Surgical mask
Even if you are not sickly and rarely go to the hospital, I have little doubt you would have seen what hospitals and medics look like. One of the paraphernalia of medical practitioners is the surgical masks you see on them especially when they are in the operation theaters. A surgical mask which is sometimes also called a procedure mask is intended to be put on by health and medical professionals any time a surgery is to be performed on patients. Apart from this, they are also put on in order to catch the bacteria shed that could come in liquid droplets or as aerosols from these professionals’ noses and mouth.
The use of surgical mask is not limited to health care facilities. Beyond these facilities, people still make use of the inexpensive masks that have a striking semblance with the surgical masks. These types of masks are usually seen worn by people living in densely populated areas in East Asia in an effort to prevent them from catching flu and when caught already, from spreading the disease. In Japan till today, you will people walking the streets with their face masks on when they suffer from a contagious disease of the nose and throat so as not to infect other people in the public.
With the outbreak of SARS virus, countries like China, Vietnam, Canada and Toronto made good use of these masks. Also during the avian bird flu pandemic in 2007, these surgical masks were seen worn by all and sundry. The fear of the disease also numbed the people of the United States and Mexico City and they all also made use of the masks.
There are different types of these surgical masks that you will find wherever you go. While some could be said to be old fashioned, the more modern ones are usually made of paper material or any other material that is non-woven. As these materials are cheap enough, spread of contagious diseases can be avoided when the masks made from them are discarded properly immediately after use.
Even if you are not a medical practitioner, you would appreciate the use of these masks when you consider the ease with which diseases can be contracted with little of no body contact with those infected already. With a simple surgical mask, it becomes possible for the wearer to avoid getting splashed in his mouth with fluids from another person. While these masks are effective in trapping small particles that may be injurious and airborne, they are however not as effective as respirators that are better designed to trap finer particles and provide better safety during accidental discharges or contaminated environments.
Perhaps with more enlightenment, there would be a registered improvement on the effectiveness of these masks in combating outbreaks of airborne diseases especially.