7.2 Slit lamp shield (home-made)
Slit-lamp examination: physical barrier between doctors and patients is advisable to prevent droplet transmission. Commercially available breath shields are available, but producing home-made shields is not difficult. The edges of the shield should be smoothened with a sandpaper polisher should it be too rough or sharp. The size of the shield should not be too small in which protection effect will be compromised; or too large in which manipulation of the slit-lamp equipment will become difficult. The size of an A3 size paper or one that is slightly larger would be quite optimal and recommended. The location of the hole is also important. We want the upper portion to be larger to provide more protection while the lower portion to be smaller to allow easier access to slit-lamp manipulation. It should be cleaned and disinfected regularly.
- Material: Should be highly transparent to avoid view blocking, rigid enough not to collapse, and thin enough to be cut into desired shape. A clear polyvinyl chloride document holder is a good choice.
- Size: A3-sized transparent plastic sheet with round corners and a round hole of 64 mm (fit for Haag-Streit models)
- Tool: Round cutter or simple cutter
- Procedures (A to C): The eye piece and the microscope modules of the slit-lamp are carefully dissembled. The plastic sheet is fit into the microscope module through the circular hole. The two modules are finally resembled.
