every time you touch blood, bodily fluids, bodily tissues, mucous membranes, hazardous drugs or broken skin. Doctors take note here: you should wear gloves for this sort of contact, even if the patient you are dealing with seems healthy and has no sign of any germs.

It is so important that the gloves actually fit your properly and cover the hand and part of the wrist. The gloves should be made of latex or a strong synthetic material like PVC or nitrile. Caregivers should always wash their hands properly before putting on the gloves and take special care when handling sharp objects.

Gloves can accidentally become ripped or torn, this means that they should be changed immediately and the old gloves should be thrown away. In fact, the golden rule is to NEVER ever reuse gloves!

But how you properly remove gloves?

When you take the gloves off make sure the outside of the gloves do not touch your bare hands. 

Follow these simple steps:

- Grab the top of the right glove with your left hand
- Pull toward your fingertips – the glove will turn inside out
- Hold onto the empty glove with your left hand
- Put two right hand fingers in the top of your left glove
- Pull towards your fingertips until you have pulled the glove inside out and off your hand. The right glove should be inside the left glove now
- Throw the gloves away in a proper bin

It is essential to maintain excellent hygiene when dealing with patients, especially during surgeries and operations. Doctors always need to wear medical gloves to protect the patient from infections during surgeries and maintain hygiene.