Do Face Masks Prevent the Spread of H1N1?
In a recent blog I mentioned seeing a family at the grocery store wearing surgical masks. My thoughts on this were, "Gee, they must have swine flu," and, "Why don't they stay at home?" One blog commenter named Sara heatedly asked how I didn't know that they were trying to protect themselves from getting H1N1. She has an excellent point. Although, since surgical masks aren't sold at Walmart I figure they must have been to the doctor's office to get them in the first place. But what if they were trying to protect themselves? Would it work?
H1N1 like all flu viruses is airborne. This means that it is spread via droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes and a bystander inhales the virus. It can also live on surfaces and be contracted when someone touches the virus and then unwittingly touches their eyes or mouth, (or eats without washing their hands). In the hospital nurses caring for patients with H1N1 do not wear just any old surgical mask. They wear N95 respirators or PAPR hoods. The result is a bunch of nurses who look like they are either about to board a spaceship or just stepped off the set of Outbreak. Clearly the hospital does not deem a regular surgical mask to be appropriate equipment against H1N1.
However, in a recent outbreak of H1N1 in Japan face masks were widely employed and the outbreak was contained fairly quickly. Here's how I make sense of this: when someone infected with H1N1 wears a mask their coughs and sneezes are relatively more contained than without the mask. Thereby they may help to reduce the spread of the illness by wearing a face mask. But still, the CDC recommends you stay at home for 7 days if you have H1N1 symptoms except to seek medical care. What do you think, should people with flu like symptoms be able to leave their home if they are wearing a mask?
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Comments
I think it would be preferable for people to stay home if they’re sick. It’s a safer alternative for everyone (including the sick person, who should be resting anyway). But for those who feel they must go out, for whatever reason, I think a face mask is better than nothing.
But I also think it’s wise to carry hand sanitizer with you and get out of the habit of touching your hands to your face, etc. I think every little step can help.
Fortunately, H1N1 doesn’t look like it’s especially virulent (at least not at this time), but it doesn’t hurt to get into healthy habits, in case another strain comes along that is–and just to keep from spreading regular flu, which is no picnic either.
I don’t think regular surgical masks will prevent the transmission of H1N1 (or any other virus, for that matter). People need to wear those N95 Surgical Particulate Respirators approved by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), which is part of the CDC.
I wear a mask everywhere and don’t have it–I believe more people will be wearing masks by fall to get themselves through until the vaccine becomes available. Btw when news first hit I plugged the initial numbers into a spreadsheet and then did a 2 to 15 day doubling interval steps on the numbers, deaths do “lag” the actual reported H1N1 flu cases if you look at “2009 flu pandemic” current event article on wikipedia you can see on the graph that the death curve has started to turn upward—we are facing a serious problem with H1N1 and unfortunately for all people that have gone on the record (and everyone else for that matter) that this is no big deal are going to wind up not looking very good.
In theory, it sounds good to be able to leave the house with a mask, assuming it’s dense enough to keep the baddies out of the air. A question is whether the mask stays on all the time, or if the person takes it off once in a while to wash his/her face in the bathroom, etc. In practice, I wouldn’t trust myself to protect other people with just a mask.
I think the simplest advice remains the best advice. 1) Don’t go out in public (this includes work) if you have flu symptoms. 2) Wash your hands frequently. 3) Use hand sanitizer *according to the directions* when you can’t wash your hands.
I personally find it very annoying when sick people continue on as normal, particularly when they say they feel OK, but spread their germs everywhere. Then everyone else gets sick, and stays home, and they boast about how they were the only one who didn’t wimp out and stay home. I particularly dislike people who send their kids to preschool and playgroup when they have steaming noses and eyes. Not only is it disgusting to see, but everyone else’s kids get sick as well. Please keep your germs to yourself by staying home while you are sick.
As soon as we heard about swine flu, my husband ran to the pharmacy and bought face masks, not because we had it, but because we don’t want to get it. Sure – turns out those masks would probably not work, but it seemed like a good idea at the time!
I agree with Elizabeth society needs to change many of their methodologies, especial the way we view working while ill. We’ve all heard the story, “You know my Grandfather never missed a day of work, even when his gout was so inflamed he couldn’t get his boot on he was their early and worked twice than anyone else on his team, normally he worked three times harder but because of the illness and the walk to work uphill in the snow”…..I digress, but when did we decide it was socially acceptable to go to work when sick. Oh your such a trooper, you must feel horrible. I do but you now me I’ve gotta be here everyday and look important so I’m sure to be noticed by management, plus once I retire I’ll be able to buy a small island in the bahamas on all the vacation time I’ve saved up. Then you go on with the accolades of your co-workers, pittifully struggling about your work day, and inadvertently infecting the entire building.
We need more common sence. This is why we have sick days, though most companies don’t give you enough to last through even a simple bout of the flu.
I have seen some companies making changes and encouraging people to stay home if they feel sick, even offering to pay for the leave if they end up with a bonafide case of H1N1.
We need to take care of ourselves, if you feel sick, stay home and get yourself feeling better. Live healthy, and help keep those around you healthy.
I don’t think a face mask will save you from the swine flu, but if it makes you feel safer, by all means wear one. And of course load up on the hand sanitizer.
Now if your sick stay in bed, and get someone else to go to the store for you, but if you feel you must go, wear a mask. I think that just helps everyone else out. And for all of us when were out there at the store don’t treat the mask like a giant scarlet A on the persons pinafore. I think most people are afraid to wear one as they don’t want to look like and idiot, because everyones wondering, are they sick, or is it just bad plastic surgery.
I’ve worked for the MOH and this is the recommendation:
If you have flu symptoms, wear a surgical mask to prevent your saliva and droplets from spreading into the environment when you sneeze or cough. Of course, stay home and quarantine youself if you have the H1N1 virus.
For those who are not sick, use the N95 mask, to prevent catching the virus. Maintain good personal hygiene so that you do not bring any germs back home with you. I have the full details on my blog at