The Risk of Infection During a Face-Down Treatment is Real!

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The Risk of Infection During a Face-Down Treatment is Real!

We randomly swabbed the internal part of the face hole of five different therapy beds, from five different private clinics across Australia.
All swabs were sent to an independent lab for analysis.

Here’s what the lab found on the swabs:

Actual image of the antibiotic resistant Staphylococcus aureus from one of our random swabs. This bacteria can cause a range of mild to severe infections, which can lead to sepsis or death.

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What Kind of Hygiene Covers Were Used on These Beds?

Four out of five beds were using the paper-based head sheets that you’ve probably seen a hundred times before — they have either an x-cut or a cut-out circle in the middle for a client's face. Neither of these options fully cover the inner surface of the face hole, where a client may cough, spit or salivate during therapy. And, if you’ve had any kind of therapy before, you know paper-based head sheets can move and tear during treatment.

Aside from being gross, this can be very dangerous

When you're lying face down for a massage, and the face hole isn’t 100% covered by a fit-for-purpose protection barrier, you're exposed to any bacteria that may be on that surface. Your eyes, nose and mouth are the express lanes for all kinds of bacteria, viruses and diseases. Any surface contact with your face could lead to you falling ill.

A Therapist's Duty of Care to Health and Hygiene

There are five essential steps a therapist should be taking to ensure a client's hygiene during treatment:

Learn more about these five essential steps via our Best Practice Guidelines.

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