There are mainly two categories of discount medical supplies that are provided by medical supply stores and online medical supply companies. The categories include durable medical equipment and disposable medical supplies. Durable medical equipment includes items that are meant for long-term use and include things that can be used in any healthcare facility or for medical care at home. Some common types of durable items include a wheelchair, walker, hospital bed, prosthesis, orthotics, and other equipment used to support patients.

Disposable medical supplies are items that are discarded after use. Like durable items, disposable medical supplies are used by professional care facilities like hospitals and for at-home medical care. That said, let’s take an in-depth look at some commonly used disposable items.

First aid medical supplies

These medical supplies include everything you need in the event of an emergency to provide immediate assistance to yourself or the person in need. Common first aid supplies include:

• Bandages

A bandage is essentially a piece of fabric that can be used to cover wounds, keep dressings intact, control bleeding, or restrict the movement of a body part. Some common types of bandages include cloth medical tape, compression bandages, elastic roll bandages, and Unna boots.

• Dressing

Wound dressing materials are those that come in direct contact with an exposed wound to help it heal and possibly prevent any further issues and complications. Different types of dressings are used depending on the type of wound, and they all focus on keeping the wounds clean and away from contamination. Some popular types include burn, absorbent foam, transparent, hydrocolloid, island, and non-adherent dressings.

• Gauze

Medical gauze is a light fabric applied over wounds after surgery or for healing a deep wound. They are commonly made from the fibers of cotton, rayon, polyester, or a blend of these fibers. Some common gauze products include abdominal pad dressings, absorbent foam, disposable eye pads, gauze pads, gauze rolls, lap sponges, sterile gauze and sponges, and X-Ray detectable gauze.

• Medical applicators

A primary tool of all physicians, they are used for everything from wound care solutions to forensic applications. Some popular applicator types include flu swabs, forensic applicators, wood applicators, wound care applicators, OB/GYN applicators, and cotton-tipped applicators.

Disposable apparel

Disposable apparels are a type of wearables that can be used by both healthcare staff and patients only once and need to be thrown away after usage. These apparels ensure the safety of not just patients but doctors too while performing routine exams or surgery.

Mentioned below are some frequently used disposable apparel:

• Coveralls

Disposable coveralls are a very important protective clothing item used in a surgical procedure, maternity wards, and in all places where the chances of exposure to contaminants are high. Coveralls are specially designed to provide total protection from head to toe and are equipped with a zipped front closure.

• Exam gowns

Using exam gowns is a must to make sure that patients remain comfortable during their examination. They are mostly prepared from non-woven material, so they don’t get damaged when wet.

• Face masks

Medical masks or surgical masks are very regularly used by physicians to prevent the spreading of infection. Several types of face masks are available to perform a routine or special surgery. They are essential personal protective equipment (PPE) that can be worn by people to lower the chances of spreading airborne diseases. People usually wear them during flu season so they do not infect others or get infected themselves. However, it is important to know that they are not made to protect the user from inhaling airborne bacteria or pathogens, and are not as effective as respirators, such as an N95 mask.

• Gloves

They are another very important personal protective equipment that is used to protect medical professionals and patients from the spread of infection during any medical procedure or examinations. Gloves are a crucial part of any infection-control strategy and are supposed to be discarded immediately after use. Different types of medical gloves include surgical gloves, examination gloves, and some special gloves like chemotherapy gloves for handling specific patients.

• Shoe covers

Disposable shoe covers greatly help in maintaining a sterile environment and also eliminate the risk of contamination. They are yet another form of personal protective equipment that is widely used in the medical, chemical, industrial, laboratory, and emergency environments.

Benefits of using disposable medical supplies

It has been a long-standing debate in the medical world whether reusable medical supplies and equipment are better than the ones that are disposable. For those who do not know, reusable medical equipment includes devices that are used repeatedly after cleaning, disinfecting, and sterilizing. Since you already know what disposable medical supplies are, let’s look at some of their benefits.

• They are not contaminated
  Using disposable equipment ensures that physicians are using a fresh set of equipment for a new surgery. Fresh equipment simply means it is not contaminated before the surgery is performed. These equipment are pre-sterilized, so they don’t need to go through a decontamination or sterilization process, which also saves the hospital’s money.
• They can be traced
  Since disposables are used only once, it is easier to account for all pieces of inventory. One can also trace them back to the manufacturing company to prevent any issues and inconsistencies. In the case of reusable equipment, one can’t trace the cleanliness of the item since it is disinfected after the use and kept in storage units.
• Lowers the risk of cross-contamination
  For any healthcare facility, lowering the risk of spreading any kind of disease is the number one priority. Reusable tools generally carry a degree of risk for spreading infection far more than one-time-use devices. Infected instruments can easily spread harmful bacteria or viruses, risking the lives of patients being treated. Since disposables are used only once, the risk of cross-contamination between patients is almost eliminated.
• Less harmful to the environment
  This is a highly debated topic when it comes to using disposable medical supplies. Yes, using disposable supplies indeed results in an increase of biomedical waste. However, reusable instruments have different environmental issues. Reusable tools demand a high degree of decontamination and sterilization. This process uses huge amounts of water, detergents, chemical disinfectants, exclusive cleaning equipment, and steam. Also, the detergent and disinfectants used in this process pose severe ecological concerns, and the electricity required in the process is costly as well.