Use a mask correctly

The progress of the epidemic disease caused by a new virus strain belonging to the Corona family (nCoV) is becoming more and more complicated. Preventive measures are very important in that the correct use of masks is an important measure for each person to protect themselves and contribute to the fight against disease.

Facing the situation of the community rushing to buy masks, the Ministry of Health in some countries has issued the following recommendations:

- People with fever, cough or runny nose or patients in recovery need to wear masks because this is a good way to prevent spreading germs to others.

- Healthy people do not need to wear masks unless they have to be in direct contact with sick people, especially people who are coughing / sneezing without a mask.

- In addition, you can consider wearing a mask when going into a crowded place, in a closed room because you do not anticipate the risk of infection in that environment.

The Vietnamese market currently has a lot of masks with different designs, but in the prevention of respiratory infections, there are 2 types of masks that are commonly mentioned.

The first type is the medical mask / surgical mask with 3 layers, the outer layer is usually blue or yellow. The Vietnam Institute of Applied Medicine adds that ordinary fabric medical masks have 3 layers with different uses:

The outer layer has waterproof properties, which effectively prevents liquid particles from splashing out when the patient sneezes, coughs, breathes hard ... The outside is usually light blue to distinguish, wear a mask. it is true that the color layer is facing out.

The inner layer is always white, which is easy to distinguish from the outer layer. The fabric face is turned inward, close to the face skin, so it must be pure and smooth, without any nasty fibers. In addition, it must be water permeable to absorb perspiration for the comfort of the user.

The middle layer works to prevent droplets from splashing and to filter dust and bacteria. This is the class that determines the quality of the mask. A "standard" filter layer must allow air to easily pass through, creating ventilation for the user, but it must be structured enough to filter out tiny particles of dust and bacteria.

The second type is N95 (N95 respirator). N95 means 95% fine dust filtered 0.3 micron in the air, which means N95 can theoretically filter the air better than medical masks. However, due to the large size of the corona virus 150-200nm (nanometer), these viruses mainly reside in large saliva drops, so people using a one-time medical mask is a simple way to prevent the disease and effective, no need to use the N95 type.

How to use a mask to help prevent disease as follows:

- Only use one time and then throw it in a safe, covered trash. Do not reuse disposable masks.

- When wearing a mask, leave the blue face out because the blue side is water resistant, large droplets of saliva will not penetrate inside. The white face is hygroscopic, so it should be turned inside, so that the breath escapes to the mask.

- Masks must cover the nose and mouth.

- When wearing a mask, absolutely do not touch your hands, because touching, even modifying the mask will inadvertently infect the hand with viruses and other pathogens, then transmit the disease to itself. me and the people around me.

- When removing the mask, you can only hold the strap over the ear, remove it and put it in the trash can safely. Absolutely do not use the handle to remove the mask, the habit of using the hand to wash the mask again will infect the virus and other pathogens of the hand.

Wash hands with soap and clean water immediately after disposing of the mask.

Thus, wearing a mask is not simply a matter of "seeing people do you do it too", but you need to consider whether you are in a group at risk to wear. How to wear a mask properly is also very important and should combine clean hand washing for the most effective investment in the prevention of the disease.