Over the last few years, the pandemic has had a massive impact on every country’s economy. The enormous increase in the popularity of face masks and shields is an excellent example of this. In addition, the pandemic has made many people realize that these protective items, particularly face shields, may be more useful than they initially thought.
For that reason, people have come to like the idea of wearing a face shield in public. But is it advisable to keep wearing that same protective equipment at home? Read on to find out.
Brief Overview Of Face Shields
A face shield is an item featuring a thin plastic covering that sits in front of the face. It’s a piece of personal protective equipment (PPE) that existed long before the advent of the recent pandemic.
Face shields were designed to protect the nose, mouth, eyes, and essentially the entire face from hazardous objects. Unbeknownst to many, face shields were originally a PPE for other industries and not in healthcare. You’d often find face shields worn by people doing electrical work or professionals dealing with chemicals. People rarely used it to protect against viruses.
However, as one might imagine, many people now use face shields to protect against viruses, particularly COVID. Of course, this is quite understandable. After all, numerous studies do point toward face shields being an adequate PPE against the infectious characteristic of viruses.
Importance Of Face Shields
Face shields became a popular countermeasure against COVID, not without reason. Below are two benefits that highlight the importance of face shields in this pandemic:
1, Face Shields Protect A Larger Area Of The Face
Though face masks are great at what they do, their main purpose is to protect the area around the mouth and nose. Face shields, on the other hand, protect a larger area of the face, which includes the eyes. It becomes more fascinating once you realize that viruses can spread through the eyes, much like how it does through the nose or mouth.
2. Face Shields Keep You From Touching Your Face
It’s a well-known fact that touching one’s face isn’t advisable when there’s a pandemic. It poses the risk of introducing virus-ridden particles to yourself. Alas, as prominent as this rule is, many people struggle to keep themselves from touching their faces. A face shield makes this easier by doing what a dog cone does to dogs.
While one may argue that these are simply speculative, numerous studies have shown that the presence of face shields does reduce COVID-19 infection rates. Since that’s the case, it must also be the case for other infectious viruses. Due to these reasons, one would assume that wearing a face shield at home is a must, but that’s not always the case.
When Should You Not Wear A Face Shield At Home?
There are instances where wearing a face shield is simply an unnecessary hassle. Moreover, face shields are rather bulky and uncomfortable and may affect your vision by fogging up the plastic.
For these reasons, many people elect not to wear face shields if they can help it. This mindset is particularly noticeable at home as there’s no authoritative figure to tell you otherwise, unlike when you’re in public.
Nevertheless, if you wish to have a set of rules that dictate whether you should wear a face shield at home, below are instances where wearing one is unnecessary:
- When You’re Not Wearing A Face Mask Along With It
Face masks are designed to protect yourself from virus infections. It also has the added benefit of protecting others from yourself if you’re a carrier.
Face shields don’t have this added benefit. Experts suggest that if a person with a face shield but no mask coughs or sneezes, chances are droplet particles will escape through the gaps of the shield. Similarly, when someone coughs or sneezes in your direction, the droplets may enter your mouth or nose through the gaps. Hence, unless you plan to wear masks at home, there’s really no point wearing a face shield.
- When You Live Alone
You don’t have to wear a face mask or face shield if you live by yourself. After all, you’re not protecting yourself from anyone nor are you protecting anyone from yourself.
- When You Live With Your Family
If you live with your family, there’ll be countless opportunities for you or them to spread the virus. In fact, a single dinner should be enough to spread the infection across the entire family. Since that’s the case, wearing a face shield would only be for naught.
Closing Thoughts
While face shields are an excellent protective measure against viruses like COVID, they’re often not necessary inside the house. This is particularly true if the house involves a family setting where every member interacts with one another countless times throughout the entire day. However, it’s advisable to wear face shields in public.