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PANDEMIC ALERT LEVEL
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Tracking the next pandemic: Avian Flu Talk

Respirator Question
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Quatermass View Drop Down
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    Posted: April 26 2009 at 6:50pm
Hello All,
 
New to the site - Forum has proved very insightful.
 
I have a quick question I am hoping someone may be able to help me with.
 
With the Swine Flu concerns going around I have been giving some thought to purchasing some respirators for myself and my partner.
 
I knew nothing of these until this evening where I've gone around reading up.
 
It seems types N95 and P100 are the "best" to get.
 
I have been focusing on P100 masks.  However, I'm abit confused as to what I should be going for.
 
I notice you are able to purchase Face masks and load these with the desired filter.  There seems to be an abundance of P100 "Filters" our there, just a lack of masks.
 
I discovered the following:
 
 
This accepts P100 filters.
 
Does anyone know if this sort of mask is suitable?  Is it suitable for medical use if I just buy it and load it with P100 filters?
 
I am aware that there are purely surgical P100 masks but the ones I found just confused me.  If anyone has any other recommendations, I'd love to hear about it.
 
I am in the UK and so getting my hands on this sort of thing seems quite difficult (most of the sites I've encountered are in the US).
 
Apologies if this sort of question has been asked before.  I did run a search but was unable to find anything.
 
Thanks,
 
Jake
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setag View Drop Down
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http://www.avianflutalk.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=978
"Good fortune is what happens when opportunity meets with planning." - Thomas Alva Edison
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Annie View Drop Down
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Bump, I cannot answer your question, but perhaps one of the medical participants on the forum can help you.
Dense populations are going to be hit very hard by this pestiferousness little (flu virus) monster. "Technologist"
Stock 3 months water, food, weapon/ammo, meds, supplies, and some money at home.
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jacksdad View Drop Down
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  Good quality N95s will probably be up to the job, but you'll get different advice depending who you talk to. Which ever kind you get, make sure the mask fits well (I've heard of people using tape around the edge to seal them), and remember that they don't work with beards. Hand to face is how most people catch the flu so invest in lots of hand sanitizer and use the heck out of in public settings.
  For those people considering surgical masks - DON'T. They're meant to stop you from infecting someone else, not the other way around. The filter medium is usually not up to stopping something as small as a virus, and the poor fit allows contaminated air to pass around the sides when you breathe in.
"Buy it cheap. Stack it deep"
"Any community that fails to prepare, with the expectation that the federal government will come to the rescue, will be tragically wrong." Michael Leavitt, HHS Secretary.
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for those of you with breathing problems the masks are not easy to wear, your lungs are already compromised so work with what you have and try to find something that works for you. N 95 I have heard is best, but I know in 1918 they did not have them and they still used masks and the masks they claim helped. I think that the taping idea is good, it is the bulges and leaks that let things in. You can use cloth to re inforce masks also.

 
 Another thing I plan to do is to get a permanent marker and some good zip lock bags, and when we have used masks to go out on a walk or for general use not in direct contact with a sick person we will remove the masks with gloved hands, put them into a ziplock bag and date the bag. In six months it could be hard to find masks at all and the virus will be dead by that time. So you could re use the masks. Do this at your own risk. It is just a idea.
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T15 View Drop Down
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I was in local pharmacy shops in my town in Poland .

finaly I finished today in the medical wholesale company magazine . I was in the biuro and then went inside to the magazine ..

what was interesting to me was the fact that ewerywhere they even didnt know what Im tolking about .
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rickster58 View Drop Down
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Hi Jake,
 
I would be concerned with any half or full face respirator simply because you have to decontaminate them after each use.  This can be a risky business if you're not set up for it.
Also it is more difficult to achieve a positive facial seal with a full or half face respirator.
 
There is an alternative....an Australian invention available in the USA from www.emrytrading.com
 
The Virogard mask is a true anti-viral mask. Incorporated into its design is a unique polymer coating that kills pathogens on contact via a mechanical process.  
 
The simplest way to describe the proprietary coating is to imagine you are looking at the mask fabric under a microscope. Bonded to the fibres of the mask are millions of interlocking spiked spheres that allow air flow but block pathogens by spearing and trapping them. A minute electrical current built in to the coating neutralizes the nucleus of the pathogen, effectively killing it. In independent testing, the Virogard mask recorded a log 3 reduction of pathogens in 10 minutes. effectively a 98.999% reduction.
 
The mask is also waterproof and can be hand washed and reused 20 times.
 
Hope this helps
Rick
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*NEO* View Drop Down
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You need N99 mask to protect yourself from the virus, the mask that you see people in mexico wearing are not protecting them from the virus, its just so people dont go around sneezing on others.
 
You need N99 mask, eyeprotection, gloves and a full body particle suit. Then you can go shopping with sick people.
 
 
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Quatermass View Drop Down
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I appreciate the help all, thank you.

One last question - With regards to filters:
 
 
Would this filter be the correct type to get?  P3, as far as I understand, is FFP3 which is the highest level available.
 
Thanks,
 
Jake
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*NEO* View Drop Down
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You need to get use once masks, i think. FFP3D is the best mask you can get, lokk for the 3m masks.
 
I will also advise to use eyeprotection (no ventilation)  and gloves. thats if you need to go out for food and water.
 
Take care, hope you make it.
 
 
 
 
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Quatermass View Drop Down
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Hi Neo,

Thanks for the reply - Yes I'm aware of that but I was just curious if the filter I linked was the correct type (as there are so many of them, I just selected the the first P3 Particulate Organic one I could see) if I were to buy a full face or half face mask.
 
Jake
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http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/masks.htm?s_cid=tw_epr_76

Interim Recommendations for Facemask and Respirator Use in Certain Community Settings Where Swine Influenza A (H1N1) Virus Transmission Has Been Detected
Dense populations are going to be hit very hard by this pestiferousness little (flu virus) monster. "Technologist"
Stock 3 months water, food, weapon/ammo, meds, supplies, and some money at home.
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Turboguy View Drop Down
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Originally posted by *NEO* *NEO* wrote:

You need N99 mask, eyeprotection, gloves and a full body particle suit. Then you can go shopping with sick people.
 
I will also advise to use eyeprotection (no ventilation)  and gloves. thats if you need to go out for food and water.
 
Take care, hope you make it.  
 
Jesus! You don't think social distance will be enough? Hell, if you're going to go that far just get yourself a full charcoal lines suit and a NBC mask with filter and optional SCBA! Then get yourself an M4 with the Beta-C 100 round drum magazine to keep the infected horde away from you with a hail of 55 grain, jacketed death.
 
You'll be fine. Just wash your hands really good, stay away from people as best you can, keep your hands out of your eyes, nose, and mouth, try not to handle too much cash (but only if it gets really bad). What you're advising is commonly known as "freaking out." Yes things are precarious right now, but freaking out prematurely will just make things worse and make you look genuinely strange if this thing fizzles out.
 
If it gets to the point that we're, actually, you guys are walking around in gloves, non-ventilated anti fog goggles, and N99/N95 masks the fecal matter will have officially impacted the spinning air displacement unit and things will have really gotten out of hand and you'd better exit the city post-haste.
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*NEO* View Drop Down
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hello turboguy, the "outfit" i would wear, will only be if the **** really hits the fan, now is not a time to panic, now is a time to prep.
 
 
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Gotcha and well said sir. I still think social distance will be enough,but if that's one of the steps you're willing to take to keep yourself safe, especially were the s to really htf. I just am afraid that people will get weird prematurely, much like the person that is talking about Mexico burning mass graves of people in a thread here.
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Elizabeth View Drop Down
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I have some masks I got about 3 years ago, but we used some for projects.  So yesterday I went to the hardware store and got a box of 30 N95's.  Watch out for price.  The store I went to had the most expensive ones in a big display right by the door, and they were $24 for a box of 10.  An employee came by and asked me if I needed help with anything, and I asked if they had any cheaper ones.  He showed me the other shelf of masks, near the floor 2 isles down.  Those were fine, and they were 30 for $17.  Probably still over priced, but at least I have them.
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