Masks as last resort?

[FURRY]

I just saw this. I hope nobody has already posted it.

 

 

Science group says to use masks as last resort

 

LAURAN NEERGAARD

Associated Press

 

If a worldwide flu epidemic strikes, face masks should be considered a defense of last resort since there's little evidence about whether the masks available to the average person or most health care workers can prevent influenza infection, the Institute of Medicine said Thursday.

 

Yet if a flu pandemic begins, the millions who undoubtedly will use masks in hopes of protection will need a large supply, because they shouldn't be used more than once, concluded the IOM, an arm of the National Academies, the nation's most prestigious science organization.

 

Health workers use masks -- simple surgical masks or better-filtering ones called N95 respirators -- mostly to keep from breathing their own germs into open wounds or onto otherwise vulnerable patients.

 

But certain filtering masks also can protect wearers from specific respiratory diseases, such as tuberculosis.

 

The masks are supposed to be used once and discarded. Anticipating a staggering demand if the bird flu or some other super-strain of influenza sparks the next pandemic, federal health officials asked the IOM to determine whether there are masks that could be reused safely, to conserve supplies.

 

The first question is whether different masks really block influenza, noted the IOM panel, a question the government didn't ask, but that the scientific advisers said should be studied, urgently.

 

"Just to double-emphasize: We don't have good data to make a decision about how effective they are or are not," said panel co-chairman Dr. Donald Burke of Johns Hopkins University.

 

That information is crucial because some pandemic specialists fear that using a face mask will give people a false sense of security, perhaps encouraging them to go into crowds or near infected patients when instead they should have stayed away. Thus, the report concludes, "respiratory protection is the last resort to control infectious spread."

 

"We don't want to say, `Don't use it,' but don't expect to be fully protected if you do use it. That's a tough public health message to get out," Burke added.

ON THE WEB

 

www.iom.edu http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12375868

 

Bird Flu Protections

 

Flu can spread three ways: • By hand. Someone sneezes into his hand and then grabs a doorknob that you touch, or shakes your hand.

 

• By large droplets of virus, if someone is in the direct path of a sneeze or cough. Those heavy droplets fall quickly to the ground.

 

• By tiny particles, which can stay suspended in the air for far longer periods.

 

No one knows which of those methods is most important.

 

But surgical masks aren't designed to block tiny airborne particles, just larger ones.

 

N95 RESPIRATORS

 

While the N95 respirators haven't been tested to see how effectively they block flu virus specifically, they are designed to block small particles. But they must be individually fitted to users' faces so that air doesn't seep into the sides, a problem for men with facial hair. Also, they come only in certain sizes, none for children, and they're uncomfortable to breathe in for long periods.

 

MASKS

 

If someone with flu sneezes on any mask wearer, the outside is contaminated, so users must remove them carefully to avoid infecting themselves through direct contact, the IOM panel stressed.

 

MAKESHIFT MASK?

 

What about using a handkerchief or some other improvised mask? They're not likely to be as protective as even a surgical mask might be, but the panel hesitated to discourage them for people with no other options on the assumption that some protection might be better than none. Generally, the tighter the fabric weave, the better.

[FURRY]

I just saw another version of this report on MSNBC. It was headlined: "Don't count on masks if bird flu strikes".

I bought masks. I hope I didn't waste money I could have spent on some other prep.

[cartoongirl]

IMO, unfortunately if and when the pandemic hits nothing can be thought of as full proof. All the masks won't do anyone any good if not used properly...and if used properly.... still a question of concern.

 

For myself personally, I don't care what they say I'm still going to have my masks and probably buy more tomorrow. Under a dollar a piece. I'll use them to clean the coop over the years so whatever. Just trying to refrain everyone from depleting the supply chain....who knows.

 

Good points about the N95 respirators. No I can't see a improper fitting mask doing diddly....sq. Maybe a make shift mask would be a better choice. I recall people of 1918 wearing make shift masks.

 

But I'm just rambling as usual.

Thanks for that, interesting read.

[Misty]

I'm kind of confused about the right mask to get. I'm really small, so now I'm thinking the N95 respirators may not really work for me. Have you been buying the everyday masks like in the paint department? Forgive my ignorance, but I'm trying to figure out what to buy.