Face shields

[grenfell]

With the opening up of businesses there has been newsfilm of people wearing face shields. Watching this did make me wonder. One report came from a hairdressers. Client was seated with the hairdresser standing so obviously their head was above that of the client. Hairdresser had a face shield , nothing on the client. The face shield is obviously open at the bottom and unless i am missing something i couldn't help thinking the shield serves to "aim" breath downwards towards the seated client.I
Am i overthinking that ?

[Nurseandy]

From a work perspective (nursing) a face visor is only necessary if an "aerosol generating procedure" is to be performed ie - patient coughing/sneezing/using ventilator then an ffp3 mask is used to protect the nurses mouth & nose and visor protects the nurses eyes from droplets.
Any other time its just a surgical mask to protect patient from me.
So no, can't see much point in hairdresser wearing it.
Unless of course they are wearing it to protect their eyes? They should of course have a mask on too to protect their customers.

[grenfell]

Had the news on while on here and there was another report from a hairdressers. That one too had a face shield but at least had a mask as well although his nose was outside the mask. I suppose shields have their place , i'm not convinced that hairdressers and waiters are really getting that much benefit from them.
Just a thought . Being a bloke it's more a case of "chop off the long bits" but i've seen womens hairdressers washing hair . Do shields fog up because of the hot water being used or get covered in droplets. Presumably there is a procedure for cleaning these shields?

[Nurseandy]

If you're wearing a surgical mask the shields (and your glasses) fog up from your breath so I dread to think what they're like with hot water. Obviously with an ffp3 mask its not an issue.
The standard issue NHS visors are single use. They're not suitable for sterilising as there is a foam band with goes against your forehead with cannot be cleaned satisfactorily.

[Arzosah]

With the opening up of businesses there has been newsfilm of people wearing face shields. Watching this did make me wonder. One report came from a hairdressers. Client was seated with the hairdresser standing so obviously their head was above that of the client. Hairdresser had a face shield , nothing on the client. The face shield is obviously open at the bottom and unless i am missing something i couldn't help thinking the shield serves to "aim" breath downwards towards the seated client.I
Am i overthinking that ?

I saw a report like that, and my immediate thought was exactly the same as yours. The one I saw, the client had a face mask, but thats it. The shield looked like it would *cause* problems. And I've seen something about how a shield is only effective for about 30 minutes anyway, if indoors? Though in looking for a link, I've seen the exact opposite, from NIMH guidance, so more research needed on that particular issue.

But no way am I going to bother going to a hairdresser! I'd like to go to a dentist, just to get my teeth cleaned and deplaqued etc, my yearly appointment is in spring, so I missed it altogether ... dentist still isn't open

[grenfell]

The standard issue NHS visors are single use. They're not suitable for sterilising as there is a foam band with goes against your forehead with cannot be cleaned satisfactorily.

Thanks for that. I suppose i was thinking hard plastic so it could be cleaned but had overlooked the foam band. Makes me wonder how many of those used in shops , hairdressers , pubs and restaurants will be disposed of at the end of each shift ?

[Yorkshire Andy]

Don't get me going .. my mum got shouted at by the Amazon mask yesterday..... To stay back... She saw him pull up ... The front gate was locked... Enter a Mexican stand off....he wouldn't step back so she could unlock it ... Despite her waving the key at him.... We had him at work earlier in the week full face mask out the car boot (I wad on her drive) he backed off

Just passed hair dresser at top of out street mask guarding her chin and neck very well chatting away to the client

[Nurseandy]

Thanks for that. I suppose i was thinking hard plastic so it could be cleaned but had overlooked the foam band. Makes me wonder how many of those used in shops , hairdressers , pubs and restaurants will be disposed of at the end of each shift ?

Wild guess, but I'm going to go with none.............

[ForgeCorvus]

Right at the start my local shop issued all of its staff with their own filter mask ( they are marked so I know its not the same three masks being passed around).
They now have a screen around the till but none of the staff remove their masks at all while in front of house.
On the other hand, the customers standing in the doorway with masks worn around their necks or on their chins..... And don't even get me started on the half-cut idiots just grabbing another couple of four packs who don't know the meaning of Personal Space let alone Social Distance

[grenfell]

Nurseandy seeing as you seem clued up about all this , another question if i may.
I recently did some work at a customer's house . I was outside but she asked me if i could move a couple of pieces of furniture inside the house. Because i was entering the house of two elderly people she gave me a mask to wear just to be on the safe side. It was one of these sort of things https://www.amazon.co.uk/HYC02-Pcs-Pack ... 2440&psc=1
Now i understand the single use idea of these masks . On this occasion i wore the mask for perhaps ten minutes maximum and was probably less than that. Does that class as a single use and the mask should be dumped or is it perfectly safe to use again ? It is after all practically new . Oh and i did a test this week and got the results yesterday , negative for the virus.