#TGLIFE
Can wearing a medical face mask protect you against the new coronavirus? It’s a question many people are asking. If it’s a regular surgical face mask, the answer is “no,” Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious-disease specialist at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, has stated.
A more specialized mask, known as an N95 respirator, can protect against the new coronavirus, also called 2019-nCoV. The respirator is thicker than a surgical mask, but Schaffner doesn’t recommend it for public use, at least not at this point. That’s because, in part, it’s challenging to put these masks on and wear them for long periods of time, he said.
Specialists receive retraining annually on how to properly fit these respirators around the nose, cheeks and chin, ensuring that wearers don’t breathe around the edges of the respirator. “When you do that, it turns out that the work of breathing, since you’re going through a very thick material, is harder. You have to work to breathe in and out. It’s a bit claustrophobic. It can get moist and hot in there,” Schaffner said.
Meanwhile, influenza will infect, hospitalize and even kill thousands upon thousands of Americans this year, but most people aren’t thinking of taking the same precautions for that illness, he said. Furthermore, while there is no shortage of the respirators now, there could be if too many people unnecessarily buy one, Schaffner said.
