Is the N95 mask necessary?

In the absence of a clear treatment for this new coronavirus, defense is an absolute priority. Masks are one of the most direct and effective ways to protect individuals. Masks are effective in blocking droplets and reducing the risk of airborne infections.

N95 masks are hard to come by, most people can’t. Don’t worry, n95 masks are no different from surgical masks in terms of virus/flu protection, according to a medical study published in the journal of the American medical association on September 3, 2019.

The N95 mask is superior to the surgical mask in filtering, but similar to the surgical mask in virus prevention.

Note the diameter of the filterable particles of the N95 mask and surgical mask.

N95 masks:

Refers to non-oily particles (such as dust, paint fog, acid fog, microorganisms, etc.) can achieve 95% of the blockage.

Dust particles can be large or small, currently known as PM2.5 is the small diameter of the dust unit, which refers to the diameter of 2.5 microns or less.

Microorganisms, including molds, fungi, and bacteria, typically range in diameter from 1 to 100 microns.

Masks:

It blocks particles larger than 4 microns in diameter.

Let’s look at the size of the virus.

Particle sizes of known viruses range from 0.05 microns to 0.1 microns.

Therefore, whether with N95 mask antivirus, or with a surgical mask, in blocking the virus, is no doubt the use of rice sieve powder.

But that doesn’t mean wearing a mask isn’t effective. The main purpose of wearing a mask is to stop droplets carrying the virus. The droplets are more than 5 microns in diameter, and both the N95 and the surgical mask do the job perfectly. This is the main reason why there is no significant difference in virus prevention between the two masks with very different filtration efficiency.

But most notably, because droplets can be blocked, viruses can’t. As a result, viruses that are still active accumulate in the filter layer of the mask and can still be inhaled during repeated breathing if worn for a long time without changing.

In addition to wearing a mask, remember to wash your hands often!

I believe that with the efforts of countless experts, scholars and medical staff, the day of eliminating the virus is not far away.