Corona Virus: Why is protective equipment designed only according to the requirements of men?

Kirti Shah is a nurse working in the intensive care unit of a hospital in the Indian city of Delhi. She is 31 years old and considers herself an optimist, "but the last three months have been difficult," she says.

Its work begins with a 45-minute procedure to put on protective clothing and equipment, which includes a gown, a mask, goggles and gloves.

However, as a woman, she must take additional steps, as she must fix the muzzle when it slides over a loose dress when it in turn slides and reveals her neck, in addition to the need to put cotton pads between the glasses and her nose to avoid bruising, and bend the long sleeves before wearing gloves.

Then, a final check to make sure the mask is securely attached to her face. The only size available is the extra large size. At this point, she will have been two hours without drinking anything. "We can't eat, drink or use the bathroom the whole shift, so it's best not to drink water before starting work."

Clothes and protective equipment may be removed at the end of the six-hour shift.

topics that may interest you. End

"Suffering during my period"

"All of the above can be tolerated until my period. Then I start cursing. My glasses become cloudy and I also bleed inside the condom," says Kirti.

She remembers that she asked a co-worker to replace her at work in case blood stains appeared on her dress and she had to leave.

In order to avoid this, I started looking online for how to reduce the bleeding during the day. She found a method that she says she tried and it worked: take a warm shower for an hour and bleed harder than usual, which will ease subsequent bleeding.

She says she doesn't know a scientific basis for that, but she uses the method anyway. And she adds, "When they designed the protective equipment, they did not think of women who suffer because of menstruation."

Protective Equipment Designed for Men Primarily

There is growing concern around the world that protective equipment that is normally designed for both sexes is not well suited for women.

This equipment is essential for those working on the front lines in the fight against the Corona infection.

However, some health workers say that even the smallest measurements are still big for some women, knowing that women make up 70 percent of workers in this sector worldwide.

If the equipment is large, it will lose its effectiveness in protecting against the virus. It can also be a source of inconvenience to the wearer.

"The reason for this problem is that the equipment was designed for European and American men in the first place, and we have known about the problem for at least three years," says Helen Fiedler, a member of the advisory committee for the Federation of Doctors in the British Medical Association.

Fifty-seven percent of female health workers say medical protective equipment sometimes or often gets in the way of their work, according to research conducted at the 2017 UK Trades Union Conference.

"Only two sizes of masks"

But this problem does not exist only in the United Kingdom. Health workers around the world are expressing concern about inadequate protective clothing and equipment.

Arghavan Sales, a resident scientist at Stanford University School of Medicine who now works in the intensive care department at a New York hospital, says:

"There are only two sizes of N95 masks, which is strange," she wonders, "is there anything else that only comes in two sizes? Shall we assume that all faces in the world have only one of the two sizes of masks available?"

Dr Sales says a smaller size works for her, but it's not always possible.

She added that small gloves and glasses are usually large, and she added, "My palm measures 6 and I wear gloves of size 6.5. As for the glasses, they insulate well, but they are difficult to wear."

“Continuing to find compromises”

Many countries continue to report shortages of protective equipment for health workers, and some women say this makes it difficult for them to order equipment designed for women.

"They told us that we are lucky to have protective equipment, so we continue to deal with compromises," says the nurse, who works in the intensive care department in a hospital in Delhi. She developed a urinary tract infection after not having to urinate for hours. She said that Many other nurses developed skin infections and bruises due to inadequate protective equipment.

Renata Pierro works in the intensive care unit of a hospital in São Paulo, Brazil. She is a founding member of the Brazilian branch of the Union of Intensive Care Workers, "I am 155 cm tall, and I used masks larger than standard for eight to ten hours a day. I have to make some adjustments to be safe."

She adds, "My hair is long, and this complicates the situation, and I have to use first aid materials to install the mask. But some of my friends in other hospitals in Brazil do not even get masks."

"Not only the health sector"

Demands are increasing to provide protective equipment for women, not only in the health sector.

Other women working in scientific fields or in the "rapid intervention" sectors have reported having to use or not use equipment designed for men.

NASA canceled the first space flight designed with a full crew of women in 2019, due to the lack of space crews of appropriate sizes for women.

Jessicamounts, a biologist, told the BBC, commenting on the news:

"How can women represent a full range of career choices for younger generations when we face obstacles over simple issues such as access to the necessary equipment and appropriate clothing?"

His work includes surveying rivers and lakes in all weathers, to monitor and evaluate fisheries, and she says that most of the equipment she used was designed for men.

"It's not just about inconvenience, it's about putting safety at risk. Loose clothing can get caught on moving equipment, and ill-fitting shoes can cause slipping," she adds.

"Shocking Differences"

Teenage taboos, hosted by Karima Kawah and prepared by Mais Baqi.

The episodes

The end of the podcast

Author Caroline Criado-Perez was researching the topic while working on her book, Invisible Women, before the pandemic hit.

I found out that women's data isn't collected so they don't design their own stuff.

"Let us take, for example, the protective jacket against sharp and cutting tools. They do not take into account women's breasts when designing them, which makes women's arteries vulnerable to injury. This means that protective jackets from wounds do not protect women."

When we talk about protective equipment in the health sector, there is not enough data available to know how many women do not pass the fitness examination compared to men. "In the UK, for example, most branches of the NHS do not collect data disaggregated by sex," she says.

"The problem remains unresolved because there is a belief that the equipment is suitable for both sexes and that the women who complain lack training in wearing the equipment properly."

The conditions of the recent epidemic witnessed an increasing number of women complaining about the absence of equipment, but Caroline says, "It is a general problem in the health sector, and it has not received enough attention."

And she added, "Many problems have become the talk of the hour in the circumstances of the recent epidemic, including supplies and protective equipment, but this shocking problem related to the suitability of equipment for women did not lead to measures being taken."

For how long?

In the meantime, Kruti continues to practice meditation and exercise in her temporary residence in order to maintain her positive appearance.

"I always remind myself of what brought me into the care sector in the first place. But how long can I bear this?"