Wear a Mask

The corona viruses is a respiratory virus that spreads from person to person. It lands in our respire tracks when I breathe in and breathe out, if I am infected my exhaled air may contain microscopic viruses in it and if you are standing within three to six feet of me, you may inhale and take some of my some of my viruses with you and that can infect you so the question is I wonder if I can provide a barrier by using a mask so that the virus can not get through. Well, That is a great idea. But it does not work very well in fact think about it for a second if it worked so well would not the CDC(Center for Disease Control) make a recommendation during influenza season that we all walk around mask like a whole bunch of bank robbers.

Well they do not and that is because the data showing that in the community such masks protect us those data are scanty, if non-existent. The masks are actually rather thing they are not designed to prevent viruses from going in and also those masks those surgical masks that you can buy in the store. The masks actually do not fit very tightly around the edge so when you breathe in and out you can actually feel you the air going around the edges of the mask which kind of destroys their purpose.

Now, just for completeness, in the healthcare setting when we take care of patients with influenza and corona virus we use something which is much stronger it's called an N95 respirator. Compared to a regular mask, it is much thicker. And it's designed to be fitted very tightly around the nose, cheeks and chin. It also needs some specific training to put on. Every time you put it on you have to fit it around the cheek to make sure that there is no air going around the edges.

When we wear those respirators we can tell the work of breathing in and out is much harder because you are pushing the air through a very thick membrane which actually does offer protection. You have to be trained to use them and the general public is not.

Bottom line, those masks may make you feel a little better but they really do not do much good.