Do this to your mask can protect you less, experts warn
This popular mask hack can not be an excellent as it seems.
Face masks have become the norm Over the past year to stay safe from Covid. At first, wearing a mask was stranger to most of us. But over time, we have all discovered our own favorite masks and hacks to wear them more easily or more comfortable. Unfortunately noEach mask tip can be entirely safe. According to experts, an accessory that you can use has the potential to make your mask less effective when it comes to protecting you and protecting yourself. Read it to find out what it is and for more information on masks to avoid, discover whyThe CDC warns against the use of these 6 face masks.
People use mask supports to prevent their mask from touching their skin.
Mask hooks are designed to keep the fabric of your separate mask from your face, explainsSpencer Kroll, MD, aSpecialist in internal medicine certified by the Council. These supports are usually silicone or plastic parts that are between the mask and your face. They are usually used by carriers to prevent skin problems with masks, such as the acne mask, or to help them feel easier in their masks.
"I have seen patients complaining of breathing problems, skin reactions and feelings of claustrophobia while in masks. These feelings diminish the conformity of the mask, because people deposit the mask below their nose or wear Loading connection masks or do not wear them at all, "Kroll says. "The purpose of these accessories is to create more respiratory space and less contact with the mask." And for more COVID new news, delivered directly to your inbox,Sign up for our daily newsletter.
However, the addition of a support could potentially make your mask less efficient.
"Maskmedia will make a mask less effective if the mask is no longer rinsed against your face, completely covering your nose and your mouth, because the air would escape around the edges without being filtered, "saidLeann Poston, MD, aCertified physician and health advisor For Revigor Medicine.
Because hooks push your mask away from your face, they can create shortcomings. Although there is no research on particular mask carriers, disease control and prevention centers (CDC) indicate that masks must hold "well around the nose and chin withNo big gaps around the sides Facial "In order to work effectively. Otherwise, contaminated particles could enter your airspace and infect or leave your mask and spread the virus to other people if you are sick. And for more coronavirus problems,The CEO of Moderna has just made this frightening prediction on Covid.
Mask hooks can also exacerbate other problems.
Gary Goldenberg, MD, a clinical professor Assistant de Dermatology at the ICAHN medicine school at Mount Sinai in New York, saidPrevention that you may want to thinkTwice the use of mask hooks If you try to protect your skin.
"Silicone and plastic can irritate the skin, especially in contact for a long time and hot weather," he explained. In addition, even if they reduce the direct contact between your mask and your skin ", it is always possible to obtain rashes in the support support area," said Goldenberg. That is why it recommends skin care creams and appropriate requirements as solutions to hide acne on the use of mask hooks. And if you are worried about the virus, know thatThese 3 things could prevent almost all cases of Covid, study.
If you use mask hooks, they must be washed regularly.
As long as they do not interfere with the way your mask rests against your face and do not produce an unwanted reaction on your skin, Kroll says that mask hooks can be cautious to use. However, if you will use one, it should be washed regularly, just like your mask, the pose warns.
The CDC says yourThe mask must be washed after each useWhile dirty masks could make you more vulnerable to Covid. According to Kroll, you should be able to wash your support with soap and water at the same rate, depending on the material. And for more mask tips,Do this to your mask could keep you even safer from Covid, say experts.