infection prevention research

[harmonikadave]

I am fortunate to have a casual job playing accordion in a hospital setting. in these times of heightened awareness of infection prevention i'm being asked to play a keyboard instead (a poor substitute for many reasons, not least of which is my left hand skill level). the thinking is that the accordion will breathe in contaminated air and then potentially breathe it out again in another location thus spreading infection. my question is does anyone know if there has been any research on this phenomenon?
have thought about applying some masking. shouldn't be too hard for the treble side but not sure how to properly seal around the bass?
cheers dave

 

[Dingo40]

Harmonicadave,
This is just another unexpected consequence of the current pandemic.
I can see their point.
Now, the accordion will work just as well on recycled air as "fresh". You could enclosure the instrument in a big plastic bag like a wheelie-bin liner and have access via elastic cuff arm holes
( like they have in laboratories and for humicribs).
In this way, you would be playing only recycled air!?
On the other hand, the keyboard could be less hassle!?

 

[harmonikadave]

hi dingo40, thanks for your rapid response. this is a good idea. i will experiment with this and see how i go. thank you. cheers dave

 

[JerryPH]

Well, another option, just ask the hospital to show you areas to play in that are low risk... that would also be a lot safer for you too, after all, your own breathing does the exact same thing as that accordion, even with a mask, as most don't really protect you from breathing in out "contaminated air".

 

[Zevy]

I am fortunate to have a casual job playing accordion in a hospital setting. in these times of heightened awareness of infection prevention i'm being asked to play a keyboard instead (a poor substitute for many reasons, not least of which is my left hand skill level). the thinking is that the accordion will breathe in contaminated air and then potentially breathe it out again in another location thus spreading infection. my question is does anyone know if there has been any research on this phenomenon?
have thought about applying some masking. shouldn't be too hard for the treble side but not sure how to properly seal around the bass?
cheers dave

IMHO this borders on the ridiculous. You can explain to the powers that may be that you must close the bellows when you finish playing, thus expelling whatever "contaminated air" back into the room where you are playing. I don't think they question you about the reeds, leathers and bellows "storing" said contaminated air.
Good luck!

 

[Dingo40]

Zevy,
...You can explain to the powers...
Love your optimism, Zevy!??

 

[Waldo]

Get half a dozen of whatever masks the staff is wearing and tape them to several strategic locations on the box. They'll never now if the air is being filtered or not (they don't work, anyway. It's all theater).

Press on,
Waldo

 

[Mr Mark]

Get half a dozen of whatever masks the staff is wearing and tape them to several strategic locations on the box. They'll never now if the air is being filtered or not (they don't work, anyway. It's all theater).

Press on,
Waldo

Modify and install inside accordionly.

 

[Dingo40]

Theyll be more convincing if prominently on display I think ?

 

[Glenn]

Explain that your accordion, due to its design, actually traps covid droplets. Only when you leave the hospital do you empty the droplets before a full decontamination cycle. As they appear to be ignorant with regards to accordions, they may well accept your story.

Otherwise find another hospital and let them benefit from your time and effort and the healing properties of your playing to those unfortunate enough to be sick and in need of help.

 

[jozz]

I doubt there will ever be field research about the supposed additional spread of virusses and accordions.

Didn't the Scots ban pipe bands because of certain research?

Anyway, it's easy enough to line the inside of your bass outerplate with medical filters, as well as the inside of your grille?

 

[Glug]

Or, install a UV light inside the accordion and explain you're a decontamination service.

 

[Giovanni]

in my honest opinion stay away and stay safe ..............its not worth the risk

 

[Dingo40]

Of course, this is an ideal situation for using a Roland Rx set to no bellows movement!??

 

[harmonikadave]

thanks everyone for your thoughts(both serious and humorous). i do play in open public areas of the hospital, which are lower risk, but a big part of the job is playing bedside. this is where it is possible to really reach a patient and take them away from hospital in their mind for a short while. staff are all wearing n95 masks which seal pretty strongly to your face. we also wear face sheilds if we are going to sing. the big all encompassing plastic bag idea from dingo40 is still not working for me. will keep trying that. also thanks waldo w and mr mark, for the mask attachment suggestions. this seems like it could work. am slightly concerned about air getting in/out via the gaps around the bass buttons. am yet to venture into the electronic accordion field. the bellows are what make our instrument so unique and great and i can't imagine playing without a functioning bellows. will keep on with the masks and bag and see what i come up with. thanks again. cheers dave

 

[Waldo]

3M 8511 Particulate Respirator N95 instructional insert reads, in part: "Use For; Non-harmful dusts and certain particles encountered during sanding projects (bare wood, non-lead painted surfaces, or drywall), sweeping, installation of fiberglass insulation; pollen and mold spores** and non-harmful dusts encountered during outdoor activities such as: gardening, cutting firewood, raking and mowing. Always use in well-ventilated areas."

"Do Not Use For: Any toxic or harmful substance (Viruses, my addition) such as lead and asbestos***."

3M N95 masks filter PARTICLES down to the 0.3 micron size. Unfortunately, viruses run in the 0.1- 0.02 micron range. Much smaller than the filtration matrix. Surgeons wear face masks in order to prevent contamination of the PATIENT by the surgeons spittle ejected during speaking, not to protect the doctors. I'm ignoring the fact that they leak (a lot, proven, not my opinion) around the face/mask juncture (exacerbated by facial hair of any length). Fact is, most people haven't a clue as to the effectiveness of the various respiratory protections available. If you really want to protect the patients and everyone else around you, a Full Face Respirator (rubber "gas mask" style with view window and replaceable cartridge filters) fitted with a Nano Particulate Filter AND Fit Tested to the wearer. Or a Positive Pressure Supplied Air Respirator (SCBA) such as used by firefighters and Haz-Mat responders. I'm pretty sure they don't make FFR's or SCBA's to fit accordions.
The majority of masks sold on the internet (and over the counter) are made of cloth and more harmful (thinking they are protected) for the user than helpful. They don't even make it into the "micron" filtration range.

Press on regardless,
Waldo

 

[Tom]

Sang straight through the N95 Vog mask my last 2 events and will do so for Christmas tunes this month. I suppose it reduces the volume which may be a good thing in my case ?. Hope I don't get (or spread) covid. Not so worried about the accordion.

 

[AccordionUprising]

I doubt there will ever be field research about the supposed additional spread of virusses and accordions.

Didn't the Scots ban pipe bands because of certain research?

Anyway, it's easy enough to line the inside of your bass outerplate with medical filters, as well as the inside of your grille?

There was research on how the smoking-ban in pubs effected the insides of accordions.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1995492/

For researchers, "Look at the vents in the air conditioning" seems like it would be more fruitful in a hospital. Testing for airborne virus in the accordion would be harder I assume. Academically interesting to know if airborne virus can survive in a container for long. A few blows of the bellows outdoors after a gig must be like an hour's circulation in a closed room? I can imagine playing in a "high covid" space and immediately moving to one with unprotected vulnerable people could spread a virus. I'd be way more worried about people breathing while walking between areas, and air circulation and filtration, than the little air an accordion could carry around.

If the virus is in the air to be "breathed" by an accordion, they've got worse ventilation problems than I'd feel safe going near. Moving from a high-covid area of the hospital to one where there's uninfected or imune-compromised people I'd expect pretty serious decontamination. Weird question that could probably distract or amuse an infectious disease expert with better things to do.

Personally I'd ask myself, "Is it safe for me to visit if they're worried about my accordion?" And if somebody at a hospital asks me to stand on my head, I'm not gonna make their day worse by arguing. They might have seen hundreds of people die from this disease. I'd ask if I could do anything with my music to help, and do what they say.

 

[Waldo]

Nice link, AU.
Back when they started flying pressurized aircraft commercially, engineers were dumfounded by the need to increase the pressure regulators several times what they calculated was necessary. Over time they had to decrease the pressure until it finally settled out where they originally figured it should be. In order to determine what had happened, they pulled several aircraft from service and dissembled them. The findings? Tar and nicotine in the passenger's cigarette smoke had sealed up all the minute leaks (panel junctures and rivet holes) in the structure that were letting the pressurized air escape.
Same observation the accordion cleaners had.
Conclusion: Don't smoke! And don't let your accordion smoke either.

Press on (if you can),
Waldo

 

[jozz]

i found this: