Surgical masks are worn by healthcare workers to prevent bacteria transfer during surgery or when visiting vulnerable patients. They are also used to protect against blood splashes during surgery. However, they have limited effectiveness against viral particles and should not be reused. Good handwashing practices are still the primary means of avoiding virus transmission.
Healthcare workers typically wear a surgical mask during surgery or when visiting vulnerable patients to avoid transferring bacteria from their mouths to patients. The surgical mask can also protect against a patient’s blood splash during surgery. It is usually made of paper or synthetic materials suitable for one-time use.
Some people also wear a paper or synthetic surgical mask to protect themselves from pollen inhalation during the hay fever months. This may provide some benefits and help reduce inhaled pollen, but again it shouldn’t be reused. Because a sterile mask isn’t necessary when trying to avoid pollen, there are better face masks than the sterile surgical mask to keep pollen out of your nose and mouth. Others use a surgical mask to protect themselves from disease, but that’s actually not a benefit of the mask.
When severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreaks in China, Hong Kong and Vietnam threatened the local population, many were seen wearing surgical masks in public in the hope that they would offer them extra protection against SARS. In reality, viral particles from diseases such as SARS can easily penetrate a surgical mask. To provide real protection, you would need an airtight mask capable of trapping tiny virus particles, such as masks from the National Institute for Occupation Safety and Health (NIOSH).
People with SARS or any disease can protect others from certain exposure by wearing a surgical mask. However, if a person infected with SARS coughs or sneezes, the viruses will penetrate most surgical masks. There is still a chance of viral transmission when a person with a highly contagious disease wears a surgical mask. To this end, when certain superfluous are suspected, health workers can wear masks with respirators and special safety suits so that the virus cannot be transmitted.
The surgical mask also has a rather limited amount of time in which it will be effective. Often they will only work for an hour or two at most. Moisture from your mouth and nose will eventually transfer to the outside of the mask, making the simple surgical mask sterile for only a short time. When parents or friends visit people with extremely vulnerable immune systems due to diseases such as cancer, they usually have to leave the room and change masks after an hour or two.
Even though wearing a surgical mask may briefly protect others from any germs you may be carrying, the primary means of avoiding virus transmission is still through good handwashing practices. These should be observed in any public setting and are a particularly important practice in hospitals.
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