Does wearing one of those little masks really protect you from SARS?

[JJWalker]

Or is it just to keep it from going hand into mouth?

 

[MikeO]

I'm under the impression that they don't do sh1t as far as getting the infection goes, but they do prevent you from passing it to others if you have it.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[TheBoyBlunder]

If it's just one of those little surgical masks...probably not. If it's a true gasmask...probably.

 

[Ciber]

It's just a little cloth, i seriously doubt it does anything.

 

[Imdmn04]

depends how many layers it has, some of them has up to 18 microscopic layers.

 

[Ranger X]

I heard SARS can get through because of its size. People either wear it to feel safe or to lessen the possibilities of spreading it to others.

 

[Marshallj]

Whenever I wear those masks, the air seems to go right around them since they don't seal against my face very well. It just escapes past the sides of the mask.

The material may be fine enough to stop tiny particles, but don't think that the seal against your face is going to be good enough that particles can't get past the seal.

 

[0roo0roo]

Sales of face masks are booming amid worldwide concern, and some international airlines have begun handing out masks to passengers alongside headsets and blankets. The 3M company, which produces a common type of respiratory or dust mask known as N-95, has reportedly put its factories to work 24 hours a day to meet demand.

The N-95 mask, which resembles a surgical mask, includes a filter that keeps out 95 percent of particles that are 0.3 microns across or larger. Other types of masks keep a higher percentage of particles at bay, but they are less common.

But surgical masks, commonly used by doctors performing operations, won't do much to prevent infection in wearers.

"They're designed to prevent the exit of germs from the body," said Dr. Don Milton, a lecturer on environmental health at the Harvard School of Public Health. "A surgeon does not want to contaminate a wound with his or her own bacteria and viruses, which may be totally harmless in the surgeon's mouth but very bad for the patient's open tissues."

Even so, Milton added, those infected with SARS should wear surgical masks to avoid infecting people around them, such as family members and hospital personnel. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) agrees.

U.S. health officials are also calling upon hospital workers to wear disposable N-95 masks when they treat patients who may have SARS. The masks, which typically come in light blue and pink, cover much of the face.

But putting them on isn't as simple as it looks, experts said.

The CDC recommends that users undergo "fit testing" to make sure the masks fit tightly against the face. Children and men with beards may not find any masks that fit.

"If there's a gap that you can put your finger in, most of what you're inhaling will come through," Vincent said. "The air takes the path of least resistance."

To make matters worse, it's hard to breathe through a mask, and it can become hot and uncomfortable. "At the end of the day, you're dying to take the thing off," Vincent said.

Barbara Muzzarelli, a registered nurse and infection control expert in El Centro, Calif., said you shouldn't treat a mask as the only possible protection from germs.

 

[0roo0roo]

Sales of face masks are booming amid worldwide concern, and some international airlines have begun handing out masks to passengers alongside headsets and blankets. The 3M company, which produces a common type of respiratory or dust mask known as N-95, has reportedly put its factories to work 24 hours a day to meet demand.

The N-95 mask, which resembles a surgical mask, includes a filter that keeps out 95 percent of particles that are 0.3 microns across or larger. Other types of masks keep a higher percentage of particles at bay, but they are less common.

But surgical masks, commonly used by doctors performing operations, won't do much to prevent infection in wearers.

"They're designed to prevent the exit of germs from the body," said Dr. Don Milton, a lecturer on environmental health at the Harvard School of Public Health. "A surgeon does not want to contaminate a wound with his or her own bacteria and viruses, which may be totally harmless in the surgeon's mouth but very bad for the patient's open tissues."

Even so, Milton added, those infected with SARS should wear surgical masks to avoid infecting people around them, such as family members and hospital personnel. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) agrees.

U.S. health officials are also calling upon hospital workers to wear disposable N-95 masks when they treat patients who may have SARS. The masks, which typically come in light blue and pink, cover much of the face.

But putting them on isn't as simple as it looks, experts said.

The CDC recommends that users undergo "fit testing" to make sure the masks fit tightly against the face. Children and men with beards may not find any masks that fit.

"If there's a gap that you can put your finger in, most of what you're inhaling will come through," Vincent said. "The air takes the path of least resistance."

To make matters worse, it's hard to breathe through a mask, and it can become hot and uncomfortable. "At the end of the day, you're dying to take the thing off," Vincent said.

Barbara Muzzarelli, a registered nurse and infection control expert in El Centro, Calif., said you shouldn't treat a mask as the only possible protection from germs.