A case in point: why don't valve masks protect against viruses?

The whole world is trying to stop the spread of coronavirus infection and wearing protective masks is of great benefit in this matter. During the pandemic, scientists have already made sure that medical masks and homemade masks protect best from infection... But many people lack air in them,therefore, some people buy masks with valves, the wearing of which brings the least discomfort. However, there is practically no point in wearing them - maybe they protect against infection from the outside, but they certainly do not stop the spread of the virus. If an infected person puts on a mask with a valve, they will transmit the virus as if they did not have a mask. Recently, the ineffectiveness of valve masks has been demonstrated by researchers at the US National Institute of Standards and Technology.

There are several types of face masks and masks with valves - the least safe

What is the best mask?

At the very beginning of the coronavirus pandemicmany experts believed that ordinary medical masks could not prevent viral particles from entering the body. Therefore, some people wear medical respirators with valves that are equipped with filters. But experience has shown that inexpensive medical masks and homemade products can stop particles ranging in size from 10 to 200 nanometers. They are much more effective in stopping the spread of infections, the main thing is that their structure provides for the presence of two types of tissues. We wrote more about how to properly sew a medical mask in this article.

Homemade face masks have long been proven effective.

In early fall of 2020 in a scientific journalPhysics of Fluids published an article that medical valve respirators have two drawbacks. Firstly, they often do not fit tightly to the face and viruses can penetrate through the gaps that form. Secondly, although the valves prevent viruses from entering the body, they do not prevent them from entering the environment. That is, if an infected person wears a medical respirator, it is far from the fact that he will not infect the surrounding people with a virus.

Read also: Air-purifying face masks - trend 2020?

Danger of masks with valves

To show the ineffectiveness of medicalrespirators, engineer Matthew Staymates filmed several videos. They clearly show that a person in a mask with valves releases into the environment as many potentially dangerous particles as an open person. At the same time, the mask without valves retains particles much better.

I don't wear a mask to protect myself. I wear it to protect people aroundbecause I can be sick with coronavirusasymptomatic and infect people without even knowing it. But if I wear a mask with a valve, I will not be able to help stop the spread of the virus, - explained Matthew Stamats.

According to the authors of the scientific work, in the firstlineup N95 respirators were developed to protect builders from dust and doctors from infected patients. Yes, they can delay the entry of hazardous particles into the body. But it is important to understand that if you are already infected with a virus and wear such a mask, you will become a distributor of the virus. In some people, the disease runs without symptoms such as fever, lack of sensitivity to odors and coughing. But they, without knowing it, pose a danger to people. That is why it is important for every person to wear an ordinary medical mask, otherwise the spread of the coronavirus cannot be stopped.

Well, needless to say that, if availableobvious symptoms of infection, people should not go out? In this case, self-isolation is very important, and in order to receive treatment, it is necessary to call a doctor at home. Self-medication is prohibited, because doctors assure that the high mortality rate is mainly associated with complications arising from attempts at self-treatment.

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The authors of the scientific work hope thatthe video posted will make people understand the importance of wearing masks in public. More importantly, people should start using masks without valves or even sew them themselves. According to Matthew Stamats, for now, we must work together to fight the pandemic. And only teamwork with the personal responsibility of each will allow us to maintain victories in this matter.