In the past few years, the use of face masks has become a normal trend due to COVID-19. To help prevent the spread of the virus and to protect yourself and your loved ones from this disease. It is necessary to wear a face mask especially when you’re going out to places with many people. There are different types of masks and each of them has different efficiency. Read along to learn more about face masks and what you need to wear.
Cloth Masks
Cloth masks are made from fabric and are reusable. However, they need to have at least 3 layers for them to have better efficiency in filtering the spread of airborne particles. Cloth masks can already provide an ample amount of protection from COVID as long as they are worn properly. Be sure that it fits perfectly on the nose, cheeks, and chin. You could even add a nose wire for a better fit to the face. When using cloth masks, be sure to wash them with warm water and soap after using and dry them properly to kill the germs on them.
Surgical Masks
Surgical masks are made from a combination of paper and plastic material. These are commonly used in medical procedures but today it is already commonly used as protection from COVID-19. This mask can filter out large droplets and sprays that contain microorganisms but is not that much efficient in filtering tiny particles in the air. It is recommended that you wear another mask over a surgical mask to boost its efficiency in providing protection.
Barrier Face Covering
A barrier face covering is worn over the nose and mouth and could provide a certain amount of protection by reducing the particles that you inhale. Even if it provides a significant degree of filtration. It can’t be used as a replacement for surgical and even N95 respirators. Since the main purpose of those respirators is to provide protection to the wearer.
P2 and N95 Respirators
N95, also known as P2 respirators are the masks commonly used by medical front liners. People who are at high risk of exposure to the COVID-19 virus. This type of mask is designed in a way that fits closely to the nose, cheeks, and chin. When wearing a respirator, be sure that it fits snugly to the face to get the most efficient level of protection from COVID-19 and even other airborne diseases.
It could filter out large and tiny particles keeping the wearer safe from the virus. As well as preventing the spread of disease when the wearer is infected. N95 respirators provide about 95% of efficiency in filtering out airborne particles and are the most efficient mask among all other types.
With all those different face masks, you have plenty of options when it comes to choosing what you need to wear. If you’re just going out on regular spaces, you could opt for a cloth mask or even a surgical mask. However, if you’re going to high-risk areas, you need to wear a mask that provides the highest level of protection which is the N95 mask.
