Important edits below
It’s April 4, 2020 and the entirety of the United States is being told they should wear masks when they go in public. Does this make sense? Will this help decrease the spread of coronavirus? There are many papers out there published on whether or not masks helped during other pandemics and there are smarter people than me that can tell you the exact particle size that a mask will defend against. The purpose of this post is to create a simple way for people to understand what masks/face coverings and gloves do and don’t do. It all boils down to using them appropriately.
Masks/Face Coverings
It’s important to understand the difference between different masks available and cloth face coverings so you know what you need and what to expect. In general, wearing a mask or face covering does not necessarily prevent you from getting sick so I worry this will give people a false sense of security. The reason doctors wear masks is to protect their patients and sometimes themselves, depending on the situation. During this pandemic, masks used by medical professionals should be saved for medical professionals.
- N95: These are masks that prevent 95% of particles from getting through. While they protect healthcare workers from breathing in airborne pathogens, you may also see these on workers who are exposed to other aerosolized particles. These are not necessary for anyone going to the grocery store and should be strictly saved for healthcare workers taking care of COVID patients. Furthermore, they require a trained professional to provide a Fit Test before they can be adequately used.
- Surgical mask: These masks are not tightly fitted and do not prevent the wearer from getting sick with small viruses. They can, however, prevent the wearer from spreading viruses. Therefore, if wearing one of these masks, it’s important to continue social distancing and hand washing.
- Face coverings: These are homemade cloth scarves, bandannas or masks. Do they keep viruses out? Somewhat. Can they keep viruses in? Also somewhat. What they can do is create a barrier to the particles that carry the virus when someone talks, coughs or sneezes. More importantly though, to prevent an airborne particle that may contain virus from landing on yourself or someone else, maintain social distancing and always cough or sneeze into your elbow.
Do’s and Don’ts for masks (of any kind)
This cannot be overstated enough, if everyone keeps their distance in public we are unlikely to spread the virus through the air. If you choose to wear a covering in public, here are the do’s and don’ts.
- Do wash your hands before putting on a mask.
- Don’t touch your face or constantly adjust your mask as this is a great way to get sick or contaminate your mask.
- Do make sure your mask covers your nose and mouth the entire time you are in public.
- Don’t touch your eyes even while you are wearing a mask or face covering. Eye glasses are a good idea if you have them to protect your eyes.
- Do remove your mask from the ear loops. Do not touch the outside where virus particles are trapped or put it down somewhere you don’t want virus particles transferred to.
- Do wash your hands after removing your mask as the outside may be contaminated. If you are using a cloth mask or face covering, wash it before reusing it.
- Don’t use an N95 if you are not a healthcare worker. If you require an N95 in your place of work, do not touch the inside or outside and store it properly. Always perform the fit test before exposure occurs.
Warning: do not put a mask on a child under the age of 2 years old.
Gloves
I see a lot of people wearing gloves in public and I have certainly felt this need as well. The reason? It is possible to pick up COVID-19 by touching a surface contaminated with virus-containing particles and touching your face. HOWEVER, wearing gloves and touching every surface and then touching your wallet and then touching your face or removing your mask is basically like not wearing any gloves at all. Healthcare workers wear gloves to protect themselves and their patients. But they dispose of their gloves before ever touching any non-sterile surface or another patient to prevent cross contamination. So if you choose to wear gloves, follow the do’s and don’ts.
Do’s and Don’ts for gloves
- Do wash your hands before putting gloves on.
- Don’t touch your face even if wearing gloves.
- Do be aware that your gloves can get contaminated just as your hands can.
- Don’t touch anyone else (or your face) if your gloved hands have touched surfaces.
- Do remove and dispose of your gloves properly and wash your hands or use sanitizer immediately after removal.
- DON’T TOUCH YOUR FACE
The lesson from this should be clear, maintain social distance if you must go out, cough or sneeze into your elbow, wash your hands regularly, and of course don’t touch your face. If you wear a mask, remember to avoid adjusting it or touching it and remember it is likely protecting those around you more than it is protecting you so don’t let your guard down. Good luck out there!
Edit 5/6/20: My how quickly things have changed. We are now mandated by local governments, as well as store owners, to wear masks while in public. If everyone does this, the amount of virus in the community drops significantly, protecting everyone. Cotton or fabric masks work fine to trap droplets containing coronavirus so they don’t travel as far. Less droplets in the air means less droplets on the surfaces we touch. Furthermore, if everyone is wearing a mask, there is less likelihood flying droplets will infect someone through the air. When this blog was originally published, mask wearing was optional and it was important for everyone to know what it meant if you wore a mask and no one else did. There was still a high chance you could become infected. The graphic above drives this point home. (I wish I could attribute it, it’s going around social media and I don’t know who made it.) What still remains are the Do’s and Don’ts of wearing a mask as stated above. Don’t forget about good hand washing, not touching your face, coughing or sneezing into your elbow, and staying home while sick.