- It’s true that an N95 mask or a KN95 mask is the best face mask for COVID-19 protection, but there’s a version of both types of mask that you absolutely should not get.
- The CDC recommends that we all wear face masks right now to help stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, but a face mask with a valve does not do a good job of protecting people in your vicinity if you’re infected.
- A doctor recently penned an essay that urges people to stop wearing N95 and KN95 face masks with a valve — even a standard 3-ply coronavirus face mask would be better.
Head over to the CDC’s special webpage that discusses how to protect yourself from the novel coronavirus that’s wreaking havoc across the country and you’ll see three important recommendations near the top of the page. First, you need to “wash your hands often” with soap for at least 20 seconds or with hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Second, you should “avoid close contact” with people and stay at least 6 feet away from anyone while you’re outside your home. If you’re smart, you’ll keep even more distance between yourself and anyone else. And third, you need to “cover your mouth and nose with a cloth face cover when around others.”
That last one is crucial for two reasons. First, wearing a face covering like these best-selling 60¢ face masks or a KN95 face mask helps protect you from breathing in any aerosolized virus that travels around in microscopic droplets in the air when infected people cough, sneeze, or even just breathe or speak loudly. Second, if you happen to already be infected with COVID-19, wearing a mask helps prevent you from spreading the potentially deadly virus to others. Remember, as many as half of all novel coronavirus cases may be asymptomatic, so you might have it and not even know it. Wearing a face mask is indeed crucial anytime you leave your home, but there’s actually one type of popular face mask you should never wear.
As we mentioned above, you can get a face mask that does the trick for as little as 60¢. As long as you practice strict social distancing and good hygiene, these masks are more than good enough and that’s why you see so many people out there wearing them.
Of course, there are some high-risk situations where people want a little extra protection. For example, if you have to take public transportation somewhere, if you have to fly on an airplane, or if you have to visit a doctor’s office or hospital, you definitely want to use a mask that blocks even more microscopic particles. You should never buy any N95 masks since those should be reserved for healthcare workers, and that’s why so many people buy KN95 masks instead.
High-quality KN95 masks work just as well as N95 masks, with each type blocking out at least 95% of tiny germs and organisms like viruses. But when it comes to N95 or KN95 face masks, there are two main different types. One type of mask is made entirely of fabric while the other has a plastic valve like the one seen in the image at the top of this article. This is important to note because you should never buy a face mask with a valve.
You’ve probably seen these masks all over the place, and they’re just as effective as face masks without the valve when it comes to protecting you. The plastic piece there is a one-way valve that lets air you exhale out but blocks any air from getting in. Of course, that right there is the problem: Masks with valves are nowhere near as effective at filter the air you exhale.
As Dr. Nancy A. Anoruo points out in an essay penned for ABC News, it’s crucial that people stop using these valve masks. Remember, one reason to wear a mask is to protect yourself from the novel coronavirus, but the other reason is to protect others. If you are infected — knowingly or unknowingly — using a face mask with a valve means much of the air you exhale with each word you speak, each cough, or even each breath, is unfiltered. That means micro-droplets with live coronavirus can escape more easily and you’re much more likely to spread COVID-19 to others.
Face masks with valves are great for certain scenarios. If you’re working around hazardous fumes, for example, you can exhale more freely and reduce moisture and carbon dioxide in the mask. But in the context of the novel coronavirus pandemic, exhaling more freely means potentially spreading the virus more freely. Masks without a valve might not be quite as comfortable since they allow more carbon dioxide to build up, but no one should be complaining about a little discomfort if it potentially means slowing the spread of the virus.
