Respirators are more effective than surgical masks in protecting against infections – here’s how they work and who should wear them

• Respirators work to maintain Health health and emergency workers protected from breathing chemicals or infectious particles.
• Respirators, such as N95 face masks, are more effective than surgical masks to prevent the spread of disease – and should be used by health care professionals caring for sick patients.

Respirators, more commonly known as face masks, are meant to keep health and emergency workers safe from chemicals and infectious particles.

Surgical masks can be helpful if you are sick, as they prevent the wearer’s germs from spreading to other people. If you are a healthcare professional and want to protect yourself from acquiring an illness or breathing in other dangerous particles, a respirator will be more effective.

Here’s what you need to know about the different types of respirators, how they work, and who might need them.

How respirators work

A respirator is a device that covers your nose and mouth and protects you from inhaling hazardous substances in the air, such as chemicals or infectious particles.

There are specific types of respirators for different scenarios, including:

• Escape from respirators, intended for emergency use only, such as a fire or release of chemical vapors. These respirators are meant to protect you as you move safely and are generally designed for short-term use up to an hour.
• Gas masks, that clean chemical gases from the air as you breathe. Gas mask cartridges filter out particular biological or chemical substances, but there is no cartridge that protects you from all substances, so gas masks are only effective if you are using the correct cartridge for the danger you are facing.
• Electric respirators with air purification (PAPR) use the same filters as gas masks, but make breathing easier by using a fan to blow air through the filter.
• Particulate respirators protect you from particles, but not from chemicals, gases or vapors. For example, healthcare professionals use N95 masks, which clean the air as you breathe and protect you from infectious particles, such as coronavirus.

Particulate respirators protect healthcare workers

Respirators, such as commonly found N95 face masks, help protect healthcare workers from breathing in infectious particles while treating patients who may be contagious. They were particularly important during the coronavirus epidemic.

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“N95 masks help filter out coronavirus particles so healthcare workers don’t inhale them,” says Parshawn Lahiji, MD, emergency medicine physician and critical care medicine specialist and internist at Providence Saint John’s Health Center. .

In addition to the shortage of medical equipment such as ventilators, many hospitals across the country are also experiencing a shortage of personal protective equipment, such as these N95 masks, which put the health and safety of healthcare workers at risk. In New York, some doctors are reusing N95 respirators by putting them in a bag and putting them back later. Typically, these masks are intended for occasional use, and doctors use a new one for each patient interaction.

Respirators are required to protect healthcare workers, but the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) does not recommend the use of N95 respirators or masks for the general public. Instead, the CDC recommends limiting exposure by staying at home as much as possible, washing your hands frequently, and avoiding touching your face.