We know that doctors and other medical staff have been on duty during this pandemic, despite facing a scarcity of personal protection equipment (PPE), including the most basic gear – face masks. While governments try their best to ensure the availability of PPE, we want to do our bit by sharing some ideas on what you can do to protect yourself when you do not have face masks.

For our comprehensive coverage and latest updates on COVID-19 click here.

In times of the COVID-19 pandemic, even the most resourceful healthcare facilities in the world have been under stress. Hospitals in many countries have been treating several patients that is far higher than their capacities and are facing an unprecedented strain. Another huge concern is the lack of adequate PPE for doctors and assisting staff at the frontline and even otherwise. The most basic protection we need as lifesavers is face masks, the dearth of which puts them also at risk of contracting the coronavirus infection.

Understanding the situation and the risks doctors and other medical professionals face, we write this piece to help you with ideas to create substitutes to face masks. If your place of work faces a similar problem, you may share these ideas with the hospital administration to consider them if and when they run out of clean face masks or while awaiting high-grade, N-95 type mask for doctors and staff. Our suggestions given here are based on those published by the Centre of Disease Control, USA (CDC).

Face shield

A face shield has a transparent front that extends till the chin or below and covers the sides of the face, too. A face shield may help protect your nose, mouth, and eyes from getting exposed to any sneezed or coughed out droplets by an infected person. Ideally, one should use a face shield alongside a fresh face mask, however, you could consider reusing your mask with a face shield for safety. CDC also speaks about extending the use of one mask; read about ‘prolonged use of mask’ in this article to know more.