Why people still get infected by COVID-19 even wearing a mask?

Why people still get infected by COVID-19 even wearing a mask? These details on the mask must not be ignored.

According to reports, the cumulative number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide has exceeded 100 million. At present, the COVID-19 epidemic is raging around the world. We still have to protect ourselves, especially masks cannot be removed!

Experts pointed out that when wearing a mask, many inadvertent small movements will make the virus take the opportunity to invade!

This article will help you sort out a few “dangerous actions” that are easily overlooked, and help reduce the chance of infection~

1 Pull the mask to the chin

Wearing a mask for a long time makes me feel bored. Many people choose to pull the mask down to get a bit of air. When shopping outside for food, some people are used to pulling the mask to the chin. But experts say this is the worst use of masks!

General surgical masks can block most of the viruses sticking to the droplets from entering the respiratory tract, but if the mask is dropped to the chin, the droplets or bacteria on the outside of the mask will get on your chin or lower lip, which is equivalent to bacteria It was delivered directly to the lips.

Therefore, if you want to breathe or eat, it is best to take off the mask first, don’t be afraid of trouble.

2 Wear a “leak mask”

In order to prevent the mask from being too stuffy, some people will not pinch the nose clip and deliberately leak some air after putting on the mask. In other words, some people always neglect to pinch the nose clip and think it doesn’t matter.

But the mask is leaking, which is equivalent to not wearing it!

An experiment was conducted in a program of Japan’s MBS TV station. The program team found a woman and asked her to deliberately not fit the nose clip of the mask after wearing a mask.

After that, the doctor uses special equipment to measure the chance of harmful substances in the air outside the mask to enter the inside of the mask. As a result, the leakage rate of harmful substances reached 100%, which is equivalent to wearing white.

Do two more steps when wearing a mask: press your nose and press your chin, the tighter the better.

It is best to check the air tightness after putting on the mask: inhale, the face of the mask will collapse slightly, and there will be bulges when you exhale, which means that the air tightness of wearing the mask is sufficient, and if the nose or cheeks leak air , The mask needs to be adjusted.

3 Touching without washing your hands

Small movements such as picking your nose, rubbing your eyes, touching your face, and scratching your head are all inadvertently performed by many people in daily life.

It turns out that in addition to droplet transmission, the virus can also be spread through hand contact. If you are not in the habit of washing your hands frequently, these small movements will increase the risk of infection.

Experts remind: For ordinary people, in preventing the invasion of infectious diseases, frequent hand washing and wearing masks are almost as important.

Disease control experts remind that you must wash your hands in these situations:

①After going out or shopping and returning home;

②After taking taxis, buses, subways and other public transportation;

③After touching public facilities such as handrails, door handles, elevator buttons, etc.;

④ When the hands are contaminated by respiratory secretions, such as after blowing your nose or sneezing;

⑤After petting pets, after contacting express delivery, after going to the toilet, etc.;

⑥Before wearing the mask and after removing the mask.

Remember three important numbers when washing your hands:

①The whole process is 40-60 seconds;

②Hand rubbing time is 20-30 seconds;

③Three parts that are easily overlooked: finger joints, thumb and fingertips.

4 Touch the outside of the mask with your hands

When adjusting or removing the mask, many people touch the outside of the mask in a large area. And this is the point that must be corrected.

Masks can block harmful viruses and bacteria, and the outermost layer is definitely the dirtiest. Touching the outside of the mask with your hands without washing your hands afterwards increases the probability of contact transmission.

When you want to take off the mask, just hold the ear strap and remove it; if you want to adjust the position of the mask, touch the edge of the mask as much as possible, and be sure to wash your hands after touching it.

5 Put the used mask directly in your pocket or bag?

Sometimes conditions allow to take off the mask for a short time, but where should the temporarily removed mask be placed?

Many things have been placed in pockets and handbags, and there are a lot of bacteria in them. If you put the mask directly in, it is easy to contaminate the mask with pathogenic microorganisms, and it will be easy to get sick when you wear it again.

It is recommended to prepare a clean bag when going out, fold the side that is in contact with the nose and mouth in half and put it in the bag.

If you are at home, you can dry reusable masks directly on a clean hanger or wall hook.

6 Want to reuse masks and spray alcohol for disinfection?

Just wearing a mask and throwing away the trash, such masks can often continue to be used. However, some people like to spray some alcohol after taking off their masks for disinfection and sterilization, which is safer. But the facts are different from what you think:

Treating the mask with alcohol will denature the material of the outer layer of the mask and reduce its ability to block saliva. In this way, the filtering function of the mask will be greatly reduced or even invalid.

7 Is it safer to wear two masks for double protection?

Some areas are in a period of high epidemics. Some people just wear two disposable medical surgical masks, and some people wear one medical surgical mask and one N95 medical protective mask, thinking of better protection. But in fact, no matter what kind of wearing method, can not provide more effective protection effect, but will affect the normal protection effect.

Because wearing multiple masks will affect the air-tightness of the mask, it will not ensure the fit of the mask and the face, which will easily cause the mask to leak more; and wearing two masks will also increase the resistance to exhalation and affect our normal breathing.

As long as you choose masks that are compliant and fit your face, and wear them in strict accordance with the instructions for use, you can have a good protective effect. You don’t need to wear multiple masks.

Finally, I would like to remind everyone that wearing masks, washing hands frequently, ventilating frequently, and maintaining a social distance of at least 2 meters, all need to be strictly followed by everyone.

(source:internet, reference only)

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