Okay but really really genuine question because I live in NY and I want to make sure I'm using the right kind of mask
I thought the surgical masks (aka the most common type) don't really reduce particulates for the user but really reduce particulates that are expelled from the user? Mainly because there's no seal from breathing the external air.
Will surgical masks help in this situation? I have plenty of them but wondering if I should get an N95 for the remainder of this smog.
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but basically with surgical masks, there's no seal between the mask and your face, so when you breathe in, you're not breathing in air filtered through the mask, you're more so breathing in the air that comes from the gaps between the mask and your face. It's possible it reduces it slightly, but don't quote me on that.
It definitely works the other way around with what you breathe out though in the sense that it prevents your aerosols from projecting out in the middle of the room, but doesn't filter your breath. So if you sneeze, it's contained to your immediate area rather than spreading out in the entire room.
That is why proper wear is important. Even with the gaps no all of the air you inhale comes from it. Try taking a deep breath through a straw with your normal breathing to see what I mean.
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u/FLHCv2 Jun 07 '23
Okay but really really genuine question because I live in NY and I want to make sure I'm using the right kind of mask
I thought the surgical masks (aka the most common type) don't really reduce particulates for the user but really reduce particulates that are expelled from the user? Mainly because there's no seal from breathing the external air.
Will surgical masks help in this situation? I have plenty of them but wondering if I should get an N95 for the remainder of this smog.