Posted on 03/06/2006 9:56:51 PM PST by neverdem
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON -- How much protection would a face mask offer during a worldwide flu epidemic? And would people need a fresh one every day or even every few hours?
There aren't clear answers, public health experts said Monday as the Institute of Medicine grappled with what advice to offer the federal government.
Health workers use masks - simple surgical masks or better-filtering ones called N95 respirators - to prevent infection while caring for sick patients. But the public undoubtedly will turn to masks as well if a flu pandemic strikes, and experts say supplies will quickly run short.
Both types of masks are supposed to be used once and discarded. So federal health officials asked the IOM, a prestigious group of independent scientists, to determine if there are ways that health workers could reuse their N95 masks - and if average citizens need reusable masks, too.
The IOM will issue its report this spring.
At a public meeting Monday, health experts cited a host of questions. Among them: how long the masks work once donned; whether reused masks could be contaminated and spread infection; how to ensure they're worn correctly - N95 masks have to be fitted to the user's face and are hard to breathe in for long stretches.
And would wearing a mask on, say, the subway protect people enough, or should they have driven or stayed home? Linda Chiarello of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said if masks eventually are recommended for the public, the advice must not create a false sense of security.
"The lack of clear data ... is a dilemma for those of us on the front lines," said Dr. Jeff Durchin of the Seattle-King County Health Department, adding that people already call health departments to ask what masks they should personally stockpile.
"We should not be talking about the reusability of masks or other devices until we know whether they actually work to begin with," said Jeffrey Levi of Trust for America's Health, a nonprofit health advocacy group.
A man carries cages with cats in an animal shelter in the Austrian town of Graz, Monday March 6, 2006. Three cats from the sanctuary that took in H5N1-infected birds have tested positive for bird flu, Austrian state authorities said Monday, confirming the first case here of the strain spreading to an animal other than birds. Some 160 cats have been transferred to be quarantined. (AP Photo/Markus Leodolter)
You can find the N95 masks at Walgreens, 2 for about $6. I also saw them at Home Depot but they're priced at ONE for $6.
Since the disease has not evolved to be human-human transmittable, and since we won't know how that transmission will take place until it has, I think that it's rather foolish to be concerned with which totally worthless paper face mask is best.
If we would need masks, wouldn't we need rubber gloves as well? If I understand correctly, the infection can enter the body through the eyes. (Scenario: Touching a contaminated surface with a bare hand then rubbing your eye?) It wouldn't matter if you were wearing a mask in that situation. I think an individual would be less inclined to rub their eyes while wearing rubber gloves.
(I hope all that makes sense!!!)
Adequate hand washing should suffice. What are you rubbing your eyes for?
I deal with scads of airborne dust daily, and wear the same N95 mask all day, sometimes for a couple of days.
It's not that bad once you get used to it, and since I'm dealing with mostly lint, the mask actually gets MORE effective at removing dust over time.
I also wear rubber gloves when I have to deal with any of the waste stream.
For the fellow who asked why eyes get rubbed, have you never had an itch?
I'm that fellow. Unless it's an acute insect bite that removes the bug, scratching that itch usually is counterproductive at best, unless the scratcher is prompted to be eventually, correctly diagnosed and treated, IMHO.
I got a few just in case...hey, it's better than nothing...plus I plan on using the mask when I sand my coffee table down so I can refinish it.
I used to work in the hazardous waste industry, so I guess I'm more inclined for overkill when it comes to protective gear. When dealing with things that can kill me, I prefer a minimum of a full-face respirator with acid/gas/organic cartridges and a HEPA stack - just to be sure. ;-)
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