The Science, Health, and Technology Room
I'm posting this as a sort of public health-like announcement (haha, one that originates just from this one tPF member, not from real public health authorities, of course, thus the word -like added to it; take it or leave it; maybe you shouldn't read it if you are not interested in wearing masks.
But if you do, know the following, please:
There's been a flood of counterfeit masks sold online and shipped mostly from China to America, claiming that they are NIOSH-approved N95 respirators. The CDC has a page with pictures of those fake respirators (dozens and dozens of them) and instructions on how to recognize the legitimate ones.
Beware, the fake ones do NOT deliver the protection against coronavirus-sized particulates that the legitimate ones deliver.
a) NO masks claiming to be N95 respirators but having earloops rather than elastic straps that go behind the head, are approved by the CDC/NIOSH. None. So, if your mask has an earloop and is claiming to be NIOSH-approved, it's a counterfeit. (It's cheaper to provide earloops than elastic straps so the overwhelming majority of counterfeits use ear loops).
b) The respirators need to have the words NIOSH N95 stamped on the masks themselves, together with a certificate number and the name of the manufacturer. On the CDC site you can look them up both by certificate numbers and by manufacturers by alphabetic order. The latter link is here:
https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/topi...ist1sect3.html
c) For the approved masks, the CDC pages I linked to above, have hyperlinks that take you directly to the true and legitimate manufacturer, not to vendors claiming to represent them, which often will print the legitimate maker's certificate number and logo on their own and fake masks, unbeknownst to the legitimate manufacturer. It's best to buy directly from the approved manufacturers, when they have them in stock and are selling to the general public rather than just to organizations like hospitals and clinics. Some do sell to the general public. I won't place links to manufacturers that sell to the public here because it could be considered spam, but if you are persistent, you'll find them (I did, and just bought a box with 20).
d) All masks sized for children and claiming to be NIOSH N95 are counterfeit. The CDC/NIOSH have never approved an N95 suitable for children.
e) No masks simply marked KN95 which is a Chinese standard, or FFP2 which is a European Union standard, have been endorsed by the CDC/NIOSH. This said, the FDA has issued emergency equivalences and has considered that the KN95 standard (which is also rated as 95% filtration of small particulates) and the FFP2 standard (with is rated for 94%) are acceptable in emergency bases during the COVID-19 pandemic when true NIOSH N95s are not available. KN95s do have earloops and are generally more comfortable to wear than N95s.
Now, while it seems like KN95 and FFP2 are acceptable standards, I have no information on counterfeits pretending to adhere to these standards, and I don't know how to check if the manufacturers of those are legit, so I'd rather stick with the NIOSH N95s.
N95 masks are best when professionally fit and individually tested for seal (and no facial hair please; it will defeat the seal; gentlemen, shave daily). In the absence of a professional test you can do two things to test the seal. Rub hand sanitizer in your hand and compare the alcohol smell with and without the mask. A good seal should make the smell significantly less intense. Also, if you wear glasses, blow forcefully on the mask. A good seal should not allow the air to leak up around your nose and fog your glasses especially if the mask has an exhalation valve. If the seal is not good you can do three things: reposition the nose metal piece and the elastic straps. Still not good? Tie up a little loop on the elastic straps to make them tighter. Still not good? A neoprene rubber brace as referenced below will do it.
I hope the above is useful to someone looking for better protection than cloth masks and procedure masks (which by the way, if you go for them, verify that they are at least ASTM level 1, better if level 2 or 3. ASTM-grade procedure masks are again available in the market but the OVERWHELMING majority of the masks you see on Amazon and pharmacies and grocery stores are NOT ASTM-grade and are not intended for medical use (although they externally may look the same). Again, with persistence, true ASTMs ARE available from reputable makers, usually the same ones who make certified N95s so with persistence you can find both directly from the same maker and have them both shipped to you. I did find ONE vendor on Amazon with ASTM level 1 masks, and ONE with ASTM level 3, but oh boy, it wasn't easy. Now that I learned how to locate legitimate N95s, I realized that true ASTM masks are often also available from the same makers.
I like to have both N95s and ASTM level 3s for different situations - the former for shorter periods in more heavily contaminated areas; the latter for longer use out in the community.
If you go for a procedure mask (cheaper and easier to use for longer periods), do make sure that,
1) It is at least ASTM level 1, preferably 2 or 3
2) Because procedure masks are loose on the face, you should wear them with a device to enhance the seal, such as three interlaced rubber bands or a neoprene rubber sheet brace, both of which you can learn how to make, from the open-source, free, not-for-profit website fixthemask.com - a neoprene rubber sheet of the correct thickness can be bought for about $25 and you can make 15 washable and reusable braces with one sheet. The website above tells you where to buy the correct sheets, and how to cut them to size (you can download and print a free template).
Finally, eye protection is also important. You can wear face shields, but even better would be medical-grade goggles. Again, beware of just any goggles. Some have ventilation holes, and some others have ventilation valves permanently open. While they are still way better than nothing, these do NOT entirely protect your eyes against fine particulate aerosol clouds in highly contaminated areas. But you do find those who have no ventilation openings, or even better, the ones I purchased, those that have valves for ventilation that can be opened and closed (pull up, open; so that they don't get foggy in non-dangerous places ; push down, closed, in more contaminated situations - they may fog a little with the vents closed, but you won't get the virus).
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I am sure that someone will post some "funny" observation that this is paranoia and even better would be a space suit, and I'm a Chicken Little who wants to spread panic for partisan purposes (the latter is 100% untrue; but if you want to call me paranoid or Chicken Little, do as you wish. I have my reasons to be careful).
If you've read this long post though, I'll assume that you *are* interested in highly protective masks. If you aren't, you can just skim through and post a joke or even a personal attack if you want; I don't care. I post this in good faith, trying to be helpful to other people like me who have worrisome underlying medical condition and work in highly contaminated areas (therefore need tighter protection), or simply feel like being more protected when they go out and about.
You don't want to wear any mask, be my guest. It's up to you to decide. I'm thoroughly against any mandatory orders to wear masks by governors and mayors, and I'm instead, for education and for every American to decide on his/her own, as citizens of the free country we're lucky to live in. But if you do want to wear one, and you'd like it to be better than cloth masks, I'm glad to provide this information; take it or leave it. Thank you for your attention.
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Originally Posted by ApplePamDowdy
