When the New Coronavirus epidemic is seriously raging, wearing a mask is the most direct and effective preventive measure. Everyone should remember to wear a mask when they go out. This not only protects their health and safety, but also is a responsible behavior for others. Therefore, it has become the most demanding commodity in 2020, whether it is ordinary, medical masks, or N95 masks are sold out of stock. So what mask should we wear? The correct posture for wearing a mask? Is it useful to wear other medical masks instead of N95? It has become a new problem that plagues many people. Today, the author has compiled a super-complete mask science, wearing guide, let’s take a look.
1. Classification and selection principles of masks
At present, the most common masks on the market are roughly divided into three categories, namely ordinary masks, medical masks and N95 masks. These three masks play different roles in the prevention of new coronavirus due to their different materials and utility.
1. Ordinary mask
The first is ordinary masks. Cotton masks and activated carbon masks are the most common ordinary masks. The former are mostly made of cotton cloth. The material is soft and comfortable. It can be used multiple times. It protects against droplets and secretions in the air.More It is used to prevent wind and haze in daily life. As for the activated carbon mask, it is composed of two layers of filtering material and face mask, which are divided into filtering and air supply masks, mainly to isolate harmful gases and harmful substances in the air, such as formaldehyde and automobile exhaust. Neither mask can protect against this virus, so you do n’t need to buy it.
2. Medical mask
Medical masks on the market can also be subdivided into disposable medical masks, medical shell masks and medical protective masks. Disposable medical masks are the most common medical masks. They are made of non-woven materials and are mostly blue. You can buy it in a pharmacy. The protection is average. It is more recommended to wear it in public places with less people. Medical surgical masks are more tightly sealed, mostly three layers or more, composed of a blue waterproof layer inside and outside, a filter layer and a comfortable layer of white non-woven fabric, which has better protection against aerosol viruses than once Sexual medical masks can filter more than 90% of the particulate matter, and are generally used by doctors to perform operations, dressing patients to prevent blood and body fluids from being worn. It is more recommended to wear in areas where the epidemic is more serious and when entering sealed, crowded public places.
Medical protective masks are a type of masks that have the highest protection against viruses among medical masks. Most of them are duck-bill shaped and fit the face more closely. It has extremely high particle filtration efficiency and can filter more than 90% of particles in the air less than 2.5 microns. It plays an important role in protecting this new coronavirus, and it is also the closest mask on the market to the N95 protection index. It is more suitable for wearing in hot clinics or medical staff in isolation wards.
3. N95 mask
So what is the N95 mask? The N95 mask is one of the 9 types of anti-particulate masks certified by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. N refers to non-oily particulates in the air, such as droplets generated when a person coughs or speaks. 95 as the name implies It can effectively block 95% of the particles in the air, and N95 is not a specific mask name. As long as it is a mask that meets the N95 production standard, it can be called N95 mask. The N95 mask can mainly prevent droplet infection caused by the splash of blood and body fluids of patients, and can at least block air particles with a diameter of 0.075 to 0.02 microns. It is currently the best protective mask for the new coronavirus. It is more suitable for wearing in public places with high crowd density or confined areas, or for on-site sampling and rescue by medical staff in epidemic areas.
Therefore, for ordinary people in non-epidemic areas, it is not necessary to buy N95 masks. In most cases, the purchase of three medical masks is enough to protect against the outbreak. As of now, the average daily output of medical N95 masks in China is only 600,000, which is far from the national average daily demand, so we should leave N95 to the medical staff who are always fighting on the front line.
2. the correct posture of wearing a mask
Only by grasping the correct way of wearing the mask can you achieve excellent protection against the new coronavirus. However, many people still wear masks by mistake and do not play a protective role. Now let’s take a look at the correct wearing procedure of the mask.
Medical mask wearing posture:
1. First, pay attention to hand hygiene before wearing a mask. It is best to scrub with alcohol cotton pads or wash hands with hand soap and soapy water;
2. When wearing the mask, pay attention to distinguish the front and back sides. Ordinary medical masks, medical surgical masks and medical protective masks are all white comfortable layers close to cotton cloth, and blue waterproof layers are worn upwards;
3. When wearing the mask, your fingertips should be located at the bridge of the nose, and press gently from the inside to the cheeks on both sides until the mask is close to the nose and mouth. It is best to leave no gaps between the edges and face of the mask.
4. Avoid reusing the same mask, and it is recommended to replace the mask for 4-6 hours after wearing it, or replace it immediately when the mask is wet;
5. When removing the mask, try not to touch the front of the mask with your hands. It is safer to remove the mask through the left and right ropes.
N95 mask wearing guide:
1. Still pay attention to clean hands, and check the mask packaging and date of use;
2. Distinguish between the front and the back, light color fits the nose and mouth, dark side wears outward, or holds the mask close to the face and wears the convex side outward;
3. Strictly follow the following wearing steps. When the mask is close to the nose and mouth, first hang the rope, put the rope on, then press the nose clip with both hands and gradually move outward until the mask is close to the nose and mouth, exhale, inhale There will be no leakage. During the wearing of the mask, do not squeeze the mask by hand to prevent the virus outside the mask from being introduced into the inside of the mask, causing hidden infections;
4. Pay attention to the wearing time. N95 masks wear longer than the three medical masks. They can be worn for one day, or they can be removed and reused, but they must be discarded before use.
5. When removing the mask, avoid touching the front with your hands.
Finally, how to dispose of the old masks is also a concern for everyone. It is important to know that the used masks are treated as medical waste, and the treatment is more strict. The following principles are shared with you: wear by healthy people who do not have the risk of new coronavirus Afterwards, the masks can still be handled normally according to the classification of household waste; however, the masks worn by suspected or diagnosed patients should strictly follow the medical waste disposal method for incineration.
The above is the correct choice of medical masks and N95 masks, wearing guide, I hope to help everyone.
