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I Wear an Expired N95 Mask When I Go Out in Public

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  • I Wear an Expired N95 Mask When I Go Out in Public

    Since the 1918 pandemic everyone should have been aware that a devastating pandemic could happen again, and now it did. The small quantity of N95 masks I have are ones that I have been storing since the last pandemic scare in 2009. I have not purchased or taken away any masks from the current supply that our health care workers so desperately need to do their job.

    Are my outdated masks safe? I don’t know. Does the filter paper still ward off viruses and bacteria? Hopefully. The elastic bands barely stretch. After one use and they might not continue to create a tight seal. But it is all I have to protective myself from presymptomatic and asymptomatic people (link) that could infect me.

    As a citizen, I believe my best actions for myself and for my fellow citizens is to keep myself from becoming infected so I will not become an additional burden on the already stretched health system. Wearing an N95 mask is my personal effort to flattened the epidemic curve.

    Citizens all over Asia are wearing masks of all kinds to minimize the risk of infection. Yet in the United States, wearing masks is discouraged. We only see masks on people in waiting rooms at doctor’s offices. I think there is a subliminal theme among Americans, that wearing a mask is a sign of weakness and frailty, and probable sickness. When you walk down the street you are viewed with fear and suspicion. The number of cases in my local community is quickly starting to grow and I now wear an N95 mask in public. Last week, on a necessary errand to a store, a clerk carefully eyed my mask and asked me “Are you sick?” I responded “No, are you?” I received a negative reply and then I asked in all seriousness “Are you sure?”

    We all need to do the best job we can to protective ourselves from being infected and becoming another coronavirus statistic. I don’t apologize for being prepared and having an emergency supply of N95 masks. This is an emergency.
    http://novel-infectious-diseases.blogspot.com/

  • #2
    I also have one box, bought in 2006, which I have not opened yet. I was planning to give them to my son who is a nurse in a nursing home for elderly patients with mental disabilities (not just Alzheimer). One of the staff walked into the room with a mask on and half the patients freaked out. They are already having problems as visitors are no-longer permitted and the patients are becoming more agitated and, in some cases, violent.

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    • #3
      Originally posted by JJackson View Post
      I also have one box, bought in 2006, which I have not opened yet. I was planning to give them to my son who is a nurse in a nursing home for elderly patients with mental disabilities (not just Alzheimer). One of the staff walked into the room with a mask on and half the patients freaked out. They are already having problems as visitors are no-longer permitted and the patients are becoming more agitated and, in some cases, violent.
      JJackson, I struggled with the idea of donating these masks to health care workers. I would feel terrible if my old outdated masks provide a false sense of security to a doctor or nurse, and they later became infected and died. We then have one less health care worker and I could become infected now that I am without my face protection. By donating these masks, they would have failed two people, the health care worker and myself.

      I hope that the US government takes this pandemic seriously and immediately provides up-to-date, adequate respirator protection for all health care workers across the country. And I will go on taking my chances with my outdated masks. As Sharon has remarked elsewhere - anything is better than nothing.
      http://novel-infectious-diseases.blogspot.com/

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      • #4
        N95 masks, especially the valved variety, are not the optimal choice for the "everyone wears a mask strategy" to prevent infection. The everyone wears a mask scenario works best when the masks used are the cheap and effective surgical mask variety. The main premise being less about reducing the incidence of the mask wearing individual contracting the virus and more about reducing the incidence of pre/post/asymptomatic patients shedding the virus into the environment, by containing the droplets in the mask.

        This is not only effective, it is also cheap. I get scared when I see valve masks in use in the general public, because they are often not fitted properly, they give a false sense of protection and they greatly amplify "my" risk being around them, versus a surgical mask.

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        • mscox
          mscox commented
          Editing a comment
          Aside: I also wear a P2 or P3 mask when out in risk activities (shopping), but I would much prefer to see everyone, absolutely everyone, wearing surgical masks for community safety.

      • #5
        I wear a mask now, but didnt start till last week, gave some to my sil, a nurse and my brother a firefighter.
        CSI:WORLD http://swineflumagazine.blogspot.com/

        treyfish2004@yahoo.com

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        • #6
          Originally posted by mscox View Post
          N95 masks, especially the valved variety, are not the optimal choice for the "everyone wears a mask strategy" to prevent infection. The everyone wears a mask scenario works best when the masks used are the cheap and effective surgical mask variety. The main premise being less about reducing the incidence of the mask wearing individual contracting the virus and more about reducing the incidence of pre/post/asymptomatic patients shedding the virus into the environment, by containing the droplets in the mask.

          This is not only effective, it is also cheap. I get scared when I see valve masks in use in the general public, because they are often not fitted properly, they give a false sense of protection and they greatly amplify "my" risk being around them, versus a surgical mask.
          Thanks for the comment, mscox. The N95 masks I have are 3M 8210 respirators, they are not the valved variety.

          Your comment about everyone wearing surgical mask to catch large droplets from sick individuals is a good one. However cheap surgical masks are only useful for sick and symptomatic individuals, not very useful for people who want to remain uninfected. When I was out the other day, no one, not anyone but me, was wearing any kind of mask. After all, the government agency charged with protecting the health of this country, the CDC, has told the American public that masks are not necessary.

          I am not coughing, sneezing, or exhibiting symptom. I do not wear a mask to protect others from being infected by me, I wear a mask to protect myself from those around me who are already or may be sick and infected.

          I do not want to be one of the projected 200,000 deaths that support the US government’s claim that it has “altogether done a very good job” in controlling this pandemic (link), an outbreak that could have easily been controlled during the first few weeks after the first case was reported in the US (link).

          I choose to protect myself and not rely on the behavior of others or the US government.
          http://novel-infectious-diseases.blogspot.com/

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          • #7
            There is nothing wrong with wearing a 10+ year old N95 in that it does not take away from current supplies needed for health care workers. It may, or may not, be a good seal but anything else that is available to the average person won't have a good seal either. I say go for it Al.

            No mask is a guarantee. Just look at the large numbers of health care workers that get infected - in every country.

            I think anything that covers the mucous membranes is better than nothing. Even regular glasses act as a sorta shield. Really...we are talking about lessening the viral load. Research is beginning to show that possibly a lighter viral load may result in a less severe infection. The jury is still out on that, but I think the idea is to layer on the prevention efforts:

            1) Stay as physically isolated as you can - at least 6 feet away from people.

            2) When you must go out - wear some kind of protection...homemade mask...maybe some glasses...

            3) When you bring mail, packages, groceries into the house - wipe them down. And then wipe down the area where you opened them.

            4) Wipe down door knobs, toilet handles, refrigerator handle, light switches, etc. a few times a day, depending on how many people you live with.

            5) If you are sharing a bathroom, wipe that down each time before you use it, also depending on how many people you live with.

            6) Of course, wash your hands frequently each day.


            None of the above actions will prevent you from getting COVID-19 but together they might help you lessen the viral load of any exposure to the disease.

            There is a link at the top of the site that discusses how long COVID-19 lasts on surfaces, and also there is a link for homemade mask ideas.

            I am making my own masks and I don't know how to sew. I am glad I am way past caring what people think about my appearance. omg...lol





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