Source ForPressRelease.com

While face shields and safety glasses have been used for decades in many medical and professional fields for face and eye protection, the recent Covid-19 pandemic has shown an increase in cheap face shields and silly-looking mouth shields. And this begs the question – are mouth shields a good substitute for face shields and safety glasses against coronavirus or in general?



The short answer is: Not at all. To illustrate this properly, let’s examine each separately.



Full-face shields



Large classic face shields are the gold standard of eye and facial protection against incoming aerosol particles, dust and dirt, and small debris of most kinds. They can be easily attached to one’s glasses, are fully transparent, and surprisingly lightweight.



That is, unless you’ve got one of the lower-quality cheap face shields sold everywhere these days, which tend to be clumsy, uncomfortable, and less effective.



Face shield safety glasses



Safety glasses are the preferred eye protection method. They are great against potential eye injuries that can occur at home, work, or during sports.



Prevent Blindness America estimates that Americans experience around 125,000 eye injuries at home and around 40,000 sport-related eye injuries every year. With nearly 90% of those being preventable by wearing the appropriate safety eyewear, the benefits of face shield safety glasses are more than clear.



The differences between safety glasses and full-face shields are also easy to see:



• Face shields protect the whole face and not just the eyes.

• Safety glasses offer a more comprehensive protection for the eyes because they are more stable and protect the sides of the eyes.



The two can work very well together as good face shields are typically made to be easily attached to both normal and safety glasses.



As far as the Covid-19 pandemic is concerned, face shields are typically the better choice as they offer protection for the whole face and work well with masks. That being said, safety glasses can also be used with masks to offer eye protection while the mask protects your nose and mouth.



Mouth shields



The increasingly popular mouth shields or chin shields have been seen in every supermarket since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Attached both to the chin and the back of their head or ears, these shields offer a small plastic barrier in front of the mouth, supposedly to stop aerosol water particles from flying around.

Unfortunately, they are as ineffective as they are ridiculous.



Mouth shields offer no eye or nose protection and the mouth protection they give is so minimal that it can be easily ignored. Such chin shields protect neither the wearer nor those around them.



Simply put, there is a reason why such mouth shields have never been widely used in any medical or professional healthcare field before the Covid-19 pandemic. To make matters worse, these pseudo-“face shields” also obfuscate the discussion around the effectiveness of full-face shields against the coronavirus.

Instead of using such chin shields or low-quality cheap face shields, the much better option is to go for a combination of a face mask plus a full-face shield or safety glasses. This would this give you optimal protection against all kinds of viruses, bacteria, and other particles while also protecting those around you.