By simply placing it on the end of your irrigation syringe instead of a needle
Zerowet was born of a common experience and a simple idea. For me, an emergency physician, laceration repair was routine in nearly every shift. This meant high-pressure irrigation with a syringe and needle (or IV catheter, I don't even remember!) to generate the optimal 8-12 psi which is recommended by essentially all leading authorities and literature. Unfortunately, this also meant showering myself with splashing irrigation fluid, contaminated with blood. This was in the mid-eighties, when the first case reports of HIV seroconversions from needlesticks and mucocutaneous splashes were appearing in the MMWR. By sheer bad luck, these people were infected with a universally fatal disease! Back then, we all suffered occasional needlesticks, there were no needleless systems, no sheaths, no automatic, spring-retracting IV's. We got splashed so much, it was taken for granted! You couldn't depend on having goggles, masks, and impermeable gowns, because there were no OSHA guidelines. And when I learned that over 200 healthcare workers died each year from occupationally acquired Hepatitis B, the problem became even more serious (we didn't know about Hepatitis C, D, E, etc., etc., etc.) Then, one night, while suffering through the irrigation of a drunk motorcyclist's scalp laceration, I decided there must be a better way. The final result is the ZEROWET SPLASHIELD.
By simply placing it on the end of your irrigation syringe instead of a needle (or IV catheter), and holding it lightly on the skin, you can irrigate with maximal force, see what you're doing, and keep your face absolutely clean! (We never made that claim until studies in the Annals of Emergency Medicine [10/93] and the Journal of Emergency Nursing [8/93] both demonstrated absolute, complete facial protection.) And the ZEROWET SPLASHIELD is not just for small cuts. It works for virtually any wound, anywhere, of any size! (although injuries requiring repair in the OR are typically too big!) And besides being safer, easier, faster, friendlier, and more effective, it's also cheaper than the average IV catheter!
If you're not using the ZEROWET SPLASHIELD, do you think you may be missing something? (Or, perhaps you're really catching something.)
Zerowet, Inc., P O Box 4375, Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA 90274. Tel: 310-544-1600; Fax: 310-544-4411.
