SOMEONE PLEASE DEBUNK THIS!

 

Dear NaturalNews readers,

 

There is unfortunately a lot of really bad preparedness advice about swine flu circulating these days. One of the worst pieces of advice? Wearing an N95 face mask (the paper fiber face masks that hook around your ears with elastic bands). As my feature article explains, these face masks are useless at protecting you from swine flu. Relying on one could even get you killed.

 

Read the truth about the N95 face mask myth in today's article:

http://www.naturalnews.com/026160.html

 

Myth Busted: N95 Masks Are Useless at Protecting Wearers from Swine Flu (NaturalNews) When it comes to infectious disease, preparedness is good. But ill-informed preparedness is a waste of time and resources, and there's a lot of ill-informed preparedness going on right now with the swine flu. Case in point: All those...

 

I read most of the article and while it could be true, everything we do should help a little.

Washing hands and keeping a distance from people. I will use my N95 mask and what ever else I have.

If it just makes me feel better, that may be good...even if just feel good.

Who knows what will ultimately work?

I always thought the N99 was the one to get.

Trust them or not, here is what the CDC says:

Information on the effectiveness of facemasks¹ and respirators² for the control of influenza in community settings is extremely limited. Thus, it is difficult to assess their potential effectiveness in controlling swine influenza A (H1N1) virus transmission in these settings. In the absence of clear scientific data, the interim recommendations below have been developed on the basis of public health judgment and the historical use of facemasks and respirators in other settings.

In areas with confirmed human cases of swine influenza A (H1N1) virus infection, the risk for infection can be reduced through a combination of actions. No single action will provide complete protection, but an approach combining the following steps can help decrease the likelihood of transmission. These actions include frequent handwashing, covering coughs, and having ill persons stay home, except to seek medical care, and minimize contact with others in the household.Additional measures that can limit transmission of a new influenza strain include voluntary home quarantine of members of households with confirmed or probable swine influenza cases, reduction of unnecessary social contacts, and avoidance whenever possible of crowded settings.

When it is absolutely necessary to enter a crowded setting or to have close contact³ with persons who might be ill, the time spent in that setting should be as short as possible. If used correctly, facemasks and respirators may help reduce the risk of getting influenza, but they should be used along with other preventive measures, such as avoiding close contact and maintaining good hand hygiene. A respirator that fits snugly on your face can filter out small particles that can be inhaled around the edges of a facemask, but compared with a facemask it is harder to breathe through a respirator for long periods of time. For more information on facemasks and respirators, visit the CDC Swine Flu website..

When crowded settings or close contact with others cannot be avoided, the use of facemasks¹ or respirators² in areas where transmission of swine influenza A (H1N1) virus has been confirmed should be considered as follows:

1. Whenever possible, rather than relying on the use of facemasks or respirators, close contact with people who might be ill and being in crowded settings should be avoided.
2. Facemasks¹ should be considered for use by individuals who enter crowded settings, both to protect their nose and mouth from other people's coughs and to reduce the wearers' likelihood of coughing on others; the time spent in crowded settings should be as short as possible.
3. Respirators² should be considered for use by individuals for whom close contact with an infectious person is unavoidable. This can include selected individuals who must care for a sick person (e.g., family member with a respiratory infection) at home.

These interim recommendations will be revised as new information about the use of facemasks and respirators in the current setting becomes available.

For more information about human infection with swine influenza virus, visit the CDC Swine Flu website.

1 Unless otherwise specified, the term "facemasks" refers to disposable masks cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use as medical devices. This includes facemasks labeled as surgical, dental, medical procedure, isolation, or laser masks. Such facemasks have several designs. One type is affixed to the head with two ties, conforms to the face with the aid of a flexible adjustment for the nose bridge, and may be flat/pleated or duck-billed in shape. Another type of facemask is pre-molded, adheres to the head with a single elastic band, and has a flexible adjustment for the nose bridge. A third type is flat/pleated and affixes to the head with ear loops. Facemasks cleared by the FDA for use as medical devices have been determined to have specific levels of protection from penetration of blood and body fluids.

2 Unless otherwise specified, "respirator" refers to an N95 or higher filtering facepiece respirator certified by the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

3 Three feet has often been used by infection control professionals to define close contact and is based on studies of respiratory infections; however, for practical purposes, this distance may range up to 6 feet. The World Health Organization uses "approximately 1 meter"; the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration uses "within 6 feet." For consistency with these estimates, this document defines close contact as a distance of up to 6 feet.

http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/masks.htm

Okay, the ones on TV that they are handing out in Mexico are NOT N95 respirator masks, they are surgical masks designed to keep people from infecting others via sneezing, coughing, breathing on them. Does this article know more that the CDC and WHO, who have both said N-95 will be effective? I doubt it, given that N95 masks do not "loop around your ears".

TheWalkinDude wrote: You can get a better seal on the N95.Its called duct tape. Who cares if it looks funny? WR

"But let me ask you a question: Have you ever had surgery or visited a surgery room? Did you ever notice that the surgeons and medical staff are all wearing surgical masks that are very similar to the N95 face masks being used by people afraid of swine flu?"

  Surgical masks couldn't be any less like N95s. What is this guy talking about? Ignore it - it's a sales pitch.
  N95s are good - N100s are better but a lot more expensive. Distance makes a huge difference too - the further you are from an infected person, the less chance you have of contracting the virus. I think at least six feet is the usual safe distance thrown around. Whatever mask you use, it is extremely important that you get a good seal, either by trial fitting until you find one that's the right size and shape for your face, or taping around the edges as TheWalkinDude suggested. As wishbone correctly pointed out, 3M Micropore works very well on skin, but it can leave a residue (alcohol and a little scrubbing usually take it off, although it usually defies soap and water) and some people are allergic to it. It's usually only mild itching or the occasional rash, but anything that makes you rub or scratch your face puts you at risk. Try putting a piece of tape on yourself for a few hours first to make sure you can tolerate it.
   One other thing - masks don't work with beards.

I am in helth care and the flu is cosidered droplet precaution so n95 will work. 

 my opinion ...as I like to join iin... we all need to remember the things we discussed before about H5N1... the mask isn't going to do a lot of good...as people mention here, it's droplet.  As long as you are not wearing goggles...and your eyes are bare to the world...you might as well walk around with your mouth wide open....as to leave your eyes unprotected.  Remember the get ups of the people taking care of the H5N1 cases....eyes covered.