The Right Mask!

All of us celebrated this New year hoping for a good start, but history will remember 2020 as the year of the plague, year of COVID 19. There are many things that have changed in this year. So, we at DigitalDiary! decided to help you all, with what one would say is the most daunting question of 2020:
“Which mask do I wear?”

Almost everyone with internet access definitely have googled about masks. Various questions about the masks have flooded search engines. And today we will present you a few facts that will help you clarify everything from selection of a mask to usage of a mask. Let’s get to it!

 

The most widely used masks in India are N95 mask (or KN95 mask), Cloth mask and Surgical mask.

There isn’t a person on this planet who doesn’t know about these masks. But which mask do I choose and on what basis do I make this choice??

The resume of N95 mask tells us that it is obviously the best choice for anyone. What people often forget is that we have to use masks on almost a daily basis, which makes N95 masks the worst choice among all the masks.

N95 Mask

N95 masks are really pricy. Each mask cost at least 100 INR. And despite what many N95 manufacturers tell you, it cannot be reused by conventional methods. There are specific ways to reuse a N95 mask such as Hydrogen Peroxide vaporization, UV treatment and Moist heat. This creates a problem because none of the aforementioned methods can be deployed by the general public.

Then what makes the N95 mask is such a great mask? The most important aspect of the N95 mask is ‘the fit of the mask’. The mask is designed such that all the air we breathe entirely passes through the mask. But If there is any misfit, the air tends to pass through the gap. Thus misfit of N95 masks reduce its effectiveness drastically. This is the other problem. A mask may lose its fit due to various reasons, like when the handling of the mask is rough, the mask may lose its fit and is almost rendered useless.

People often purchase N95 masks, dip them in Dettol water or in boiling water and re-use it the next day. But what people don’t notice is that, these methods makes the mask lose its fit and the person wearing the mask is no longer safe. This is why we suggest you to not use these N95 masks because not only are they extremely pricy, but they cannot be reused easily either.

Cloth masks obviously are the most famous in India because they are really cheap. These cloth masks come in a wide range of colours and designs. The fact that they can be washed and re-uses makes them all the more popular.

Cloth Mask

The question then changes to “Are cloth masks really the best choice to us?”. The answer is a big fat no because of the pore size of the cloth masks cannot filter viruses. Cloth masks are definitely better than having no mask at all, but what good is a mask that cannot be defend us against viruses.

 

This brings us to Surgical Masks, the mask that we deemed the winner of the pack. Firstly, these masks are really affordable. One can purchase them for 3-10 INR. As the price is affordable, one can throw them away after a single use. Secondly, these surgical masks are often three layered and the pores in the mask are small enough to filter out viruses.

Surgical Mask

There are certain measures one should take while using these surgical masks –

1.     The mask should have a nose clip. To get a good fit, it is necessary to adjust the mask properly using the nose clip. If one doesn’t have a nose clip, then one should at least try to pin the mask down with their spectacles.
This is true not only with Surgical masks but for all kinds of masks. The air we breathe should pass through the mask, otherwise what is the point of having a mask?

2.     Never touch the front of the mask. People do not understand the importance of this measure. The front of the mask has shielded you from all kinds of bacteria and viruses. Thus, touching the front of the mask is really unsafe. One should immediately sanitize his/her hands after coming in contact with the front of the mask.

3.     Use a closed dustbin to dispose the mask. After going through all this trouble to protect yourself by using a mask, don’t make the mistake of disposing the mask in an open dustbin. It can not only contaminate you, but also contaminate others.

If it’s hard for any of you to afford surgical mask, then we advise you to at least stick with a cloth mask. We cannot stress this enough. Any mask is better than no mask at all. Also, urge the people who don’t wear a mask to wear one. Who knows, you might be saving a life.

One last advice to all our readers:

Steer clear of the people wearing masks with breathing valves. These valves are one way valves. So we cannot breathe any air inside through these valves, but the air we breathe out escapes through the valves.

Hypothetically, if one were to be affected by some viral infection, the people surrounding him would not be considered safe because the air that he/she breathes out is not filtered through the mask. The air simply passes through the valve, without filtering. Hence, people who know about this fact should urge people using mask with valves to switch to a one without a valve.

NOTE: Hey reader! We hope you liked this post on Masks. Give your suggestions or thoughts in the comment box. If you want to know about more topics, comment on which topic you want to know and we will make it happen. Thank you and happy reading!!!