Face Masks
Assist Lect. Omar Fikret Bahjat
Biology Department
Cihan University-Erbil
The conventional masks that we use which we can easily get form the market cannot protect from the Corona virus when it is used alone, one of the first things that we can do in order to protect ourselves form the infection is to keep our hands clean, most of the people wearing the mask are not combining it with hand hygiene and other preventive measures.
Doctor recommends to use the masks in case of infection, or if someone have developed the symptoms of the infection which includes, cough, fever, or breathing difficulty, and should seek medical care immediately. Wearing the mask without developing these symptoms is not useful since there is no evidence that it can protect people who are not infected with virus in the first place.
The masks are very thin and not designed to prevent viruses from going in, besides these masks they actually don’t fit very tightly around the edge so when you breathe you can actually feel around the edges of the mask the air coming in and going out, so what does that mean?
It means that wearing these masks (surgical masks) can make the public feel little better and safe but it does not mean it is a full proof barrier from the virus.
On the other hand in healthcare settings doctors and nurses who deal with patients who have influenza or who are infected with coronavirus they wear (N95 Respirators) these mask are thicker than the surgical masks which the public use in their daily life as a way of protection form the virus, also these N95 masks are designed to fit very tightly around the nose, cheeks, and chin.
Medical staff are trained to use these masks, they usually fit it tightly to make sure there is no open spaces between the mask and the edges of the face, people who wear these masks have difficulty in breathing because it is thicker than other masks and you will be pushing the air through very thick membrane and that offer protection form the virus.
So wearing a face mask does not mean certain immune from the virus, viruses can be transmitted through eyes, tiny viral particles known as aerosols which can go through the masks. But at the same time face masks are very effective at stopping droplets that can lead to infection by the coronavirus, there are some studies that estimates wearing masks can increase the protection five times versus not wearing the masks at all.