{"id":6392,"date":"2016-04-17T00:04:19","date_gmt":"2016-04-16T18:34:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6392"},"modified":"2016-04-17T00:04:19","modified_gmt":"2016-04-16T18:34:19","slug":"coronavirus-do-i-actually-need-a-face-mask-what-should-i-get","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=6392","title":{"rendered":"Coronavirus: Do I Actually Need a Face Mask? What Should I Get?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

O<\/span>ver the last week, there\u2019s been a mad scramble, as panicked Indians<\/a> have rushed to buy face masks and hoard bottle after bottle of sanitiser, to protect themselves from the coronavirus pandemic. Now as more companies urge employees to work from home, and talks of shutting down entire cities pick up steam, the streets are beginning to resemble a scene from a post-apocalyptic film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The few who venture out \u2013 from rickshawallas to joggers \u2013 seem to be sporting a face mask, or respirator to protect themselves from contracting Covid-19<\/a>. Ranging from \u20b92 to \u20b9500, these masks are almost always sold-out at chemists \u2014 leading to some selling them at 300 per cent<\/a> hikes \u2014 and come with all kinds of promises about keeping harmful particles out of your system. But are they really necessary?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you currently show no symptoms of coronavirus<\/a>, the answer is a flat no, no matter what your source of news is. In fact, wearing a mask for no reason actually increases your risk of infection \u2014 often because no one has any idea how to wear them, and hence end up touching their face more often than desirable. But even if you promise not to touch your face, masks don\u2019t work that well with anyone who has a beard<\/a>, or if they get even slightly damp, or if you leave any air pockets at all. So they\u2019re not very reliable in the hands of a non-expert anyway.

Wearing the mask wrong, or for too long in the day, can lead to breathing issues.<\/blockquote>
So who should really be wearing a mask? Anyone who is currently showing symptoms<\/a> of coronavirus, is a caregiver to someone with Covid-19, or works around sick people, could probably benefit from having one. Do note that these masks are designed to keep \u201cdroplets\u201d in \u2014\u00a0and not block any out \u2014 so they are mostly only intended to avoid turning you into a bearer of pestilence. Since the coronavirus<\/a> is not an airborne disease, these masks aren\u2019t really doing much to stop any incoming viruses, either way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there are so many different masks to choose from, it\u2019s impossible to generalise. You\u2019ve probably noticed a few variations while walking down the street. The most popular in this case being the bright yellow \u201cN95 respirator\u201d, which will be a little familiar to you, if you remember anything about the swine flu<\/a> pandemic. Today, they\u2019re selling out across the country, with stores hiking their prices<\/a> to match the demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They\u2019re popular because unlike other respirators, they apparently can both protect the wearer from getting sick and protect the patient from the wearer\u2019s germs. So why aren\u2019t they recommended? Because once again, no one has an idea of how to wear them, or rarely get them to be completely airtight without any contamination. And even if you pull that off, as this doctor told Forbes<\/a>, \u201cNo respirator will eliminate exposures entirely.\u201d

Ranging from \u20b92 to \u20b9500,masks are almost always sold-out at all chemists.<\/blockquote>
The second kind of mask you\u2019ll see frequently is the regular surgical mask, which too has seen a 300 per cent price rise<\/a> in the last couple of weeks. Again these (one time use!) masks aren\u2019t recommended unless you\u2019re already suffering from symptoms of coronavirus, since all they do is stop germs spreading from you, and don\u2019t block any incoming germs. Their loose fit also leaves a lot of margin for error, making them best placed in the hands of surgeons or medical staff who know what they\u2019re doing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That hasn\u2019t stopped a few people from going for more hi-tech masks, such as the P100 respirator, and are walking around like they\u2019re employees at a nuclear power plant. Again, any mask that promises to block out more particles than the average N95 respirator, is wholly unnecessary when it comes to dealing with Covid-19. They\u2019re mostly meant to protect from asbestos and other harmful chemical<\/a>s\u00a0 that manual labourers are often exposed to on the job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hundreds of articles, meanwhile, suggest that wearing these masks for long periods are also harmful to anyone with pre-existing <\/a>breathing disorders, or children, or elderly folk. Again in these cases, it\u2019s also likely that wearing the mask wrong, or for too long in the day, can lead to breathing issues. So here\u2019s one final tip: Unless you have a valid reason to wear a mask, or a doctor very specifically asks you to do so, maybe just avoid them altogether. And wash your hands.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Stop hoarding face masks, please. They are not going to make a difference if you are going for your morning walk or hailing a cab. You need them if you are showing symptoms of Covid-19 or a caregiver to someone infected with coronavirus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":6393,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10108],"tags":[10110,10402,10403,1936,10404,5424,10346,10405,4753,10406],"class_list":["post-6392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-coronavirus","tag-coronavirus","tag-covid19","tag-covid19-mask","tag-doctors","tag-face-mask","tag-healthcare","tag-mask","tag-need-of-a-mask","tag-professionals","tag-sanitiser"],"yoast_head":"\nCoronavirus: Do I Actually Need a Face Mask? What Should I Get?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Stop hoarding face masks, please. 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