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In response to COVID-19, testing stations have been set up inside and outside of hospital settings. This has created an increase in the usage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for therapeutic purposes including face masks, gowns, and gloves. While PPE is extremely crucial and essential as a caution against the pandemic, the protective equipment can lead to significant discomfort in the form of heat stress. This is a problem for clinicians who have to put in long hours in COVID-19 wards, but even more so for those clinicians working in outside popup testing stations. Researchers from a reputed medical center tried using cooling vests on their workers, which was originally designed for athletes and found it to be highly useful. The majority of staff reported feeling very comfortable wearing the vest resulting in it becoming a part of the standard equipment at the center!
How do these cooling vests help in reducing heat stress for clinicians?
Researchers found in a study that the body temperatures beneath the PPE suits of healthcare staff can reach up to 38 degrees Celsius (100.4 F) during a shift in which the suit was worn for three hours straight. This caused increasing discomfort, declining concentration, and less productivity among the clinicians and prompted them to try the already proven cooling vests. After all, the credibility of the product is well tried and tested, it has been found to be highly effective in controlling body temperatures, most recently by elite athletes at the Tokyo Summer Olympic Games.
However, some cooling vests were designed to cool aggressively before or after physical exertion, they could not be put to immediate use. According to a researcher, Thijs Eijsvogels, “COVID care involves long-term use in which the vests are worn during the health care activities. The cooling power of the vest needs to be steady and work over long periods”.
Arctic Heat Body cooling vests are manufactured using the latest technology for use by elite athletes, industrial and medical professionals who find them of great benefit in such situations. The vests were stored in a refrigerator or freezer prior to use by medical and healthcare staff and were made available to them in a mobile cooler. They consist of strategically placed pockets and with specially designed gel and are completely non-toxic. They have the ability to retain temperature for extended periods of time.
Arctic Heat Body Cooling Vests
Arctic Heat body cooling vests can be quickly re-cooled by placing them back into a freezer between uses. The vests can be sterilized by simply spraying the inside of the vest and wiping it over with a hospital-grade sanitizer such as Saniclean.
Coming to the aid of health workers who can now conveniently wear the vest over their uniform and underneath their PPE suit, Arctic Heat body cooling vests help the clinicians feel much more comfortable by controlling heat stress resulting in higher productivity and better recovery. The vests work by mimicking the natural cooling process of the body by cooling the skin surface allowing the blood to be cooled in turn stabilizing core temperature.
Summary
As a direct result of the effectiveness of the vest, according to the latest stats, around 90% of nurses experienced lesser discomfort and overheating. The majority of the participants involved in the study reported that they are now able to work feeling ‘pleasant and comfortable. Even with their protective clothing on, they were able to work normally.
Arctic Heat specializes in manufacturing body cooling products that have been designed to reduce/eliminate heat-related stress/illnesses. We have been in the industry for over two decades and in that course of time, our products have found effective usage for hundreds of people worldwide.
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