Trying to understand the logic of masks

amother

Sun, Apr 26 2020, 1:05 am

if nurses are complaining that they're not given the right gear to be protected, for example, they're not given N95 masks
why are we told to be wearing these flimsy masks that nurses complain don't protect them.
does it protect or doesn't it?
I know I can blow out a candle while wearing the one my grocery hands out?
logic anyone?
it's the best we can do won't fly with me

amother

Denim

Sun, Apr 26 2020, 1:12 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

The disease spreads mainly through liquid droplets. While they can get through masks it still gives protection.

Masks more prevent someone from spreading the disease then someone from catching the disease.

So if someone is sick coughs in store mask should mainly contain germs. And hopefully your mask will protect you from what is not contained.
Also the masks are still assuming you are social distancing as much as possible. It really only works if everyone wears - the one who is sick and one who is not.
So if everyone is wearing a mask and 6 feet apart from each it gives a much greater level of protection even if not perfect.

(Blowing isn't really proof as that is air and not liquid)

nchr

Sun, Apr 26 2020, 1:12 am

whewpy wrote:

The paper masks are not there for your protection. They're meant to avoid your droplets from infecting others

This. When we looked at countries who culturally wear masks, we saw they seemed to be doing well with coronavirus. We also know asymptomatic indivudals are playing a larger (albeit not the largest) part in transmission so them wearing masks protects others. We will likely be wearing masks for a long time.

amother

Denim

Sun, Apr 26 2020, 1:15 am

nchr wrote:

I have a friend from South Korea and he feels one of the reason they have it so mild is because in the winter no one would ever walk in the street without a mask.

nchr

Sun, Apr 26 2020, 1:30 am

amother [ Denim ] wrote:

I have a friend from South Korea and he feels one of the reason they have it so mild is because in the winter no one would ever walk in the street without a mask.

That can be one aspect. They also were extremely prepared for a pandemic and were able to implement testing and isolation right away, after having shut down schools and large gatherings almost immediately. They also are socially less likely to touch one another and maintain a greater distance between indivudals when talking, independent of covid.

Last edited by nchr on Sun, Apr 26 2020, 1:30 am; edited 1 time in total

nchr

Sun, Apr 26 2020, 1:31 am

amother [ Yellow ] wrote:

People are reluctant to wear them because they are uncomfortable.

They are going to eventually get used to them as they will likely be mandatory for quite some time (think 12-24 months). However, some people may choose to continue to wear them afterwards due to other benefits they may experience. That will be interesting to see.

vehoson

Sun, Apr 26 2020, 1:34 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

N95s with proper airtight seals are necessary in environments that contain airborne aresolized viral particles. These are currently believed not to be commonly generated in everyday settings. The main place these are believed to be is in medical settings, as they are generated by intubated patients and patients with BiPAPs and receiving oxygen. Therefore, medical workers need proper NIOSH N95 or N99 protection to avoid contraction of COVID-19. In fact, they often wear them in conjunction with other layers. It's common to see medical workers with an N95, a surgical mask on top of that, and a contamination suit and full face shield on top of that.

The primary transmission is believed to occur via respiratory droplets that are expelled via heavy breathing, coughing, or sneezing. However, these droplets are relatively large and heavy, and do not remain in the air for long. They also have a hard time getting out if the carrier is wearing a mask. To a large degree, they also do not penetrate the masks that a wearer may be utilizing. The combination of both carriers and non carriers wearing the masks is believed to be significantly helpful in slowing transmission, in conjunction with other distancing practices.

(In case you're wondering: yes, the CDC/SG lied when they said that masks were not believed to be helpful for the general public. They may have thought the lie was necessary to prevent hoarding and allowing prioritization for those that need them most. Whether that was a wise choice is unknown.)

amother

Plum

Sun, Apr 26 2020, 1:35 am

vehoson wrote:

It's never a wise choice to lie.

DrMom

Sun, Apr 26 2020, 1:39 am

Covid-19 is mostly spread through liquid droplets when people exhale, cough, or sneeze. If you have a mask on your face, those droplets are less likely to get out and infect others (and you are less likely to have a virus-laden droplet land in your nose or mouth from someone else).

Combined with SD (which reduces the chance anybody can get close enough to you to spray droplets on your mouth or nose), this helps reduce the chance of infection.

If a droplet of infected liquid does land on a plain old cloth mask, it can't prevent very single virus particle from entering, as the holes between the fibers are too large. But it can reduce the amount that makes it in. For most of us, that is good enough. Esp with SD, we're not being coughed on or breathed on by infected people all day.

Nurses and other healthcare workers OTOH, are exposed to infected patients day in and day out, and usually cannot SD. Therefore, they need N95 masks that can prevent almost all virus particles from entering. Otherwise, the virus load they will be exposed to will be too high, and they will probably get sick.

Last edited by DrMom on Sun, Apr 26 2020, 1:40 am; edited 1 time in total

amother

Violet

Sun, Apr 26 2020, 1:40 am

vehoson wrote:

If cdc lied here no matter the reason how can we trust them with medical advice ever? If a large company offers them millions to approve whatever they are selling how can we trust cdc not to take the bribe?