Scarcity of medical masks, can they be reused?

Ms. NNT is 40 years old, lives in District 10, Ho Chi Minh City. In Ho Chi Minh City, I went to all drugstores near my house to buy medical masks, but none of them had any stock. The drugstore owners said that the source of raw materials was not available, so they could not produce and they did not know when they could import the goods. She went to the social network to ask about the sisters, then she was instructed to wash the used medical masks with boiling water and antibacterial soap, dry them in the sun so that the virus and bacteria die. However, is this correct? Let’s find out with easyhealthylive.com.

Corona virus can be transmitted from person to person through droplets caused by coughing and sneezing. Anyone who has close contact (within 1m) of someone with this symptom is at risk of coming into contact with those droplets and potentially contracting the disease.

Wearing a medical mask is one of the effective respiratory disease prevention measures to limit the spread of disease sources, including Corona virus. However, just using a mask is not enough to protect against virus infection. You need to combine wearing a mask with some other measures.

When not combined with other preventive measures, wearing a medical mask can create a false sense of security. From there, you can still be attacked by viruses at any time. To help you avoid and use medical masks appropriately, easyhealthylive.com collects the following information from the World Health Organization (WHO).

Other disease prevention measures combined with wearing a mask

For people with no symptoms of respiratory infection

– Avoid gathering in crowded places and narrow spaces

Maintain a distance of at least 1m from people with respiratory symptoms (coughing, sneezing, etc.)

– Sanitize hands with alcohol when hands are not dirty or with soap and water when hands are dirty.

– When coughing or sneezing, need to cover your nose and mouth, use tissues and dispose of tissues properly after use.

– Avoid touching your mouth and nose with your hands.

– Do not wear a medical mask because there is no evidence of its usefulness for people who do not have the disease. However, you can use a medical mask when moving to crowded places to limit infection. After using the mask, you should remove it, discard it, and wash your hands.

For people with respiratory symptoms such as cough, fever, difficulty breathing, etc.

– Need to go to a medical facility as soon as possible to be examined.

– Need to be equipped with a medical mask to limit respiratory secretions from sticking to others.

– If it is not possible to wear a mask, it is necessary to pay attention to respiratory hygiene, cover your mouth when sneezing, coughing … with paper and throw away tissues when using, wash your hands with soap and water.

For people suspected of being infected with COVID-19

– WHO recommends that suspected cases of COVID-19 infection should use isolation measures within 14 days to avoid infection and increase outbreaks. At the same time, these people need to be monitored in the hospital for safety and better health care (in case the patient’s symptoms worsen, they will be treated promptly).

– Wash your hands often with alcohol-based hand sanitizer and wear a medical mask. Change the mask regularly and pay attention to cleaning the respiratory tract.

For relatives or caregivers of suspected COVID-19 patients with mild respiratory symptoms

– Should wash hands often with alcohol-based hand gel when hands are not dirty. Wash hands with soap and water when hands are dirty

Avoid too much direct contact when meeting patients

Wear a medical mask and keep a distance of at least 1m

– Wash hands immediately when in contact with respiratory secretions

– Open windows to cool living space

– Clean the house and household items.

Use medical masks every day

If wearing a medical mask, proper use and disposal is essential to prevent the risk of disease transmission.

Avoid touching the mask with dirty hands. After use, remove the mask and throw it in the trash. Wash your hands thoroughly immediately after removing the mask. Replace masks as soon as they become soiled or wet.

Do not reuse single-use masks.

Wear a mask when going to a medical facility

When you have symptoms of respiratory infection such as fever, cough, sneezing, etc., you need to quickly go to a medical facility to do tests to determine if you are infected with Corona and be isolated or treated. timely. When waiting for tests, waiting to be examined or moving on the hospital premises, you also need to wear a medical mask because this is a crowded place, it is difficult to avoid close contact. Wear a mask and carefully cover your nose and mouth.

Is it safe to reuse medical masks?

In the face of a shortage of masks, many people believe that washing medical masks for use both solves the problem and protects the environment. However, in the past, the US Department of Health and Human Services asked the Institute of Medicine (IOM), part of the National Academies, to investigate the possibility of reusing disposable masks. A new report from the IOM states that there is currently no simple, reliable way to decontaminate this type of mask so that it can be safely reused.

Medical masks have the effect of blocking harmful particles inside the fibers of the filter layer. This dangerous buildup cannot be cleaned or disinfected without damaging the fibers or other components of the mask such as the strap or nose rim. So when these fibers are damaged, even more protection is not effective in preventing disease.

To replace medical masks, you can buy antibacterial, washable and reusable cloth masks at supermarkets of Co.opmart, Co.opXtra, Co.op Food, Co.op Smiles, Cheers, Big C…