Protective gowns: safety and hygiene for employees and visitors
In the healthcare sector, but also in certain areas of industry, employees come into contact with hazardous substances time and again. Protective gowns, as part of personal protective equipment (PPE), help minimize the health risks posed by infectious body fluids or chemicals. They also prevent the spread of germs or hazardous substances to other areas.
Employers are required by law to provide the best possible protection for their employees, patients and visitors. Our online shop offers you certified protective gowns in various designs, such as:
- coated disposable gowns
- uncoated disposable gowns
- Disposable aprons
- and overalls
Areas of application for protective gowns
Protective gowns are widely used in the medical sector as well as in geriatric and nursing care. Here, they protect medical and nursing staff from biological hazardous substances such as blood, body fluids, viruses or bacteria and prevent cross-contamination. As visitor gowns, they are also needed in sensitive areas such as intensive care units or nursing homes. Visitor gowns are intended to prevent relatives from carrying germs on their everyday clothing into the facility or later to the outside. In addition, protective gowns are used wherever special hygiene requirements apply or employees come into contact with potentially hazardous substances. These include:
- Pharmacies
- medical and chemical laboratories
- Veterinary medicine and animal care
- Pharmacy
- Food industry
- Disposal companies
- chemical industry and production
- Construction
Smock, apron and overall: the most important differences
In addition to protective gowns, our online shipping also offers you other protective clothing such as aprons or coveralls. Protective gowns resemble in their basic form a coat, which is put on upside down, i.e. closed in the back. Unlike aprons, they have long sleeves and thus cover not only the front upper body and a large part of the back, but also the arms. As a result, they meet the necessary requirements in many treatment and care situations in which employees are expected to come into contact with infectious body fluids such as blood or excretions. Even greater protection is provided by suits or coveralls that are tightly closed at the back and also enclose the legs. In combination with gloves, protective footwear and face masks, they completely cover the body and therefore meet the necessary hygiene requirements when dealing with serious infectious diseases.
Protective clothing: Materials and their properties
Basically, protective gowns are available on the market as disposable or reusable products. Reusable gowns are often made of so-called spunlace, a sterilizable viscose material, but they are also available in cotton. Disposable gowns are usually made of polypropylene fleece (PP). This is a very light, but at the same time highly durable material that is permeable to air and therefore breathable. It is free of latex and therefore also suitable for allergy sufferers. Depending on the processing, PP fleece can have different properties:
- Spunbond PP is particularly robust and tear-resistant.
- Meltblown PP has excellent barrier properties, but is somewhat less ductile.
As a rule, protective gowns are made of several layers of PP nonwoven fabric. It is possible to combine the different variants with each other in order to combine their specific advantages:
- SSS nonwoven consists of 3 layers of spunbond.
- SMS nonwoven is a three-layer material made of Spunbond - Meltblown - Spunbond. It has very good wearing properties and is extremely durable and tear-resistant.
- SMMS nonwoven consists of 4 layers Spunbond - Meltblown - Meltblown - Spunbond. The material has very good barrier properties with high wearing comfort at the same time.
Since polypropylene (PP) is not completely impervious to liquids, the protective clothing made from it remains breathable. The material is thus very suitable for long-term use, as it prevents sweating. However, pure PP fleece is insufficient when a high level of protection against contaminated liquids is required. In these situations, you should turn to protective gowns with polyethylene (PE) coating. PE is waterproof and therefore forms a barrier to liquid-borne pathogens and chemicals. However, garments coated with PE are no longer breathable.
Protective gowns as personal protective equipment: protection classes and ISO standards
Protective gowns and similar products are part of personal protective equipment (PPE), for which special, legally defined requirements apply. In simple terms, personal protective equipment is a product that protects the health and safety of the user. If, on the other hand, the patient is primarily to be protected, this is referred to as a medical device. When purchasing personal protective equipment, it is essential to pay attention to the standards and protection classes specified by the manufacturer. The legal background for this is the PPE Regulation 2016/425 of the European Union. Based on this set of regulations, protective clothing is divided into three protection classes - depending on the risk against which the equipment is intended to protect. Protective gowns used in the medical and nursing sector must generally meet the criteria of the highest PPE protection class III. However, products from protection classes I and II may be acceptable as visitor gowns.
The risks against which personal protective equipment is intended to protect vary greatly in individual cases. For this reason, standards have been defined at European level that specify the exact requirements depending on the area of use. The most important ISO standards for protective gowns in healthcare are:
DIN EN 14126
Gowns with this certification protect against infectious agents such as viruses, bacteria and other microorganisms. It is important that they prevent the penetration of germs even when damp. DIN EN 14126 requires several material tests, for which in turn separate standards apply:
- Resistance to blood (ISO 16603)
- Resistance to virus penetration (ISO 16604)
- Resistance to bacterial penetration (ISO 22610)
- Resistance to biologically contaminated aerosols (ISO 22611)
- Resistance to biologically contaminated particles (ISO 22612)
DIN EN 13795
This standard specifies the special requirements for surgical gowns. Basically, surgical gowns must be sterile and protect against germ penetration in dry and moist condition. In addition, they must not release any particles that could endanger the patient.
This is what you should look for when buying protective gowns
In order to make the right selection, the protection classes and material tests specified by the manufacturer must be taken into account. In addition, the following criteria can also play a role in the selection:
Disposable gown or reusable gown?
Reusable gowns are reprocessed after use, reducing material consumption and waste. However, as reprocessing can be time-consuming and financially expensive, many facilities opt for the more convenient disposable option.
Material and material thickness
Disposable gowns are usually made of pure PP fleece (breathable) or PP fleece with PE coating (liquid-tight). Regardless of the material used, they are available in different material thicknesses. Products with a material weight of 17-20 g/cm2 are thinner and are suitable as visitor gowns. For medical and nursing activities, the gown should have a material thickness of at least 23-25 g/cm2.
Closure type
As a rule, protective gowns are closed at the neck and in the area of the waist with ribbons. Instead of straps, some products also have press studs. To ensure that the front of the body is fully protected, the gown is usually tied at the back. Products that are put on like a coat and closed comfortably in front of the body are also suitable as visitor gowns.
Cuffs
Sleeve cuffs ensure that liquids cannot penetrate through the wrist. The simplest variant are latex-free elastic bands that tightly enclose the wrist. Sewn cuffs offer a little more comfort.
Fit and size selection
Protective gowns are partly marketed in standard sizes, partly also in different sizes (M/L/XL). Due to the bands in the waist area, the gown can be adjusted to the individual body stature at any time. Disposable gowns can also be easily shortened with scissors if necessary. In any case, a generous cut that ensures sufficient freedom of movement is important.
Color
Basically, the different colours of protective gowns are manufacturer-specific and are not related to different properties. However, they can be used to define different areas and purposes within a facility. In this way, employees can see at a glance which gown serves which purpose.
Buy certified protective gowns cheap online
Play it safe when buying protective gowns and choose quality goods that comply with European hygiene standards! In our mail order store we carry only products of renowned manufacturers, produced in accordance with the applicable legal requirements. All our products are permanently available at fair prices. Depending on your needs, you can supplement your protective clothing with other items such as disposable gloves, face masks or disposable aprons.
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