12 IMPORTANT REMINDERS ABOUT MASKS

There is a lot of commercial price gouging that has started when it comes to hand sanitisers and masks.  Well, I suppose you can’t blame businesses for responding to market demands.  But be wise. 

3M™ 8210V N95 Particulate Respirator

Remember:  Masks are urgently 
needed for health-care providers.  
If you are sick, however, you wear
one to protect those around you.    

Masks are urgently needed for health-care providers.  Currently many people are purchasing and hoarding masks, just in case they might need them.  But we MUST ensure they are available for those working with the infected.  

Furthermore, wearing a mask and imagining it is protecting you from someone who may be infected with COVID-19 is a mistake.  There are many reasons for this.  Here are just twelve reminders:

1.   Most masks are not made of material woven tightly enough to filter out viruses as viruses are electron-microscope small. 

2.   When you are sick and need to venture out, the masks that afford the most protection for those around you must be at least an N95 or N100 mask. – but better to just stay home.

3.   If you wear a mask, it needs to cover the mouth and nose and be uninterruptedly tight around this area.  (For more protection wear wraparound glasses, because your eyes are vulnerable, too)

4.   Most masks are hot to wear.  They trap moisture inside and outside the longer they are worn.  This makes an ideal environment inside the mask for viruses and bacteria trapped inside to multiply as outside they catch and hold contamination. 

5.   Because masks are uncomfortable and hot, people tend to naturally move the mask around on their face (consciously or unconsciously).  They may even pull it away from their face, to let their face breathe or to simply get a breath of fresh air themselves.

6.   Masks may remind us to not touch our faces, eyes or mouth but typically we touch the outside or edges of a mask if we wear one.    

7.   The surfaces of the mask (inside and outside) collect more ‘stuff’ the longer they are worn.  The minute the mask is off it feels so good it is easy to touch your face, eyes or mouth.

8.   Masks typically aren’t made for multiple wearings and can’t be washed.  Therefore, just having one mask is not going to help.  You need to change the masks often depending on how long you’ve worn it and how contaminated the areas are you travelled through.

9.   Most remove or move the masks by the ‘face’ of the mask, again where the outside surface is contaminated.  Resist the temptation.

10.                     To remove a mask properly, remove it by the elastic around the ears.  Do not touch the inside or outside surface of the mask.

11.                     Remember, if you are unwell, it is primarily contaminated by your own breathing.  Disposed of the mask carefully by ensuring the more contaminated area is turned inside.  Throw the mask into a plastic bag (preferably one that is a (zip) sealable bag.  This protects others from the contamination.

12.                     Remember this virus lives longer than most bugs do outside the body.  When an infected person has coughed, sneezed or flushed the toilet, the virus is circulating in droplets in the air.  They lurk on surfaces to be picked up by another who touches their mouth, eyes or breathes the aerated virus. 

We are living in a time when our phones can keep us in contact with others, amuse and educate us.  We can order breakfast, lunch and dinner, access the news and pertinent information anytime.  Even with all the power in your phone, sometimes it is good to put it aside and rest.  It is a novel idea.