By Todd Freeman
WITH ALL THE PRESSURE to wear masks, why is there so little instruction about them? Which ones work? Which ones don’t, and which ones actually pose a danger?
WE know that COVID-19 is spread by inhaling droplets from an infected person’s cough or sneeze. This is why most transmissions are among family members in a household.
In my youth, I was an EMT for nearly ten years, and I was taught how and when to use masks. Nowadays, I’m a licensed painting contractor. In both fields, I always used and use the correct mask for the situation. I wore it correctly as an EMT and I wear it correctly now. The valved N95, which I use all the time, filters dust out of the air where I’m working. This type of mask is not designed for disease control.
Now, imagine my complete surprise when only last week, did I learn that there are four completely different masks that are all referred to as N95 — no wonder there’s confusion! They, along with all other “respirator masks”, have exhaust valves which let you exhale or cough or sneeze through the valves, releasing droplets freely into the environment without restriction.
I’ve been referring to all masks as “Typhoid Mary Masks” because they aren’t capable of containing a sneeze or cough of a symptomatic COVID patient wearing a mask! If I were symptomatic with COVID-19, and wore a valved mask, wouldn’t that make valved masks dangerous?
We have seen people, including elected officials, wearing face coverings but leaving their noses completely exposed! Once again we are being shown the wrong example of technique.
If this is a public health concern, why aren’t public health agencies advocating the use of the correct masks? Or is a bandanna all that that’s needed? I find it somewhat confusing that officials require a mask while neglecting to offer proper usage. Could this oversight be compounding the problem?
Todd Freeman is a former EMT/Paramedic. His information has been vetted by his professional medical colleagues, including an RN, and ICU RN, a current EMT/Paramedic, the infections disease control officer of a large hospital, the medical compliance officer of another large hospital, and a former state public health agency employee who served during the last H1N1 flu epidemic in 2009-2010
