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The effectiveness of mouthguards against coronavirus 2:10
(CNN) - Face masks (face masks or chinstraps) can be unexpectedly difficult to wear, especially for those who are inexperienced in wearing them.
Knowing which one to buy and understanding who they protect, finding out if you can reuse them and how to get the little ones to use them are daunting tasks.
Social distancing remains our best bet to prevent further spread of the coronavirus. But since April 3, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has encouraged Americans to use "cloth covers" in places where distancing patterns are difficult to maintain.
But is your scarf really helping you? Only people who know they are infected should wear masks? And what if your kids throw a tantrum when you ask them to put it on?
We answer all the questions readers have been asking about face masks.
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Should I wear a mask in public?
On April 3, the CDC changed its guidelines to recommend that we should use "cloth covers" in public places where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain, such as supermarkets and pharmacies.
The guide was updated in light of new evidence of the high percentage of people who spread the virus asymptomatically. This means that the virus can be easily spread among people who interact very closely by coughing, sneezing, or even talking, even if those people have no symptoms.
Some states in the United States require citizens to wear masks in public spaces, such as Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island, beginning April 20. Some countries, including Germany, Turkey and Jamaica, and several in Latin America, have also required that people wear masks.
Who do you protect if you wear a mask?
The benefit of wearing masks in public is not protecting you from disease. It is to protect others from exposure if you are sick or are an asymptomatic carrier. But if we all wear masks, we could help each other, said Dr. Joseph Vinetz, professor of the infectious diseases section at Yale School of Medicine.
"The idea about wearing the face mask is to prevent the virus from getting out of someone's mouth and nose, mainly out of their mouth," Vinetz said. "It prevents someone, when they speak or sometimes when they sneeze or cough, from expelling viruses and causing infections in other people."
Wearing a mask doesn't totally prevent you from becoming infected, Vinetz added. The virus can live on the surface for hours, and in as little as three days, and it's easy to touch your face when you're not wearing a mask.
Even if you wear a mask, maintaining a social distance of two meters is important to stop the spread of the virus. The CDC considers face masks to be an additional voluntary public health measure, but remember to also consult your state of origin health guidelines.
What type of mask should I buy?
Although the CDC recommends that we wear masks or face masks, we should not purchase surgical masks or N95 type respirator masks. These are desperately needed for healthcare workers and healthcare workers who are in close proximity to coronavirus patients every day, and supplies in some areas are dwindling.
Fashionable chinstraps to fight coronavirus 2:49However, you can easily make your own cloth mask made from old clothes or other common materials and household items. And you don't even have to sew. You can make one with a scarf and a coffee filter. United States Surgeon General Jerome Adams showed us how to make facial masks out of a T-shirt and elastic bands in a video from CDC.
"Ultimately, it's about having some form of multi-layered barrier," CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta said in a CNN video on why masks in addition to physical distancing are important.
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N-95 masks (Justin Chin / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Masks made from a combination of cotton with natural silk or gauze can also effectively filter out aerosol particles, according to a new study published Friday in the journal American Chemical Society Nano. Our respiratory drops form in a variety of sizes, but small ones, called aerosol particles, can slip through the spaces between certain fabric fibers.
You can replace the gauze with natural silk or flannel, or use a cotton quilt with cotton and polyester insulation, to achieve similar results, according to the study.
There are also disposable cloth masks that you can buy at a store or online. They are not made for surgery or hospitals, but they are effective for your needs and are widely used.
What is the difference between a surgical mask and an N95 mask?
"When it comes to facial coatings, there are surgical masks that I wear in the hospital to protect patients from my own germs and prevent spatter," said Gupta, who works as a neurosurgeon.
N95 respirators are masks that must fit the faces of healthcare workers to protect them during certain procedures, Gupta added.
"It is the only one of these masks that prevents most very small particles from entering, when used correctly," he continued. "We need to keep those masks in their hands."
Doctor shows her day to day in the battle against covid-19 5:37Are cloth masks as effective as medical masks?
Medical grade masks are more effective, but that "does not mean that we should rule out the benefit of cloth masks," said Gupta.
Due to how far our respiratory droplets travel when we speak, cough, or sneeze, face masks can help contain the range of those droplets.
The researchers in the Nano study used sodium chloride to replicate respiratory particles that vary in size, and blew the particles through samples of material at a rate similar to a person's breathing at rest. They measured the number and size of the particles in the air before and after passing through the fabric.
A layer of a well woven cotton sheet combined with two layers of polyester-spandex gauze filtered most of the air particles, between 80% to 99%. According to the study, its effectiveness was close to an N95 mask.
Well-woven fabrics, such as cotton, can be a mechanical barrier against particles, while fabrics with a static charge, such as natural silk or chiffon, act as an electrostatic barrier, according to the study.
However, a very small gap reduced the effectiveness of the mask by at least 50%, emphasizing the importance of a properly fitted mask, according to the study.
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Can you reuse them?
Homemade masks can be reused because they are washable, Vinetz said.
You should wash the masks before and after each use to clean up any germs that have been picked up in public. Hand wash the masks or put them in a mesh washing bag in the washing machine so they do not separate, and use a high temperature setting.
If you already have a disposable surgical or medical grade mask, you can also reuse them. To disinfect it, leave it in a clean, safe place in your home for a couple of days, Vinetz suggested. After that, it should no longer be infectious.
Can I put them in the microwave to kill germs?
If you're thinking you might be able to bombard your mask to kill germs, "that's not a great idea," Vinetz said.
"We have no evidence of that," he said. “If there is a piece of metal in a surgical mask or N95 and even staples, you cannot microwave them. It will explode. If you have a homemade or cloth mask or what's called a face covering, just wash it off. This [microwave] is not going to work. ”
How can I prevent my lenses from fogging up?
For those who wear glasses, wearing a mask means figuring out how to prevent fogging when we go to the supermarket.
"To prevent your glasses from fogging, you should fold the mask around your nose so that air that comes out of your mouth or nose doesn't get into your glasses," Vinetz said. How can I get my children to wear masks?
Celebrities talk about the pandemic in Sesame Street 1:01If your child refuses to wear a mask, takes it off and throws it away, chews it or not, his actions could increase the risk of infection, said Christopher Willard, professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and author of "The Breathing Book ”, A children's breathing practice book.
Children may be afraid to wear a face mask because they are more sensitive to new things than adults, Willard said.
"There is also the strange psychological aspect of not being able to see your own face or other people's faces and facial expressions," he added, "which really interferes with communication and signs that [they feel safe]."
To ease your fears of masks, shop or make covers with attractive fabrics, or draw something cool with markers to make them look more fun. Try your children's favorite superhero or ninja drawings on the masks. Show your child your own mask and how, by wearing one, it will be just like mom or dad. See if you can find images of your children's favorite celebrities with masks.
Doing so could make your kids feel like the masks are "theirs" and give them a sense of ownership, getting them excited and making them more likely to wear them, Willard said.
"I think knowing that they are protecting others can also help, and make it fun to talk about dressing up as superheroes or something."
And altruism is not just for children, but for everyone who wears a mask for the public good.
"It is part of our social contract to take care of each other," Vinetz said. "It is a social solidarity for all in a public place, when political and public health authorities tell them to cover their faces according to what is recommended."
- CNN's Holly Yan and Scottie Andrew contributed to this report.
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