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Best and worst masks Covid-19

Post-COVID Recovery & COVID-19 | Last Active: Aug 20, 2020 | Replies (41)

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@merpreb

@ihatediabetes- Hello and good morning. Thank you for the suggestion on the KN95. I just ordered a box. Do you wash them?

I was reading yesterday about masks after you posted. Cotton masks, if used alone should be double thick, and as Becky suggested a tight weave is the best. Linen is a great choice.

Also, I was at the salon this week and my hairdresser had sores from the ear-loops on the sides of her face. For anyone having problems like this, there is a method to use buttons to prevent this.

https://www.bhg.com/news/face-mask-glasses-hacks/

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Replies to "@ihatediabetes- Hello and good morning. Thank you for the suggestion on the KN95. I just ordered..."

Hi I just turn mine inside out and leave in the sun in my car. But I don't wear makeup with masks. Also I am making a lot of facemasks and giving them away. One hack we came up with is using a big paper clip to join the two ear loops together at the back of the head. That keeps the ear loops from rubbing on the ears. Also I think we Americans should be fine with using the kn95 masks. They aren't being used my American health care providers. They use the N95 masks. China is allowing kn95 masks to be exported now so we can buy them on line.

@merpreb The industry is working on washable N95 masks (my sister works at 3M) but I don't believe there are any on the general market yet. One of the issues is that water alters the structure of the non-woven fabric used in the masks, which can render them ineffective. In hospitals where masks are being cleaned and reused, the only approved methods I know of right now are aerosol peroxide in a special chamber and UV light, again in a special room and for a specific time. Even those methods may on;y be used a limited number of times before masks must be discarded.
My dentist's office hygenissts and docs wear KN-95 under a cloth or disposable mask, with the cloth or disposable changed between patients, and the KN-95 being worn for a couple of days. (I was there yesterday and asked specifically.)
Sue