No more pain: Developing skin-friendly adhesives for healthcare professionals

Neal Carty, business director, North America, and senior director, global R&D, Avery Dennison Medical, describes the role of skin-friendly adhesive in a new type of N95 Filtering Facepiece Respirator (FFR).

None of the “Ps” in Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) are supposed to stand for “pain,” but unfortunately that is exactly what some N95 FFRs are causing for many healthcare professionals. Nurses, physicians and other providers have reported rashes and other skin trauma following long wear times in tight-fitting N95 half-mask FFRs.

As the medical device industry responds to PPE requirements, and healthcare institutions look to build up better stockpiles, new approaches to FFRs promise to offer clinicians greater choice and comfort. One such development is an N95 FFR that adheres directly to the user’s face. This design eliminates the need for elastic bands to pull the device against the face. Instead, the respirator conforms to the face of each individual end user, secured around the nose and mouth with a skin-friendly adhesive.

For any N95 FFR to properly protect the wearer, there can be no leakage around the edge of the respirator. To be certified by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), these respirators must be proven to offer protection from particulate materials, including common bacteria and submicron particles, with at least 95 percent efficiency.

For a self-adhesive N95 FFR, it is critical for the adhesive system to provide an effective seal boundary. The right double-coated adhesive tape enables this seal integrity. One side of the tape carries an aggressive adhesive designed to irreversibly bond to the FFR filtering material, typically a polypropylene Spunbond Meltblown Spunbond (SMS) nonwoven. The other side carries a gentle adhesive designed to adhere the FFR to the wearer’s skin, where it can remain comfortably and securely in place for several hours, if needed.

Of course, with PPE, what goes on must come off. When the user is finished with the FFR, he or she must be able to remove it easily, with minimal discomfort. The skin-facing adhesive used in the FFR must offer gentle peel adhesion for atraumatic removal.

In conclusion, the medical device industry is working to offer healthcare professionals better PPE options. Skin-friendly adhesives play a key role in half-mask N95 FFRs that create a gentle-but-secure protective boundary on the user’s face.