Medical mask

The medical mask is regarded as one of the most popular respiratory disease prevention tools among the general population. But its range of use is much wider, as is the list of varieties that differ in materials, operating features, and intended purpose.

History of creation

Disposable respiratory protection did not always have a modern appearance. It was not even always intended to be used for a short period of time. Back in the XNUMXth century, when doctors began to use such assistants, they had to wear bulky facial structures.

Initially, the development of doctors was positioned as a blocking of the transmission of the pathogen of bubonic plague from the victim to the medical staff. Several centuries ago, the progenitors of the modern mask were almost a full-fledged fancy dress.

Doctors were asked to wear a design resembling the head of the ancient Egyptian god Thoth, along with a huge and at the same time extremely uncomfortable beak. Then it was believed that such an inconvenient combination on strings could scare away diseases.

Such a carnival was indifferent to the causative agents of the plague, but smart doctors put healing herbs into the beak cavity. Their essential oils helped to interrupt the smells of sick people, and also inhibited the activity of pathogens. So the strange protective structure began to bring tangible benefits.

Not everyone will now remember the name of the unusual doctoral almost masquerade vestments, but then people called it simply the mask of a plague doctor. Without outside help, it is unlikely that you will be able to figure out how to properly wear such a multi-level vestment.

Now, there are many simplified options to choose from, with which you don’t have to guess how to wear them correctly. Modern specimens are not only light, but also provide the organs of the respiratory system with better protection. Some of the offerings are tailored specifically to consumer sizes, which explains why toddlers will benefit from the prescribed children’s variation. And for the mood, developers release versions with a picture.

After strange carnival solutions for general use, proposals with a woolen filter began to be released. But even such progress, with which everything was clear how to put on, did not make a splash among the townsfolk.

This continued until the twentieth century, until the world was swept by the “Spanish Flu”. So experts called a special influenza virus. The surge in popularity of masks can be compared to what befell the classic gloves. They began to be actively involved even in the examination of the victims after the official recognition of AIDS in 1982.

Despite the fact that now every pharmacy has at least the simplest disposable masks to sell, some patients are still wondering how to make them themselves. But not everyone understands that hand-made reusable alternatives are already cotton-gauze bandages. Their range of how long the protective barrier acts is much lower.

After a few hours, they have to be sent for disinfection, washing and mandatory ironing. Only a doctor will be able to say exactly how much it is permissible to wear them, since he will take into account the specific intended purpose. If this is the prevention of viral or bacterial infections, then the period of action extends to 1-2 hours. Then the gauze block turns into an excellent breeding ground for germs, threatening the health of its owner.

The non-sterile tissue alternative is used slightly differently. It is designed to protect against fine dust, which is often found on the crowded streets of the metropolis. Such options have many design incarnations, including illustrations with a smile or multi-colored execution. But even if a regular black fabric mask was purchased to protect against the effects of dust storms, it will still need to be washed after each return home.

You can buy fabric offers, which can also serve for cosmetic purposes, not only in a pharmacy, but also through an online store. There you can see how much the option you like costs. Cosmetologists advise using them when there is a lot of gas pollution or adverse environmental conditions with irritated skin, after cleansing the face, peeling and getting rid of acne. This will block the access of the infection to the open wound surface. But only on condition that the mask on the elastic band is clean.

If we talk about standard medical disposable versions, then people often do not understand why they are needed at all. Such masks do not protect very well from the ingress of pathogens, but they help the sick person himself not to become a source of infection for others.

The production of such funds does not oblige developers to obtain special certification. The situation is quite different with more powerful installations, among which a sealed respirator is distinguished. It’s definitely not to be confused in the question of which side to wear.

Despite the fact that even professional respirators with a latch are still called masks among the people, this is not entirely true. The former are attracted to work in especially dangerous places by professionals in their field. Also, coal modifications often become assistants in the work of chemical experiments and experiments.

And their light versions are freely used by consumers in:

• paint and varnish and other repair work;
• landscape gardening spraying;
• work with caustic chemicals in everyday life.

Here, only the manufacturer can tell you how often to change them through the published instructions.

Classification order

Putting aside the oxygen masks that connect the air tank and the victim’s respiratory organs, traditional mask medical devices have several layers. The three-layer composition includes a pair of outer layers and a filter.

Reinforced specimens have an additional layer. Sometimes the material is supplemented with an anti-fluid layer, which is suitable for surgical workers. Such solutions are specialized, as they are worn only within the walls of the inpatient department of the hospital.

You can also write down multi-level options for anti-tuberculosis dispensaries here. Inside such a filter there is a medical preparation that, when inhaled, works as a preventive tool to fight the pathogen. This mask is almost always white. Specialized alternatives have their own sizes for convenience.

Also, each manufacturer labels its products according to two categories:

• non-sterile;
• sterile.

Non-woven products of the first type are used for daily prevention. Use occurs only in rooms where a large crowd of people is constantly located. Most often, girls and boys wear them while waiting in line at the clinic.

So it turns out to provide yourself with an additional shield against infectious lesions that are transmitted by airborne droplets. The relatively low price contributes to the widespread use of such assistants.

Sterile products are worn only in medical institutions, and not only by patients, but also by the surrounding staff, as well as employees of clinical laboratories. It is unlikely that it will be possible to answer the question: how much does one sterile copy cost, since personal protective equipment is issued to doctors and nurses as part of the job description. More than one package is issued to all departments in order to meet the needs of staff and victims.

Going out into the street in such means is impractical. Outside of specialized premises, they quickly lose their original sterility, which makes them completely useless to wear.

What does it protect against?

If with specialized products with a valve everything is clear in terms of benefits, then with ordinary pharmacy specimens – not really. Many are still wondering if such measures help. But scientists in the course of their numerous experiments have confirmed the effectiveness of their regular wear, even if it is a non-sterile mask.

The main task of a classical medical device is to protect the respiratory organs from possible infectious attacks. But the respiratory system will wait for help only if the pathogens of the disease are transmitted by airborne droplets.

Such pathogens are primarily tuned to defeat:

• throat;
• the nose;
• nasopharynx;
• light;
• bronchi.

Most often, the instruction obliges to dress in such a specific “outfit” during quarantine associated with acute respiratory infections and influenza. But this is not a complete list of indications.

The additional list includes:

• angina;
• whooping cough;
• rubella;
• chicken pox, which is popularly called simply chickenpox;
• parotitis;
• tuberculosis;
• measles;
• streptococcal infection.

Outwardly, such pathologies are almost always expressed by coughing and sneezing. With such signs, a person turns out to be the most contagious, because pathogens can spread at a distance of up to two meters in a radius from the patient with each sneeze.

It is especially dangerous to stay indoors, where the air becomes contaminated without regular ventilation in about an hour. If a person who has an open form of tuberculosis coughed, then the causative agent of such a dangerous disease will “hover in the air” for quite a long time. No standard cleaning products are able to fully withstand the Koch stick that has settled on the floor.

Preventive technique

The disposable mask standard provides for minimizing the risk of spreading infection. But due to the fact that such barriers still partially allow air to pass through, up to 50% due to a loose fit, their increased benefit will only relate to wearing by sick people. So it will turn out to be safe from the spread of pathogens.

If an absolutely healthy person who does not change his personal protective equipment too often will put on such a “shield” on a permanent basis, this will only lead to an increase in the likelihood of infection. This paradox is explained by the fact that an ideal habitat for various microbes is formed under a layer of material. They like to settle closer to warm and humid places.

As soon as the pathogens, due to a loose fit to the skin of the face, get into the formed warm and at the same time moistened air “sac”, they are immediately activated.

An exception in a number of preventive goals is perhaps a person with reduced immunity who has experienced a serious illness, a strong emotional shock, or has undergone a long course of drug treatment. Such people have an order of magnitude higher risk of becoming a new haven for bacteria and infections.

Among these people, the following categories of victims deserve special attention:

• in the postoperative period;
• patients from an oncological dispensary for the period of undergoing a course of chemical or radiation therapy;
• recovering from a recent severe respiratory illness;
• affected by deep damage to the lung tissue.

All of them will need to protect their weakened body from external negative factors of influence by periodically putting on a mask when visiting treatment rooms or when meeting with visitors. To brighten up the overall atmosphere a little, many people get cool options with funny illustrations for themselves. Little girls might love the classic pink palette. And young gentlemen will like the green alternative.

The conducted scientific research also testifies in favor of the separation of the intended purpose. Experts from the University of New South Wales found that among pediatricians and therapists who wore cloth dressings, the disease turned out to be even higher. According to statistics, such a material stops microbes by only 3%. The non-woven base retains about 60% of pathogens, which makes it an order of magnitude more productive.

And their cost will also please thrifty buyers.

operating rules

So that protection from a negative external environment does not turn into an optimal habitat for their distribution, you will need to strictly follow the instructions for their operation:

1. Patients with a diagnosed respiratory illness should change a disposable “respirator” every two hours.
2. When using such a device against smog, fine dust, typical of megacities, it is allowed to increase the operating interval up to 3-6 hours.
3. Reuse of masks is strictly prohibited. Also, passing them on to third parties is not a good idea, because they are called personal protection tools for a reason.
4. Avoid constant wear. This means permission to shoot it in places with small crowds of people, as well as in the open fresh air.

But even when following such strict instructions, it is not always possible to protect the body from the impending threat. The spread of an infection by airborne droplets does not always mean that it will spread with saliva when sneezing or coughing. Droplets of infected liquid mix with dust, settle on door handles, table surfaces and laptop keyboards.

This means that for prevention purposes, a comprehensive approach should be taken to address the issue of preventing the spread of infection, and not rely only on monotherapy. The latter loses its effectiveness if one does not want to follow the path of a comprehensive solution to the problem.

For reinsurance, it is recommended to do wet cleaning daily, ventilate the room, allocate a separate set of dishes to the victim and wash your hands more often with soap and water after contact with the sick person.

Detailed classification

Having mastered the basic description, many ordinary people decide to purchase the presented personal protective equipment, but at the same time they choose something completely different. To understand the intricacies of the purchase, it is important to distinguish between the types of existing core products.

The simplest solution to the issue is a non-woven variation. It is positioned as assistant No. 1, if necessary, to resist acute respiratory viral pathologies.

The traditional design involves ear loops, but the presence of ties instead of a thin elastic band for manually adjusting the tension is also quite acceptable. Among the shortcomings, a relatively weak fit to the skin of the face is distinguished here, which increases the permeability when located on an infected object.

But such configurations almost never cause an allergic reaction, as they are created using special non-woven materials based on polymer fibers. The exception is perhaps the individual intolerance of the components, which is extremely rarely recorded in medicine.

Children’s alternatives deserve a separate classification camp. Parents far from medicine believe that the difference here lies only in a more colorful design. But in fact, a more significant difference lies in the dimensional grid. For the template, they take dimensions of 140 by 80 mm, which will guarantee a reinforced fit to the front part.

An additional word about the safety of such a solution is the manufacture of children’s combinations from hypoallergenic materials. But it is better to follow this point individually, specifying the presence of a natural layer on the inside of the mask when buying. It is also worth finding out if safe dyes were used to create the copy you liked.

Classical blockers of the spread of infection will not help medical personnel. As a concern for the health of people in white coats working in areas of high infectious contamination, special hard respirators were invented.

Due to the solid frame, it turns out to achieve 100% fit to the skin of the face, which makes the use of this tool fully justified, although somewhat inconvenient. It is better to wear it no more than six hours in a row. Then, many people begin to have a headache due to the constant hard effect on the skin.

The most advanced version of personal medical equipment of this kind has become a respirator with an exhalation valve. It allows you to guarantee protection from constant deflating / inflating with each inhalation / exhalation. It is believed that this modification is more comfortable for long-term wear. She copes even with the opposition to allergens.

But, regardless of the choice made, it is worth remembering that constantly wearing a mask is also not the most reasonable decision. It is necessary to give the face and respiratory organs to rest in the fresh air.

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