A short stroll a mask aisle, or a quick browse on the internet, can leave you scratching your head. What are all these different face masks? Do they all offer the same protection? What one do I need to get around in the community or in the office? Unfortunately, there is a big difference in masks available on the market. Some offer little protection at all, where some provide more protection than you will likely need.
So should you just go for the best mask, the one that offers the best protection? Well, the answer here is also not so straight forward. There is the consideration that during a pandemic, especially one on a global scale, that there are limited resources. This is especially true when talking about high performance face masks. For that reason, we don’t advise you to buy the highest protection mask unless you are in an environment that needs it. For instance, if you are a health worker and likely to be exposed to the Covid-19 virus, then the best mask is a reasonable precaution to take. If you are dealing with hazardous substances like asbestos or silica dust, that is another reason to have a high filtration mask. Do you need the best mask to go shopping, or to get petrol, or in your digital marketing agency? This is also based on your own health circumstances, but chances are you will get adequate protection from a lower level mask.
N95 Respirators
An N95 face mask is designed in a way that tightly fits on your face and it leaves no space between the surface of your face and the mask. The N95 masks for sale on the market today are the most effective disposable face masks. They can filter particles as small as 0.3 microns. Before Covid-19, they were mostly used for applications such as fire fighting, asbestos removal, and certain surgical procedures. An N95 face mask is usually safe to wear for 8 hours.
As Covid-19 is spreading these days, the N95 mask has become more mainstream in the community. Equivalent standards from other countries like P2 Masks, FFP2 Masks, KN95 Face Masks are all found online in stores like Canberra Diamond Blade in Australia. Shops like this one have safety departments, to cater for the trademen that need such specialized PPE. While these are the best type of masks, unless you are in a Covid-19 area, you most likely do not need one in your office.
Surgical Face Mask
A surgical face mask is made up of loose-fitting melt blown material that protects the transfer of germs that come at you from direct spray, for example some one coughing toward you, or speaking to you. But because they have gaps on the side, they are not protecting you from tiny airborne particles that are floating about in the air. But by providing protection from direct sprays of germs, which is the most common form of transmission, provides good enough protection for lower risk usage.
Surgical face masks are important to wear if you are contagious as they can also prevent the spread of germs from you into the air. So it is not only important to wear a face mask to protect yourself, but also to protect your community. Surgical face masks are disposable and cannot be used more than once.
The most confusing thing about surgical masks is that there are a range of different grades of protection, and you can not tell by looking at the actual face mask. Every face mask has a different thickness and protection level. The only way of knowing, is by reading the grade on the box. For instance, general medical doctors and dentists previously use mostly examination masks. This is the lowest level of filtration and waterproof material and is a Level 1 face mask. The surgical masks you see most commonly on the market during covid -19, are the next level up – Level 2. And Level 3 is keept mainly for high risk medical operations.
So Which Face Mask is Best For You?
All face masks have different benefits are used in a range of industries and applications. To work out which face mask you need, you should consider what is the risk you face and the probably of that risk.
If you are a general health professional you probably need a Level 2 Surgical mask for most of your work. If you work in areas of high risk of Covid- 19, then investing in a N95 or equivalent standard respirator is probably a wise choice.
For a community member going around your everyday business such as groceries or heading into the office, you can opt for a Level 1 Surgical Mask or even a Public Mask (non-gradedmask). Even a good 3 layer cotton mask has been recommended by the Centre for Disease Control for the use of the general public as they provide adequate protection for the level of risk exposure.
