Surgical Mask for Flu Prevention
Surgical face masks were originally intended to be used by physicians and health care professionals during surgery. The mask is worn to catch the droplets and germs from the health care professional's mouth and nose—to protect the patient. Medical face masks are supposed to protect the person undergoing surgery from germs that could be circulating in the operating room.
Mexico City, April 2009 Other professionals like dentists also use medical face masks. In this case, they are concerned about protecting themselves from maladies like HIV. Additionally, there are simple, inexpensive masks that have a similar appearance to the medical masks. These masks are commonly worn in heavily populated areas in East Asia to help prevent spreading the common cold. Modern surgical masks are made from paper or other non-woven material, and should be discarded after they are used. Do Surgical Face Masks Work?This type of face mask does have its place in prevention. Medical masks do protect the wearer from being splashed in the mouth and nose by body fluids. They also serve as a reminder that you should not touch your eyes, nose or mouth if your hands have been contaminated by viruses or bacteria.In addition, a medical mask can protect others when the wearer coughs or sneezes. However, surgical masks are not designed to protect the wearer from breathing in very small viruses. The masks will trap some of the particles, but, for the most part, they are much less effective than respirator face masks like the n95 face mask or a nano mask . While some degree of protection may be had by using a medical mask, these masks are not recommended by the CDC as being the most effective method of preventing community spread of swine flu , H1N1 or other viruses. You might want to consider using another kind of face mask, one that filters out very small virus particles--like a nano mask or N95 mask. Always combine the use of face masks with other preventive measures like hand washing and social distancing . And make sure you know how to safely use a face mask. You can learn more from this
respirator face masks training video.
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