HI Strife .. a drip shield which is aka a drip guard, keeps things from getting messy when you 'drip' into a naked atomizer. As opposed to cartos where you fill it with
juice and wicking feeds to the heating coil or atomizer. And, when you drip with some atomizers. good or bad, you can get some leaking, especially if you go over the recommended drops to drip at any one time (usually its 4-5, but it varies with each atomizer).
You screw your atomizer in then you slip the drip shield over this. Usually there is an o-ring at the top and bottom of the drip shield/guard. This provides a well that protects you from the greasy mess common with dripping, that can develop and can also protect your equipment.
If you are Monkey Mama you may also like to stick two in your nostrils, one in each ear and have several dangling from your lips and preferably with alternating colors. You then put lil strips of beef jerky in each one and lay down and let puppies crawl all over your face. Alternatively you can stand in the middle of an aviary with your arms out and pretend you are Mother Nature.