Does a medical mask protect against colds and flu?

Who does the medical mask actually protect?

Doctors and nurses wear a mask to protect the patient from bacteria and viruses that can live in health care workers, as in all people, in the respiratory tract and mouth. This is a standard measure during examination when the doctor is ill, and during surgery or procedure when sterile conditions need to be ensured.

When talking, while coughing or sneezing, just as you exhale, mucus containing microorganisms flies out. If a mask (for example, a surgical mask) contains a water-repellent material, it can also protect personnel from the ingress of biological fluids of the patient on the skin and mucous membranes of the mouth and nose.

The mask does little to protect the respiratory organs of the person on whom it is worn, therefore it is not considered a means of personal respiratory protection (RPE). Why? Because the mask does not fit tightly to the face and through the free areas contaminated air enters the inside during inhalation, bypassing the filter material.

Scientists from the Nizhny Novgorod Research Institute of Hygiene and Occupational Pathology of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation have experimentally determined that the penetration of aerosols from the outside through a medical mask is more than 34%, while for the weakest RPE this indicator should not exceed 22%.

For maximum protection, the mask must completely cover the face. A medical mask is a half mask (protects the mouth, nose and covers the chin) or a quarter mask - only covers the mouth and nose. Thus, its main function is to reduce the release of infection from the human respiratory system into the environment and to prevent infection of others.

When the mask is useless

Keeping the eyes of the masked person unprotected will not stop some infections. It has been proven that the influenza virus, when it enters the mucous membrane (conjunctiva) of the eye, and then through the nasolacrimal canals (two anatomical passages on the sides of the nose, connect the eye and nose) to the nasal mucosa can cause a typical picture of the disease.

Some pathogens are transmitted in the following way: while the patient speaks, sneezes or coughs, he contaminates the surrounding objects. Seeding also occurs when the patient first touches his nose or mouth (adjusts the mask), and then - to something around. Further, a healthy person comes into contact with an infected object, and then touches his own eyes, mouth or nose. Frequent hand washing with soap or an antiseptic can reduce the incidence of the disease.

When the mask works

Then, when it is part of a set of preventive measures. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that a healthcare professional wear a surgical mask on a person as soon as they show signs of infection and isolate them in a separate room. Health care workers caring for patients must wear gloves, a gown, and either a face shield with a mask or a face mask in combination with goggles for their safety.

Medical mask combined with safety goggles

The instructions for a specific type of mask indicate the time of its use (usually no more than two hours). Don't wear it longer. Also, you can not smoke, eat or drink, moving the mask to the side: this will reduce all attempts to defend yourself to nothing.

If the mask gets wet, it must be changed immediately. After changing the mask, hands should be thoroughly washed with soap or treated with an alcohol-based antiseptic gel.

Output

The CDC does not recommend a medical mask for protection against influenza infection. Wearing a mask should not be the only way to prevent disease. It does not provide you 100% protection, although it reduces the risk of infection. Only in combination with vaccinations, careful hand hygiene and quarantine measures can a mask be able to significantly contain the spread of infection.