Key Points at a Glance
- Hygiene masks and face masks have long been an issue in many professions.
- When we cough and sneeze—and even just when we talk and breathe—we spread droplets into the air.
- These droplets may contain germs and viruses that other people breathe in.
- It wasn't until the coronavirus crisis that masks became a topic of public discussion.
- The discussion always touches on the different types as well. What types are there, and what distinguishes them?
These are human secretions that we cannot avoid. When we cough or sneeze, speak, or breathe, we expel a large number of droplets into the air. These droplets are certainly not very large, averaging between half a micrometer and eleven micrometers (one micrometer is one-thousandth of a millimeter, or one-millionth of a meter). And yet, the droplets are large enough to pose a danger to other people; they can contain all kinds of pathogens—and by no means just the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.
Face masks help reduce the transmission rate
For many decades, hygiene and face masks have been an effective means of minimizing the risk of infection in many professions. Particularly in the nursing and healthcare sectors, the risk of life-threatening transmission of pathogens is too great. We now have a very clear understanding of how Type I and Type II masks work:
- Type I masks are primarily used to contain pandemics, because the mouth-and-nose covering significantly reduces the risk of the infection spreading. This product also undergoes testing for bacterial filtration—which must be at least 95 percent for Type I masks. This means that 95 percent of all pathogens are filtered out by the mask.
- Type II masks are generally intended for healthcare workers, such as those in operating rooms and other areas with very high hygiene standards. Type II masks must have a bacterial filtration efficiency of at least 98 percent.
For those who work in hospitals or in long-term care and come into contact with people infected with SARS-CoV-2, both types of face coverings are, in principle, sufficient. They protect the immediate surroundings of the person wearing the mask from droplets in their exhaled breath. However, they also provide adequate protection for the wearer.
Type IIR masks
In public, you most often see people wearing Type IIR masks. These are the light blue surgical masks that are intended for single-use only. While this protective mask significantly reduces the risk of germ transmission from the wearer’s mouth, it also provides a certain degree of self-protection.
However, a Type IIR mask becomes saturated with moisture quite quickly just from breathing, so it must be replaced and disposed of after about two hours. It can be disposed of with regular household trash. Incidentally, the bacterial filtration efficiency of a Type IIR mask is also at least 98 percent.
