Are masks really useless? Most of those for sale are without air filters, do not cover the face sufficiently and leave the eyes exposed. They are created with the aim of protecting the patient in the operating room, and not vice versa. All true, very true. But… wearing such a mask is not completely useless!
Suffice it to consider that each of us touches his face on average 23 times per hour. With a mask on you don't put your hands to your mouth, you don't rub your nose, you remember not to rub your eyes. In this sense, even the devices considered unsafe could reduce the risk of contracting the infection through the splashes of saliva released by coughing and sneezing. It is a question, we repeat, of partial and absolutely uncertain protection. But it would certainly prevent at least the most macroscopic droplets from being scattered around.
They do not serve to protect. They serve not to infect. And last but not least, you should also know how to use them!
How to properly wear, remove and dispose of a mask?
It is important to follow some rules for wearing, removing and disposing of a mask correctly. Otherwise this device, used to reduce the risk of contagion, "instead of protecting us it can become a source of infection due to the germs that could settle on it".
The World Health Organization (WHO) explains this in a video tutorial published on its website.
1. Before putting on a face mask, clean your hands with a disinfectant alcohol-based or with soap and water
2. When covering the mouth and nose, make sure there is no gap between the face and the mask
3. Avoid touching the mask while using it and, if necessary, clean your hands first with an alcohol-based cleaner or soap and water.
4. Replace the mask with a new one as soon as it is wet and do not reuse disposable ones
5. To remove the bezel: remove it from behind (without touching the front); immediately throw it in a closed container; clean your hands with an alcohol-based cleaner or soap and water
In addition, attention: it is not useful to wear several overlapping masks.
Hand washing is measure Number 1
"The WHO recommends using the protective mask only if you suspect you have contracted the new Coronavirus and symptoms such as coughing or sneezing occur, or if we are taking care of a person with suspected new Coronavirus infection", reads the website of the Ministry of Health.
And, above all, the use of the mask must absolutely be combined with other respiratory and hand hygiene measures, which always remain the number 1 measure to reduce the possibility of contagion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrvFrH_npQI&feature=emb_title
So in summary, wash your hands frequently with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds on both sides (when unable to do so, use alcohol-based hand sanitizers). Cough or sneeze into a tissue or cover your nose and mouth in the crook of your elbow.
Furthermore, you must not touch ears, mouth, hair, eyes and nose with your hands, handshakes, kisses, hugs must be avoided and a distance of one meter between people must be kept. Also very useful not to drink in used glasses and bottles.
After all this comes the mask. WHO recommends using them only if you suspect you have contracted the new Coronavirus and symptoms such as coughing or sneezing occur, or if we are caring for a person with suspected new Coronavirus infection.
Finally, the rational use of masks is important to avoid unnecessary waste of precious resources. The now unobtainable FFP3 are used by doctors in close contact with Covid19, let's leave them to them!
We therefore join the appeal launched by a pediatrician on Facebook:
“If you have any stocks at this historical moment, it would be a civil and very important gesture to GIVE them to hospitals. They are your salvation, you can be theirs. Do not keep them in the drawer ”, explains Doctress Carla Tomasini.
Use of the mask in the general population. It is not a 100% safe measure to avoid contagion, especially ...
Posted by Pediatra Carla on Tuesday, March 10, 2020
Sources: WHO, Ministry of Health
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