dgkh000347 10.3205/dgkh000347 urn:nbn:de:0183-dgkh0003479 Letter to the editor Anwendung der Technik von Tauchern zur Verhinderung des Beschlagens von Augenschutzbrillen in der Notfallmedizin Sarkar Sarkar Abhirup A

All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, IndiaAll India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India

abhirupsa@gmail.com author German Medical Science GMS Publishing House

Düsseldorf

610 PPE fogging goggles Scuba 20200615 engl This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Dieser Artikel ist ein Open-Access-Artikel und steht unter den Lizenzbedingungen der Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (Namensnennung). 2196-5226 15 GMS Hygiene and Infection Control GMS Hyg Infect Control 12 Letter to the editorDear Editor,The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused an immense surge in the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) in healthcare settings. The use of goggles is an integral part of the PPE used by healthcare professionals involved in direct patient care , . Fogging of goggles causing decreased visibility is a known issue faced by healthcare professionals everywhere . This can often be catastrophic in critical stages of patient management.Commercial anti-fogging agents commonly used by scuba divers can be used when donning goggles and have been found to be effective. Procuring sufficient amounts of commercially available anti-fogging agents can be difficult in the current situation. Some tricks used by professional scuba divers can be applied in emergency settings. Many scuba divers spit on the inner surface of their eyewear and wipe the sputum to prevent fogging . We have used a similar technique in healthcare setting in emergency situations and found it to be effective. A better alternative, also used by scuba divers, is to use diluted shampoo or liquid soap to wipe the inner surface of the goggles before donning . We found a 10% solution of shampoo or liquid soap solution was best at preventing fogging. A good practice is to put few drops of the solution on the inner surface of the glasses and rinse it with water. In emergency situations with no available soap solution, using the spit-and-wipe technique can be used to prevent fogging. NotesCompeting interestsThe author declares that he has no competing interests. WHO 2020 Laboratory Biosafety Guidance Related to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Interim Guidance, 12 February 2020 WHO. Laboratory Biosafety Guidance Related to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Interim Guidance, 12 February 2020. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2020. Available from: https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/331138/WHO-WPE-GIH-2020.1-eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/331138/WHO-WPE-GIH-2020.1-eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y WHO 2020 Shortage of personal protective equipment endangering health workers worldwide WHO. Shortage of personal protective equipment endangering health workers worldwide. 3 Mar 2020 [last accessed April 8, 2020]. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/03-03-2020-shortage-of-personal-protective-equipment-endangering-health-workers-worldwide https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/03-03-2020-shortage-of-personal-protective-equipment-endangering-health-workers-worldwide Crebolder JM Sloan RB Determining the effects of eyewear fogging on visual task performance 2004 Appl Ergon 371-81 Crebolder JM, Sloan RB. Determining the effects of eyewear fogging on visual task performance. Appl Ergon. 2004 Jul;35(4):371-81. DOI: 10.1016/j.apergo.2004.02.005 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2004.02.005 Reimer K 2019 Basics – Theory for Scuba Divers: A Related to Practice Textbook Reimer K. Basics – Theory for Scuba Divers: A Related to Practice Textbook. Norderstedt: Books on Demand; 2019. 0 0 0 0