CDC Guidelines for Safety Eyewear for COVID-19

The CDC, has advised medical personnel be equipped with proper Person Protection Equipment, PPE. Their advisement has included implementation of eye protection. The following are the CDC’s recommendations:

·         Eye protection should be removed and reprocessed if it becomes visibly soiled or difficult to see through.

·         Eye protection should be discarded if damaged (e.g., face shield can no longer fasten securely to the provider, if visibility is obscured and reprocessing does not restore visibility).

·         Healthcare personnel, HCP, should take care not to touch their eye protection. If they touch or adjust their eye protection they must immediately perform hand hygiene.

·         HCP should leave patient care area if they need to remove their eye protection. See protocol for removing and reprocessing eye protection below.

Eyewear protection is an essential part of protecting oneself from COVID-19. Robin Gershon told the New York Post that “large splatters or droplets cannot go directly in my eye”. The  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, also says that COVID-19 “often passed through droplets from an infected person’s coughs or sneezes. These droplets can make their way into another person’s body through their nose, mouth or, in some cases, their eyes”.

The CDC outlines the following steps on proper cleaning:

1.       While wearing gloves, carefully wipe the inside, followed by the outside of the face shield or goggles using a clean cloth saturated with neutral detergent solution or cleaner wipe.

2.       Carefully wipe the outside of the face shield or goggles using a wipe or clean cloth saturated with EPA-registered hospital disinfectant solution (note: see care below for prescription lenses as certain cleaners can damage prescription lens coatings)

3.       Wipe the outside of face shield or goggles with clean water or alcohol to remove residue.

4.       Fully dry (air dry or use clean absorbent towels).

5.       Remove gloves and perform hand hygiene.

For those who wear prescription glasses, it may be difficult to seal around the eyes using PPE such as face shields. They can also be uncomfortable and heavy causing glasses to slip down the face. PPE eyewear that fits over glasses are also in short supply.  Having safety glasses made with prescription can alleviate this problem. Safety eyewear made with a prescription can be reused over and over with proper cleaning. 

For prescription eyewear, follow these guidelines for cleaning as harsh chemicals can damage lens coatings:

·         Wear Gloves.

·         Use a non-toxic cleaner that kills germs and bacteria. It can’t have bleach or aggressive type cleaners as these will damage the coatings of the lenses (may be ok on frame parts depending on the frame material)

·         Soap and Water is fine to use on eyeglass lenses as long as the soap kills germs and bacteria.

·         Stick your glasses under running water to get them wet. Then place a drop of antibacterial soap on each side of both lenses. Rub the lens between your index finger and thumb in a circular motion.  Repeat with the other lens, followed by the frames.

·         Rinse your eyeglasses with warm water (make sure not to hot that could damage coatings). Dry the lenses and frames with a soft cloth, preferably something 100% cotton or a micro fiber cloth.

·         Dampen another cloth with rubbing alcohol. Wipe off the surface of the lenses and frames with the rubbing alcohol to sterilize the eyeglasses. Be sure to wipe off immediately. The longer the alcohol product is on the lens, the more it can damage coating.  Dry the glasses with a clean cloth.

·         Remove gloves and wash hands.

For more information, please contact us at https://www.sporteyes.com.  If you are in need of safety eyewear, web orders will continue to be processed and shipped during COVID-19 shut down.