After you've ditched your cotton mask, here's how frequently you should replace your KN/N95s.
Omicron continues to overburden hospitals and healthcare staff who were already exhausted by Delta. At this point of the epidemic, with the healthcare system once again on the verge of collapse, specialists are recommending people to forego cotton masks in favor of N95 or KN95 respirators. However, these masks are more costly than surgical masks and are not washable like cloth masks, leaving many of us wondering: How long can you use the same N95?
What experts have to say about recycling respirator masks.
N95s are technically single-use devices
All N95 respirators that have received FDA approval are designated as "single-use," disposable products. This categorization, however, is founded on the notion of healthcare personnel who use these masks for hours at a time; "single use" was never meant to characterize your fast trip to the grocery store.
With the necessity for high-quality masks on a daily basis right now, specialists agree that N95 or KN95 respirators may be worn several times–but not eternally. Wearing the same mask every day naturally reduces its capacity to accomplish its function.
Rotating masks are a viable option
"We'd advocate switching (the mask) every day for a N95," said Dr. Sabrina Assoumou, an infectious disease physician at Boston Medical Center, to USA Today.
However, there is one drawback to bulking up on high-quality masks: the cost. For many, getting a new N95 as frequently as specialists prescribe is impractical or impossible. In this instance, a rotating mask system will suffice. "For example, if you had three masks, you might number them and flip them around," Assoumou explained.
This is a solution proposed by Peter Tsai in a report published in May 2020, when a lack of PPE made treating patients increasingly unsafe for healthcare personnel. According to the study, three days is enough time for any virus evidence on the mask to fade off. This implies that if you cycle four different N95s, you should be able to get a COVID-free mask every day of the week.
Label or color-code your individual masks and store them in appropriate paper bags to stay organized—and to maintain the method successful. But why are paper bags used?
N95s should not be washed; instead, they should be kept dry
Should you wash your N95s in the washing machine or by hand? Most likely not. Instead, simply let your mask to dry—this is where a paper bag comes in handy.
Storing masks in a paper bag for 24–48 hours between usage is a good method to keep them clean and dry so you may rewear them securely. "The issue about wearing a mask in public is clearly if you acquire particles on it, perhaps even the virus, but if you put it in a dry bag, you are effectively sanitizing again over time," Dr. Joe Gastaldo, an infectious disease expert at OhioHealth, told WWL-TV.
However, keep in mind that the bag isn't magically sterilizing your mask, which might still be teeming with various diseases. Gary Warren, CEO of ivWatch, a Virginia-based maker of medical-grade N95s, told PopSci, "You don't clean your underwear by leaving it on the clothesline for a week and airing it out." However, any coronavirus present will have died off within a few days.
Furthermore, the bag will protect your mask from further contamination while also maintaining a dry enough environment for the virus to not spread or persist on the mask.
When to remove a mask from rotation
According to the FDA, if your respirator is broken or filthy, or if breathing becomes difficult while wearing it, it's time to replace it. An functional mask relies on a proper seal around the nose and mouth, therefore toss away your N95 as soon as the noseband begins bouncing back and is no longer able to stay in place, or the elastics no longer give as much tension as they used to.
What about the garbage?
If you're concerned about the garbage generated by regularly disposing of masks, bear in mind that being sick and maybe ending up in a hospital has environmental repercussions as well. Marcus Schabacker, CEO of healthcare nonprofit ECRI, tells PopSci that if you or someone you know is hospitalized, "the amount of waste you create is exponentially larger—I mean, it's logarithmic in terms of single-use products." Schabaker explains that instead of just you wearing and discarding a mask, everyone who cares for you will be wearing and discarding masks, gloves, and other items.
Remember, any mask is preferable to no mask at all
Wearing any mask is preferable to not wearing one, so keep those old cloth masks on hand as a backup option (ideally to layer over a surgical mask) when a better quality mask is unavailable. Here's an updated guide on identifying and purchasing a better-quality mask to replace your fabric masks. Here is a good list of internet vendors collected by USA Today.
The epidemic, like our reaction to it, is ever-changing. COVID is still on the rise right now, so do everything you can to protect yourself and others by getting vaccinated (including your booster) and masking up.
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SOURCE: lifehacker
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