heat endangers medical staff

SWEATING IN A PROTECTIVE SUIT MAKES YOU TIRED AND UNFOCUSED

Much depends on the success of the use of protective suits. The health and operational readiness of medical staff and people working in emergency services who use protective suits is of the utmost importance.

The material of the suits is dense and airtight. High heat and excessive sweating are the result. Sweating consumes an enormous amount of energy. You quickly feel exhausted and drained of energy.

The cardiovascular load and core body temperature rise – often to the range of feverish temperatures that others would stay in bed with. Heat collapse and other heat-related health problems can occur. Older staff members are particularly at risk.

The use of protective suits has risks.

Under heat, the ability to concentrate decreases and it is easier to make mistakes. This is dangerous for others but also for yourself. Especially when taking off the suit, dangerous contaminations often occur from which the suit is supposed to protect. With decreasing concentration this happens more often.

That means that people wearing protective suits have a higher risk of failing to perform as desired. Nowadays, facing lack of man power, cooling can help to protect people working in emergency services, prevent staff shortage and thus help overcome the crisis with healthy and efficient emergency and medical personnel.

supply of protective suits in danger

HEAT STRESS IS DANGEROUS

Remember the summers of 2018 and 2019? Then you know what heat stress is. Feeling too hot, when you are already only wearing a t-shirt. All those who must wear protective suits will experience problems. On top of that, high temperatures also reduce the working time in the protective suit. In summer and at high temperatures this can have health consequences for the wearer. That is why timely breaks are necessary to recover from work in the protective suit and to ensure that the staff is fit for duty.

Especially in hot weather breaks become necessary more often, as the heat stress in the protective suit is enormous. During each break the protective suit is taken off and a new one is put on after the break. This increases the risk of contamination each time the suit is taken off. The suits must then of course be disposed of or decontaminated and new suits are needed.

More and more protective suits are needed

As a result, considerably more protective suits than usual are required in hot weather. This drives up the number of protective suits needed.

In times of COVID-19, having experiencied a considerable lack of protective suits, supplying the population with protective gear has become an important issue. According to the German virologist Prof. Christian Drosten and others, the pandemic may not yet have reached its peak in Europe.

heat protection strategy with 660-watt cooling capacity

WORK LONGER IN A PROTECTIVE SUIT WITH COOLING

E.COOLINE – is the climate-neutral “air conditioning system to wear”, to keep staff healthy, concentrated and efficient even when wearing a protective suit. Active cooling function clothing is ready for use within a minute, mobile and can be used anywhere, even under extreme conditions. Thanks to the 3D COOLINE SX3 technology, emergency forces are actively cooled for hours at up to 660 watts. The activation works in seconds and the clothing remains hygienic and dry compared to most cooling systems. The cooling vests, cooling shirts, cooling headgear as well as arm and leg cooling is simply used under the protective suit and during breaks. This takes the strain off the cardiovascular system and allows you to work with much more concentration over the entire period. This significantly increases your safety and health and keeps you fit.

With E.COOLINE, operating times can be doubled

Another decisive advantage of E.COOLINE: Though you cannot reduce heat stress to zero, the time spent in the suit can be doubled. This was the result of tests carried out with emergency personnel in various protective suits.  As a result of using E.COOLINE the number of protective suits required can be reduced significantly.An important advantage in view of the current lack of protective equipment.

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TEST RESULTS WITH AND WITHOUT COOLING