Adam K Veron to prevent COVID-19 infection, medical professionals recommend that you should maintain social distancing, wash your hands frequently with soap and also water, and wear face masks to limit the spread of the disease. Since there are quite a few types of face masks, it is important to understand what they are and to what extent they are effective, says Adam K Veron.
Homemade Cloth Face Masks Can Be Effective When Better Alternatives Are Not Available
To overcome the severe shortage of masks, the CDC recommends that people should use homemade masks made from cloth in addition to practicing specified hygiene protocols and physical distancing. It is important to make these masks of multiple layers of fine cloth and to use them, preferably along with face shields for the best protection. You must remove cloth masks carefully so that they do not touch your mouth, nose, or eyes and take care to wash them after every use.
While cloth face masks can be made from commonly available materials and are better than not using any mask at all, the quality may be hard to ensure and provide lesser protection than surgical masks of N95 masks. More importantly, they may induce a false sense of security that can be hazardous because users still need to practice social distancing and good hygiene to protect them, warns Adam K Veron.
Adam K Veron Surgical Masks Are a Good Method of Protecting Yourself
As the name suggests, surgical masks are mainly used by medical professionals to protect themselves from splashes, sprays, and other large droplets of potentially-infectious matter. They are useful in protecting people around the wearer from infecting those around him with infectious respiratory secretions. While the design can vary, typically, they are rectangular and also flat with multiple pleats to ensure a good fit over the mouth and the nose. They usually have cloth ties or elastic bands that can either be tied behind the head or looped around the ears to hold them in place. Some of them have a nose clip to hold them in place better.
N95 Respirators Offer the Best Protection, Observes Adam K Veron
N95 masks are designed to fit more closely on the face of the wearer and their design and also fabric mesh ensures protection against even small droplets of saliva produced by sneezing or coughing. The term N95 means that it filters out 95% of fine particles, including bacteria and also viruses. For N95 masks to be effective, they must fit tightly on the face of the wearer. Since wearers can feel hot wearing these masks, some models have the provision of an exhalation valve; however, these do not protect people around the wearer as effectively. N95 masks are not recommended for children or people with facial hair as the necessary tight seal cannot be usually formed.
Masks are useful when you are in a situation that does not permit you to keep a distance of at least six feet from those around you, such as a supermarket, a pharmacy, or even a doctor’s clinic. Children under the age of two, people, who have respiratory problems, are unconscious, or not able to remove the masks by themselves should not wear masks.