The effectiveness of respirators

Surgical mask are less effective in protection when compared to N95 respirators which are well designed and suited for to filter off infectious particles in a more stringent way.

Healthcare providers are more in use of the N95 respirators because they offer better protection than the surgical masks since these people are much closer to the critically ill patients with Corona virus.

It is important that you know this, surgical mask are not reusable and you are expected to discard it after usage.

Is the usage of mask enough to protect against Corona virus?

The answer is an emphatic no! The use of sanitizer and washing of hands with soap and running water goes a long way to ensure you do not get infected.

Another's reason why you are advised to wear face mask is to reduce and minimize hand contact with your face, nose and mouth.

When you cough, ensure to use a disposable handkerchief or tissue paper.

You can as well cough into a flexed elbow rather than coughing into your hands. Wash your hands under a running water and not inside a bowl of water.

Wrong practice by people when washing hands

It a common practice by people to use their hands to open a tap water and after still use the washed hands to close the tap, this is very wrong.

Remember your hands were dirty when you opened the tap and obviously you must have deposited some germs or virus on the tap key.

The right thing to do is to call someone whose hands is clean to assist you in opening the tap.

In the absence of anyone, what you do is to open the tap and wash both your hands and the tap lock very well before locking it.

Lastly, we will end by describing the health Implications of using nose mask wrongly and for a very long time.

Health implications of using mask for a prolonged time

Truth be told, the surgical masks or respirators are mainly for health professionals and not for general or public use.

As a human, you are meant to breathe freely without any form of air resistance.

In a situation where you're unable to breathe freely for a very long time due to air resistance offered by the surgical nose mask definitely there will be increased accumulation of carbon dioxide which you are meant to breathe out and reduced intake of oxygen.

Increase accumulation of carbon dioxide ultimately increases the level of carbon dioxide in the body system leading to a condition known as respiratory acidosis where you have reduce pH (increase in acidity) of the blood.

Increased acidity of the blood definitely leads to complications that can be detrimental to the physiological state of the body.

It is because of this that some respirators have exhaltation valve to ease breathing unlike surgical masks that does not have exhalation valves.

In surgical mask, you have to do more work in breathing to get more oxygen into the body system. This does not pose well for the healthiness of the body system.

The shift from only usage by healthcare professional to the general public occurs majorly due to infectious disease outbreak, Just like we have a seen in the case of the current pandemic Corona virus outbreak.

Components and correct usage: surgical mask and respirators

Depending on the type you buy, generally, almost all surgical mask and respirators have ties, ear loops or bands.

It also has a stiff bendable edge which helps you determine which area is the top and bottom. Once you get a surgical mask, the stiff bendable edge is the top and it is this area that is meant to be molded to the shape of the nose.

Before you use a face mask, you must be able to determine which area is the front and which is the back. Usually, the front side of the face mask is the well coloured part and it expected to be facing out. The green/blue coloured part is meant to be facing out always.

When putting on the the face mask, You are expected to try as much as possible not to touch the inner white layer, doing this will result to contamination.

Touch the stiff bendable area only when you are putting on the face mask when making an attempt to mold it into the shape of your nose.

Proper fitting of the edge on the nose is one factor that ensures you are well protected from infectious droplets.

A nose mask you put on, must be able to offer some form of air resistance. If you put on a nose mask and there is no form of reduction in air flow or the way you breathe then it actually does not offer much protection.

For more details and illustration visist Centre for health protection, department of Health, Hong Kong special administrative region

When removing the face mask, you must not for any reason touch the front side (the well coloured area). It is already contaminated.

After removing a nose mask ensure to wash your hands in running water with soap or detergent.

For the N respirators, one of the major factor to be considered when putting them on is to ensure that it is perfectly fit around the region of the nose and mouth.

Just like the surgical mask, respirators even offer much more air resistance hence better protection.

They have tight fittings around the mouth and the nose and this also mskes them more superior than the surgical mask.

In summary, the higher the air resistance, the greater the protection masks offer.

Bear in mind that putting on the nose mask mesns you inadvertently will be taking in or inhaling a fraction of the previously exhaled carbondioxide and as this continues, the more you keep struggling to take in more oxygen to compensate and remove the steadily increasing carbondioxide.

The use of mask for prolonged time also comes with pressure ulcers and pains.

Any N-95 respirator that is tightened onto the face puts great pressure on the face skin through its edges and this leads to irritation to the area of the skin it is in contact.

It can be a serious problem for those that have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) like emphysema - a lung condition that causes shortness of breath. They can even worsen breathlessness.

Decreased intake of oxygen can be detrimental to the health as it can lead to syncope or fainting, since the brain is not getting enough oxygenated blood.

Bear in mind that the brain is the first centre of the body system to detect low oxygen, when oxygen level falls below standard you are likely to pass out.

You mustn't wear nose mask all the time. Put it on only wear when necessary and if needed. Don't wear nose mask in your house or in your car while the AC is turned on and glass wind up.

Keep your body system balanced by breathing in fresh air so that you don't accumulate carbon dioxide and consequently complicating matters for yourself in a bid to protect yourself against covid-19.

Stay safe, until next time❤️❤️❤️