Clear up your patients’ confusion about which masks work best

Clear up your patients’ confusion about which masks work best

The science is really clear on this—that masks are an important way that we can all slow down and prevent the spread of COVID-19,” said Preeti Malani, MD, chief health officer and professor of medicine in the infectious diseases division at the University of Michigan. Dr. Malani is also associate editor of JAMA.To get more news about Quality Medical Mask, you can visit tnkme.com official website.

During a time where cases are surging, it’s essential to practice physical distancing and avoid gatherings, “but basically anytime you’re with anyone not in your immediate household or in any public space when you’ve left your house, we should be wearing a mask,” said Dr. Malani. “It should be part of our uniform, like you would wear shoes.”

“It’s just become something that people have gotten used to. At the same time, there are people who don’t want to wear masks and science is not necessarily guiding that, though,” she said. “The science is clear on this—that masks are really the most important thing we can do right now while we wait for the vaccine to be widely available.”

Because SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted predominantly by respiratory droplets generated when people talk, breathe, sneeze or cough, the CDC recommends community use of masks. With this new guidance from the CDC, Dr. Malani offered advice on choosing the right mask to stop the spread of COVID-19.The use of multilayer cloth masks can block 50–70% of fine droplets and particles. They can also limit the forward spread of droplets and particles that are not captured, notes the CDC. In fact, upwards of 80% blockage has been achieved with cloth masks in some studies, which is about on par with surgical masks as barriers for source control.

Other materials, such as silk masks, may help repel moist droplets. They may also reduce fabric wetting, which can help maintain breathability and comfort for the wearer.

“There was a situation on our campus where people were blowing out candles through the mask that was given to the students and were saying, ‘Well, see this is a bad mask,’” said Dr. Malani. However, “the droplets of viruses are different. Just because you can blow through the mask doesn’t mean it’s not useful.Some materials can also enhance filtering effectiveness by generating “triboelectric charge,” which is a form of static electricity, says the CDC. This enhances capture of charged particles. While Dr. Malani wears a surgical mask all day at work, she emphasized the need to “change those out every day.”

Medical masks are “disposable—they’re not meant to use over time,” she said. “What I’ll do is I’ll wear an old one in and then I’ll toss it out and put the new one on as they hand it to me.”