As daily new coronavirus cases in the United States continue to proliferate, so do government orders to demand masks in public spaces.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Cloth coating Helps slow the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19, but many still resist wearing masks.
surely, The mask became a flash point In an effort to control pandemics, they claim that they cannot breathe well while wearing them.
But what about the face shield? The face shield is worn like a hat, with a curved piece of plastic coming down in front of the entire face. Healthcare professionals have long used them as protective equipment.
New York State Counting face shields as an optional face-covering alternative to masks, experts are divided on how well they protect against coronavirus splashes.
“People wearing these homemade cloth masks are constantly touching and adjusting their faces, so touching their face is a common cause of infection,” said Dr. Ameshua Dalja, a senior researcher at the Johns Hopkins University Center. I know it is one of the dynamic mechanisms.” Health Security. “You are less likely to touch your face when wearing a face shield.”
Face shields are comfortable for breathing and talking, Adalya said.
“They don’t block your mouth, you’re talking, you’re breathing the same way. When wearing masks, people are subjectively very muddy and when wearing “I don’t feel comfortable when breathing, masks,” he said.
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Dr. Eli Perensevic, a physician for infectious diseases and a professor of internal medicine and epidemiology at Carver College of Medicine at the University of Iowa, wrote to the Journal of the American Medical Association on how to extend face shields from the clinical environment to the community. Co-authored. ..
Unlike masks that prevent users from spreading COVID-19, face shields protect the wearer from infection, Perencevich said.
He mentioned a study that Faceshield reduces inhalation exposure to the influenza virus.
This research was conducted in 2014 Occupational Environmental Health Journal, Analyzed how much the face shield blocks aerosol droplets. Researchers found that using a cough simulator reduced the exposure of cough droplets inhaled by the face shield by 96%.
However, William Linsley, a research biomedical engineer at the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, said the public should stick to a cloth face cover.
“A cloth or medical mask works better at protecting you from smaller particles than a face shield,” said Lindsley. “Face shields are good for really big ones [particles] What you can see. But as things get smaller and smaller, it’s easy to get sucked around the face shield. “
Still, Perensevic said the study was the reason for defending face masks.
“The mask is the source control that protects others, while the face shield is the source control, preventing water droplets from landing anywhere on the face,” he said in an interview.
Doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who are in close contact with patients use a face shield with the N95 mask to prevent viral splashes from getting into their eyes.
“We know there is growing evidence from all coronaviruses, but even with this latest SARS-CoV-2, if the virus reaches the conjunctiva, the conjunctiva in your eyes It can pass through the lacrimal duct and be added to a kind of system and reach your lungs, thus causing a lung infection,” Perencevich said.
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Ah Meta-analysis An article published in The Lancet found that eye protection can significantly reduce viral infections in the healthcare setting. But for the average person at a social distance, it’s not really necessary to wear a face shield, said Dr. Bruce Polsky, an infectious disease specialist who is head of medicine at New York University Winthrop Hospital.
With cheap face shields now available in drugstores and convenience stores, you might be wondering if some models are more effective than others. Perensevic said the effectiveness of the face shield depends on its design.
“Things that go from under the chin to the ears provide more protection than those that are more open,” he said.
Despite disagreements about what works best, experts agree that covering your face is just one aspect of stopping infection.
“It’s like riding a rowing boat with four or five holes at the bottom of the rowing boat,” said Lindsley. “We can’t close a few holes because they’re going to sink. They all work together.”
Dr. Daniel Dikema, head of the Department of Infectious Diseases at the University of Iowa Carver School of Medicine, is another author of the JAMA article.
“All types of face coverings are just one of the flawed prevention approaches and should not replace or diminish the importance of physical distance. Collect indoor settings A lot of infections are happening.”
