Masks

Docs!

Wear a mask scientifically. Nothing else will save you !!!!!

Dr Mahesh Holeyannavar MD FPCC

Wearing a STANDARD mask properly is of utmost importance in today’s situation.

Here are some key observations in scientific studies

1. N95 MASK ( STANDARD ONE) SEEMS TO DO THE JOB EFFECTIVELY.
AGAINST THE VIRUS WHEN CONVENTIONAL BREATHING, COUGH, SNEEZE ETC

2. COUGHING AND SNEEZING THROWS DROPLETS AT ALMOST SAME SPEED. WE SHOULD BE CAREFUL! COUGH IS ACTUALLY IS THE MOST POTENT SPREADER

3. POORLY FIT N95 CAN DRASTICALLY REDUCE FILTRATION EFFICIENCY TO 30%. YOUR N95 BECOMES N30 IF U WEAR LOOSELY. IT’S ALWAYS ABOUT TECHNIQUE YOU SHOULD FOLLOW. BETTER TO WEAR IN FRONT OF A MIRROR.

Here are some key observations in scientific studies

● WASHING WILL MAKE N95 TO N70. STERLISER N60. BETTER TO
DISCARD OR LET IT DRY FOR 48 HRS

● PRESENTLY SURGICAL MASKS PROVIDE ABSOLUTELY NO PROTECTION WHATSOEVER. PLEASE DO NOT WEAR IT ALONE IN HOSPITALS. SAME WITH ALL SORTS OF MASKS AVAILABLE IN MARKET.

● MULTIPLE LAYERS OF SURGICAL MASKS, (2-3 MASKS WORN SIMULTANEOUSLY )WILL NOT IMPROVE FILTRATION EFFECTIVELY. PLEASE DO NOT USE IT AS ALTERNATIVE.

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MASK + N95 MIGHT BE OK, BUT NOT NEEDED.

HAND WOVEN COTTON SURGICAL MASK PROVIDE VIRTUALLY NO PROTECTION. NO MATTER HOW MANY LAYERS ARE PUT ON.

FACE SHIELD IS THE BEST ADD-ON FOR CLOSE NURSING, AEROSOL GENERATING PROCEDURES. IT CAN PROTECT APPOXIMATELY 90% OF AEROSOL BLASTS AT FACE.

WEARING A SPECTACLE OR PROTECTION GOGGLES WILL HAVE POSITIVE COMPOUND EFFECT IN PROTECTION

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HOW TO WEAR N95 masks

WASH YOUR HANDS FIRST!

note:

N95 masks : IDEAL STANDARDS

N95 (NIOSH-42C FR84) USA FFP2 (EN 149-2001) EUROPE KN95 (GB2626-20 06) CHINA

The Receiver

Receiver is the mask wearer ( healthcare personnel) should wear N95 Mask.

The pressure drop is the indicator of breathing discomfort . N95 are bound to produce some resistance to breathing.

The breathing discomfort ( DUE TO pressure drop) is almost the same if you are wearing a mask with a gap and tightly fit. But with gap n95 , effectivity drops to 30%. Hence wearing correct technique is utmost important.

FFP2 n95 masks are slightly comfortable in normal breathing vs NIOSH n95 or KN95 masks. But at higher breathing rates they all make similar breathing discomfort. But mostly NIOSH mask is the standard

The reciever

If you are breathing with utmost comfort, either you are wearing a mask completely wrong or the mask is fake one!

Surgical masks if worn tightly can show resistance while exhaling similar to n95 masks. This means you should not rely on a common understanding that if you are unable to blow well, your mask is good.

Always understand how easy you are breathing while inhaling air. If it is too comfortable, please discard the mask.

The increased flow rate will not drastically change the breathability. You might feel slight difficulty almost in every instance. So Not to worry

Avoid masks with exhalation valves.

The Patient : all positive cases

Remember whatever protection we take, if we don’t control the source /spreader, we can never achieve results

This person is at the pinnacle of responsibilities. He should wear a perfectly fitting n95 always. The cough can shoot drops upto 8 feet also. He will keep contaminating the environment 24/7.

Never compromise his mask etiquettes.
He should Never wear a mask with an exhalation valve.

The patient

Strict no to multilayer mask, commercial mask etc. Wearing a face shield will help. They will protect us Wearing goggles will help.
He should not touch mask after wearing

Frequent hand washing is the key.

Bottom Line: How to Disinfect N95 Masks

Leaving masks out to dry should disinfect them from the coronavirus, SARS, and influenza A in under 48 hours. 72 hours would be even more conservative.