According to the Master, Dr. Dinh Nguyen Huy Man, Dean of the Department of Infection Control, Hospital of Tropical Diseases in Ho Chi Minh City, masks are considered as personal protective equipment, can prevent respiratory infections, Especially in the cold season today.
 |
| Not everyone is aware of the importance of masks, even in highly bacterial environments such as hospitals. Image: Lê Phương. |
Wearing masks in addition to helping cover the sun, dust cover, reduce the smell of car smoke ... also have two important purposes is to prevent the disease from the patient does not spread outside and to protect themselves wearing masks. Avoid some infectious diseases.
Often, respiratory infections include airborne disease and droplets.
Dr Man said the droplet was a tiny droplet that was larger than 5 micrometers in size, emanating from the respiratory tract, coughing and sneezing. and not suspended in the air, can fall, stick to the surrounding surface, should be able to splash into the eyes or nose of people who do not wear a mask or are not protected on the surface of contact. These droplets have a range of effects at a distance of about 1 m, so close contacts are susceptible to infection. In addition, hand-mediated exposure to pathogenic bacteria can also lead to the risk of contracting the disease by accidentally returning the hand to the nose or mouth.
Influenza A / H5N1, influenza A / H1N1 flu ... are the diseases spread by droplets. Wearing a facemask and regularly washing your hands with soap will help prevent the spread of disease. Patients themselves should also wear masks to prevent germs from spreading out.
Wearing masks also helps prevent airborne illnesses such as tuberculosis. Air droplets also come from the respiratory tract, which is less than 5 microns in size, lightly suspended in air and dispersible within a few dozen meters. With tuberculosis, although the density of TB germs is diluted in the air but still highly contagious, some people with weak or weak immune responses are susceptible to the disease.
In the market today there are many types of masks with a variety of materials, disposable types such as paper pages, medical masks or reusable types such as cloth masks, Activity ... Clothespite generally only the function of sunscreen, dust cover rather than the function of respiratory infection. Medical masks are thin but have an important role in preventing the disease because they are sterilized before being marketed.
For highly pathogenic airborne pathogens, or those working in environments where transmission of highly contagious diseases is required, special medical masks , safe, highly protective (eg N95 facemask) to increase the possibility of disease prevention.
When wearing medical masks, put a mask on the lead to keep the nose closed. To be safe, medical masks should only be used once. It is not safe to wear a mask when you put it in your bag. "Facial masks have two sides, the inside and the outside, which, once put in the bag and then reused, will easily lead to a dirty face, which will allow the bacteria to surface from the outside. dirty face contact, "Dr. Man said.
According to Dr. Man, medical masks have two faces that are nearly identical, so when worn it is easy to be mistaken, so check whether the wear on the left side turned out not. When used, should not be thrown indiscriminately but must be put in the trash to avoid bacteria have the opportunity to disperse. During use, do not touch the outside of the mask.
Wear a mask that is neither too tight nor too tight, so cover your mouth and nose. Do not wear masks to cover your mouth and cover your nose or occasionally pull down your chin to smile.
For normal cloth masks, wear 2-3 layers of fabric. Choose a mask with 2 colors, easily identify the inside and outside when worn.
With cloth canvas purchased along the way, because of unknown origin, material should be washed before use. During the use, wash with soap once a day, drying before use again, because if not cleaned daily will facilitate the bacteria to hide or spread.
Le Phuong