In Public And Work Settings, Face Shields Emerge As Popular Face Covering Option

What remains an essential Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) product to help shield and protect those in the medical field against infectious airborne particles, face shields for everyday use have become a vast improvement from the initial cloth mask recommends during the onset of COVID-19.

The evolution of protecting yourself and others in public settings from airborne particles by wearing face coverings has been a visible transformation the past five months during the Coronavirus pandemic that’s ranged from 3-ply facemasks, to N95 respirators, and home made coverings. We can now add another option to the list as face shields are growing in popularity by offering increased protection.  

Whereas face shields have been generally seen only in clinical settings in the past as part of full protective gear, face shields have emerged as an alternative to regular facemasks and coverings thanks to their ability to comfortably cover the entire face and extend below the chin. In presenting more surface area of coverage of the nose and mouth, face shields also protect a wearer’s eyes and more and more are becoming the preferred face covering because of their overall comfort. 

Face shields from CovCare are CE Certified and have an adjustable head harness which ensures a comfortable fit for most head sizes. Along with being optically clear, distortion free, and provide wrap around protection, the face shield headband foam holds the shield away from the face when wearing and also fits over glasses. They are equally vented for increased air flow, float lightly on the forehead and add no pressure on the temples.

Improving communication is showing to be another benefit of opting to wear a face shield, particularly for citizens who are deaf, hard of hearing, or who rely heavily on reading lips to understand what people are saying. 

An alternative face covering that have become a part of life during the Coronavirus pandemic, some medical professionals and experts believe face shields can achieve the same result as facemasks.

"People who wear these homemade cloth masks are invariably touching their face constantly to adjust it, and we know that touching your face is one routine mechanism for infecting you," said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security. 

"When you're wearing a face shield, you're less likely to touch your face. They don't impede your mouth, and you're talking and you're breathing as much. People subjectively feel very muffled when they're wearing a mask, and they feel less comfort when they're breathing when they're wearing a mask.”

While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not yet recommend using plastic face shields for everyday activities or as a substitute for face masks, some medical experts actually prefer face shields and are beginning to encourage the use of them. In addition to face shields being worn by healthcare professionals and those in the medical field, other industries such as food services, production facilities, grocery and retail stores are making face shields part of their preferred face covering to protect against dust, splashes, spray, droplets and saliva. 

From wearing in public and in professional settings, face fields are also making their way into education in some states. In Rhode Island, the town of Tiverton recently announced that their reopening plan and new normal for in-school students this coming Fall will include school-provided face shields for children in kindergarten to Grade 2, along with face masks and screenings for Grades 3 to 12. It will be interesting to see if other States implement a similar strategy in an attempt to increase protection against the Coronavirus, in and out of the classroom.

One thing is for certain: face shields will likely continue to grow in popularity as the general public looks for face covering options.

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