A doctor wearing personal protective equipment for treating patients with COVID-19

The use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is inherent in the theory of universal precaution, which requires specialized clothing or equipment for the protection of individuals from hazard. The term is defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which is responsible for PPE regulation, as the "equipment that protects employees from serious injury or illness resulting from contact with chemical, radiological, physical, electrical, mechanical, or other hazards." While there are common forms of PPEs such as gloves, eye shields, and respirators, the standard set in the OSHA definition indicates a wide coverage. This means that PPE involves a sizable range of equipment. There are several ways to classify them such as how gears could be physiological or environmental. The following list, however, sorts

personal protective equipment Personal protective equipment (PPE) is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, e ...

according to function and body area.

PPE by usage

Combat

The modern PPE used in combat has been increasingly designed to address the emergent dangers poised in the increasing mix of conventional and unconventional conflicts demonstrated in the American experience in Iraq and Afghanistan. The combat protective equipment today is often typified by flame resistance, improved body armor, and reduced weight, among other advances. The gears are shown in the following list, which includes PPEs for defense against ballistic weapons are commonly worn by

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

and

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules Rule or ruling may refer to: Education ...

personnel.

Shield

A shield is held in the hand or arm. Its purpose is to intercept attacks, either by stopping projectiles such as arrows or by glancing a blow to the side of the shield-user. Shields vary greatly in size, ranging from large shields that protect the user's entire body to small shields that are mostly for use in hand-to-hand combat. Shields also vary a great deal in thickness; whereas some shields were made of thick wooden planking, to protect soldiers from spears and crossbow bolts, other shields were thinner and designed mainly for glancing blows away (such as a sword blow). In prehistory, shields were made of wood, animal hide, or wicker. In antiquity and in the Middle Ages, shields were used by foot soldiers and mounted soldiers. Even after the invention of gunpowder and firearms, shields continued to be used. In the 18th century, Scottish clans continued to use small shields, and in the 19th century, some non-industrialized peoples continued to use shields. In the 20th and 21st century, shields are used by military and police units that specialize in anti-terrorist action, hostage rescue, and siege-breaching.

Torso

ballistic vest A bulletproof vest, also known as a ballistic vest or a bullet-resistant vest, is an item of body armor that helps absorb the impact and reduce or stop penetration to the torso from firearm-fired projectiles and fragmentation from explosions. Th ...

helps absorb the impact from firearm-fired projectiles and

shrapnel Shrapnel may refer to: Military * Shrapnel shell, explosive artillery munitions, generally for anti-personnel use * Shrapnel (fragment), a hard loose material Popular culture * ''Shrapnel'' (Radical Comics) * ''Shrapnel'', a game by Adam C ...

from explosions, and is worn on the

torso The torso or trunk is an anatomical term for the central part, or the core, of the body of many animals (including humans), from which the head, neck, limbs, tail and other appendages extend. The tetrapod torso — including that of a huma ...

. Soft vests are made from many layers of woven or laminated fibers and can be capable of protecting the wearer from small caliber handgun and shotgun projectiles, and small fragments from explosives such as hand grenades. Metal or ceramic plates can be used with a soft vest, providing additional protection from rifle rounds, and metallic components or tightly-woven fiber layers can give soft armor resistance to stab and slash attacks from a

knife A knife ( : knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidence ...

. Soft vests are commonly worn by

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

forces, private citizens and private security guards or bodyguards, whereas hard-plate reinforced vests are mainly worn by combat soldiers, police tactical units and hostage rescue teams. Modern body armor may combine a ballistic vest with other items of protective clothing, such as a combat helmet. Vests intended for police and military use may also include ballistic shoulder and side protection armor components, and

bomb disposal Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the milita ...

officers wear heavy armor and helmets with face visors and spine protection.

Head

A combat helmet are among the oldest forms of

, and are known to have been worn by the Assyrians around 900BC, followed by the

ancient Greeks Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...

and

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, throughout the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, and up to the end of the 1600s by many combatants. Their materials and construction became more advanced as weapons became more and more powerful. Initially constructed from

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hog ...

and

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wit ...

, and then bronze and

iron Iron () is a chemical element with Symbol (chemistry), symbol Fe (from la, Wikt:ferrum, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 element, group 8 of the periodic table. It is, Abundanc ...

during the Bronze and

Iron Iron () is a chemical element with Symbol (chemistry), symbol Fe (from la, Wikt:ferrum, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 element, group 8 of the periodic table. It is, Abundanc ...

Ages, they soon came to be made entirely from forged steel in many societies after about 950AD. At that time, they were purely military equipment, protecting the head from cutting blows with swords, flying arrows, and low-velocity musketry. Today's militaries often use high-quality helmets made of ballistic materials such as

Kevlar Kevlar (para-aramid) is a strong, heat-resistant synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965, the high-strength material was first used commercially in the early 1970s a ...

and

Aramid Aramid fibers, short for aromatic polyamide, are a class of heat-resistant and strong synthetic fibers. They are used in aerospace and military applications, for ballistic-rated body armor fabric and ballistic composites, in marine cordage, ma ...

, which have excellent bullet and fragmentation stopping power. Some helmets also have good non-ballistic protective qualities, though many do not. Non-ballistic injuries may be caused by many things, such as concussive shockwaves from explosions, physical attacks, motor vehicle accidents, or falls. A ballistic face mask, is designed to protect the wearer from ballistic threats. Ballistic face masks are usually made of

kevlar Kevlar (para-aramid) is a strong, heat-resistant synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965, the high-strength material was first used commercially in the early 1970s a ...

or other bullet resistant materials and the inside of the mask may be padded for shock absorption, depending on the design. Due to weight restrictions, protection levels range only up to NIJ Level IIIA.

Respirator

A gas mask is worn over the face to protect the wearer from inhaling "airborne

pollutant A pollutant or novel entity is a substance or energy introduced into the environment that has undesired effects, or adversely affects the usefulness of a resource. These can be both naturally forming (i.e. minerals or extracted compounds like o ...

s" and toxic

gas Gas is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, liquid, and plasma). A pure gas may be made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon), elemental molecules made from one type of atom (e.g. oxygen), or ...

es. The mask forms a sealed cover over the nose and mouth, but may also cover the eyes and other vulnerable soft tissues of the face. Airborne toxic materials may be gaseous or particulate. Many gas masks include protection from both types. During riots where tear gas or CS-gas is employed by riot police, gas masks are commonly used by police and rioters alike.

Limbs

Protection of limbs from bombs is provided by a

bombsuit A bomb suit, Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) suit or a blast suit is a heavy suit of body armor designed to withstand the pressure generated by a bomb and any fragments the bomb may produce. It is usually worn by trained personnel attempting b ...

Sports

Limbs

Gloves are frequently used to keep the hands warm, a function that is particularly necessary when cycling in cold weather. The hands are also relatively inactive, and do not have a great deal of muscle mass, which also contributes to the possibility of chill. Gloves are therefore vital for insulating the hands from cold, wind, and

evaporative cooling An evaporative cooler (also known as evaporative air conditioner, swamp cooler, swamp box, desert cooler and wet air cooler) is a device that cools air through the evaporation of water. Evaporative cooling differs from other air conditioning s ...

. Putting a hand out to break a fall is a natural reaction, however, the hands are one of the more difficult parts of the body to repair. There is little or no spare skin, and immobilising the hands sufficiently to promote healing involves significant inconvenience to the patient. Fingerless gloves, have a lightly padded palm of

(natural or synthetic),

gel A gel is a semi-solid that can have properties ranging from soft and weak to hard and tough. Gels are defined as a substantially dilute cross-linked system, which exhibits no flow when in the steady-state, although the liquid phase may still dif ...

or other material. Full-finger gloves are useful in winter, when real warmth is not an issue. These are also generally waterproof but will become soggy in heavy rain.

Construction

Head

hard hat A hard hat is a type of helmet predominantly used in workplace environments such as industrial or construction sites to protect the head from injury due to falling objects, impact with other objects, debris, rain, and electric shock. Suspensio ...

is a type of

helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protect ...

predominantly used in workplace environments, such as

construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form Physical object, objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Pr ...

sites, to protect the head from injury by falling objects, impact with other objects, debris, bad weather and electric shock. Inside the helmet is a suspension that spreads the helmet's weight over the top of the head. It also provides a space of approximately 3 cm (1.2 inch) between the helmet's shell and the wearer's head so that if an object strikes the shell, the impact is less likely to be transmitted directly to the skull. Rigid

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...

has been the most common material.

Respiratory system

respirator A respirator is a device designed to protect the wearer from inhaling hazardous atmospheres including fumes, vapours, gases and particulate matter such as dusts and airborne pathogens such as viruses. There are two main categories of respi ...

is designed to protect the wearer from inhaling harmful

dust Dust is made of fine particles of solid matter. On Earth, it generally consists of particles in the atmosphere that come from various sources such as soil lifted by wind (an aeolian process), volcanic eruptions, and pollution. Dust in ho ...

s, fumes, vapors, and/or

es. Respirators come in a wide range of types and sizes used by the military, private industry, and the public. Respirators range from cheaper, single-use, disposable

mask A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment and often they have been employed for rituals and rights. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and pra ...

s to reusable models with replaceable cartridges. There are two main categories: the ''air-purifying respirator'', which forces contaminated air through a filtering element, and the ''air-supplied respirator'', in which an alternate supply of fresh air is delivered. Within each category, different techniques are employed to reduce or eliminate noxious airborne contents. The term

in the hospital setting refers to the N95 filtering face piece masks that are commonly used to care for patients with Tuberculosis. There was much controversy over the use of these masks during the H1N1 outbreak of 2009.

PPE by body area

Protective headgear

Masks

Some

s made of hard material like those used by

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

s in

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

goalie mask A goaltender mask, commonly referred to as a goalie mask, is a mask worn by goaltenders in a variety of sports to protect the head and face from injury from the ball or puck, as they constantly face incoming shots on goal. Some sports requiring th ...

) and

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

s in

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

as protection against being struck in the face. * For gas masks and similar, see #Respiratory protection. * See Mask (disambiguation)

Helmets

See Helmet#Types of helmet

Eye protection

See

Eye protection Eye protection is protective gear for the eyes, and sometimes face, designed to reduce the risk of injury. Examples of risks requiring eye protection can include: impact from particles or debris, light or radiation, wind blast, heat, sea sp ...

Hearing protection

Earplug An earplug is a device that is inserted in the ear canal to protect the user's ears from loud noises, intrusion of water, foreign bodies, dust or excessive wind. Since they reduce the sound volume, earplugs are often used to help prevent hear ...

Earmuffs Earmuffs are clothing accessories or personal protective equipment designed to cover a person's ears for hearing protection or warmth. They consist of a thermoplastic or metal head-band that fits over the top or back of the head, and a cushion ...

*Earpads/earflaps

Other head/neck protection

* Throat guard * Headguard ( Head guard) * Boxing headgear * Mouthguard *Armored/insulated

hood Hood may refer to: Covering Apparel * Hood (headgear), type of head covering ** Article of academic dress ** Bondage hood, sex toy * Hoodie, hooded sweatshirt Anatomy * Clitoral hood, a hood of skin surrounding the clitoris * Hood, a flap of ...

* Association football headgear

Arm/shoulder protection

Shoulder pads (sport) Shoulder pads are a piece of protective equipment used in many contact sports such as gridiron football, lacrosse, and ice hockey and some non-contact sports such as ringette. Most modern shoulder pads consist of a shock absorbing foam material ...

* Forearm guard * Fist guard * Knuckle guard * Wrist guard * Elbow guard *

Elbow pad Elbow pads are protective padded gear worn on the elbows to protect them against injury during a fall or a strike. Elbow pads are worn by many athletes, especially hockey players, cyclists, roller skaters, skateboarders, volleyball players, sk ...

* Hand/Wrist Wraps

Hand protection

Snowboard gloves with integrated wrist protection

* Gloves are available to protect against: ** Chemicals, contamination and infection (e.g. disposable latex/vinyl/ nitrile gloves) ** Electricity, when voltage is too high ** Extremes of temperature (e.g. oven gloves, welder's gloves) ** Mechanical hazards (e.g. rigger gloves, chainmail gloves) ** Mechanic gloves prime concern is to protect hands against mechanical type of applications, where harsh elements of mechanical work is directly detecting your hands required to be secured against the highest or lowest levels of risks depending upon the working environment which is normally measured in terms of different rating standards specifying the class of gloves. ** Lacerations and other wounds from sharp objects *

Baseball glove A baseball glove or mitt is a large glove (traditionally made of leather, today other options do exist) worn by baseball players of the defending team, which assists players in catching and fielding balls hit by a batter or thrown by a teammate ...

* Belay gloves * Cycling gloves * Falconry gloves * Gymnastics grips *

Hand guard Hand guards are devices worn by athletes in artistic gymnastics. Various types of hand guards are used by gymnasts: * Grips are used on the uneven bars, high bar, still rings and parallel bars to enhance the gymnast's grip and, in the case of ...

s * Hand/wrist wraps * Hockey glove *

Wicket-keeper The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being watchful of the batsman and ready to take a catch, stump the batsman out and run out a batsman when occasion arises. ...

's gloves

Body protection

* Athletic supporter with cup pocket and

protective cup A jockstrap, also a jock (male), jill (female), strap, cup, groin guard, pelvic protector (female), supporter, or athletic supporter, is an undergarment for protecting the testes and penis or vulva during contact sports or other vigorous physi ...

, also called Abdomen guard or cricket box * Chestguard ( Chest guard,

Hogu Hogu (호구) is the armor worn by practitioners of Taekwondo and Geomdo during sparring and competition. Translated into English, ''hogu'' means chest or chest protector. The ''hogu'' has been used in World Taekwondo sparring since the 1950s an ...

) * Rib guard

Foot/Leg/hip protection

* Foot guard * Hip pads ( Hip pad) *

Knee pads Knee pads or kneepads are protective gear worn on knees to protect them against impact injury from falling to the ground or hitting an obstacle, or to provide padding for extended kneeling. Use Sports Knee pads are worn in many recreationa ...

* Instep guard/ instep protector *

Shin guard A shin guard or shin pad, is a piece of equipment worn on the front of an athlete's shin to protect it from injury. These are commonly used in sports including association football, baseball, ice hockey, field hockey, lacrosse, cricket and mo ...

(

shin guards A shin guard or shin pad, is a piece of equipment worn on the front of an athlete's shin to protect it from injury. These are commonly used in sports including association football, baseball, ice hockey, field hockey, lacrosse, cricket and mo ...

) *Combined knee-shin guards * Padded shorts *

Bouldering mat A bouldering mat or crash pad is a foam pad used for protection when bouldering Bouldering is a form of free climbing that is performed on small rock formations or artificial rock walls without the use of ropes or harnesses. While boulderi ...

* Chaps are individual pant leggings made of leather and worn by farriers, cowboys, and rodeo contestants to protect the legs from contact with hooves, thorny undergrowth, and other such work hazards. May also be made of other materials for leg protection against other hazards, such as "rain chaps" of waterproof materials, or "saw chaps" of

for

chainsaw A chainsaw (or chain saw) is a portable gasoline-, electric-, or battery-powered saw that cuts with a set of teeth attached to a rotating chain driven along a guide bar. It is used in activities such as tree felling, limbing, bucking, pru ...

workers. * Safety footwear & Protective footwear is footwear that comes with a protective toe cap.

Full protective garments

Protective suit is an

umbrella term In linguistics, semantics, general semantics, and ontologies, hyponymy () is a semantic relation between a hyponym denoting a subtype and a hypernym or hyperonym (sometimes called umbrella term or blanket term) denoting a supertype. In other wor ...

for any suit or clothing which protects the wearer. Any specific design of suit may offer protection against biological and

chemical A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., w ...

agents,

particle radiation Particle radiation is the radiation of energy by means of fast-moving subatomic particles. Particle radiation is referred to as a particle beam if the particles are all moving in the same direction, similar to a light beam. Due to the wave–par ...

(alpha) and/or radiation (delta and gamma), and may offer flash protection in the case of bomb disposal suits. Most forms of industrial clothing are protective clothing. Personal protective equipment includes:

Complete suits

The word " chemsuit" is sometimes used to mean a real chemical-protection suit, as well as fictional. *

Boilersuit A boilersuit (or boiler suit), also known as coveralls, is a loose fitting garment covering the whole body except for the head, hands and feet. Terminology The term ''boilersuit'' is most common in the UK, where the 1989 edition of the ''Oxfo ...

NBC suit An NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical) suit, also called a chemsuit, chem suit, or chemical suit is a type of military personal protective equipment. NBC suits are designed to provide protection against direct contact with and contamination by R ...

Hazmat suit A hazmat suit (hazardous materials suit) is a piece of personal protective equipment that consists of an impermeable whole-body garment worn as protection against hazardous materials. Such suits are often combined with self-contained breathing ...

Bombsuit A bomb suit, Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) suit or a blast suit is a heavy suit of body armor designed to withstand the pressure generated by a bomb and any fragments the bomb may produce. It is usually worn by trained personnel attempting b ...

s *

Fire proximity suit A fire proximity suit (also, silvers, silver bunker suit, or asbestos suit) is a suit designed to protect a firefighter or volcanologist from extremely high temperatures. They were first designed and used in the 1930s. Originally made of asbest ...

* Riding suits ( abrasion-proof: made of

ballistic nylon Ballistic nylon is a thick, tough, nylon fabric with several uses. Ballistic nylon was developed by the DuPont corporation as a material for flak jackets to be worn by World War II airmen. The term ''ballistic nylon'' originates in the fabric's ...

cordura Cordura is a collection of synthetic fiber-based fabric technologies used in a wide array of products including luggage, backpacks, trousers, military wear and performance apparel. Originally developed and registered as a trademark by E.I. ...

, etc., and

waterproof Waterproofing is the process of making an object or structure waterproof or water-resistant so that it remains relatively unaffected by water or resisting the ingress of water under specified conditions. Such items may be used in wet environme ...

) * Spacesuit *

Splash suit A hazmat suit (hazardous materials suit) is a piece of personal protective equipment that consists of an impermeable whole-body garment worn as protection against hazardous materials. Such suits are often combined with self-contained breathing ...

, to protect against splashing chemicals *

Wetsuit A wetsuit is a garment worn to provide thermal protection while wet. It is usually made of foamed neoprene, and is worn by surfers, divers, windsurfers, canoeists, and others engaged in water sports and other activities in or on water. It ...

and

Drysuit A dry suit or drysuit provides the wearer with environmental protection by way of thermal insulation and exclusion of water, and is worn by divers, boaters, water sports enthusiasts, and others who work or play in or near cold or contaminated ...

Immersion suit A survival suit, more accurately and currently referred to as an immersion suit, is a type of waterproof dry suit intended to protect the wearer from hypothermia if immersed in cold water or otherwise exposed after abandoning a vessel, especiall ...

Other garments

Apron An apron is a garment that is worn over other clothing to cover the front of the body. The word comes from old French ''napron'' meaning a small piece of cloth, however over time "a napron" became "an apron", through a linguistics process cal ...

(protects the body and other clothing from dirt) (also used as distinction by waiters) *

Nappy A diaper /ˈdaɪpə(r)/ (American and Canadian English) or a nappy (Australian English, British English, and Hiberno-English) is a type of underwear that allows the wearer to urinate or defecate without using a toilet, by absorbing or contai ...

("diaper" in

American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the most widely spoken language in the United States and in most circumstances i ...

) * Motorcycle armor *

Protective vest Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...

* Safety harness *

Sun protective clothing Sun protective clothing is clothing specifically designed for sun protection and is produced from a fabric rated for its level of ultraviolet (UV) protection. A novel weave structure and denier (related to thread count per inch) may produce sun p ...

References

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