Wearing disposable face masks can help prevent infection from spreading and prevent the person from contracting any airborne infectious germs. When someone coughs, speaks, sneezes they might release germs into the air which would affect anyone nearby. Face masks are part of a technique for managing pathogens to prevent cross-contamination. Such masks are recommended to the general public by both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization.
What are disposable face masks?
Disposable face masks are used to prevent illness from spreading. These can also be called dental masks, isolation masks, laser masks, surgical masks, surgery masks. Disposable face masks are loose-fitting masks that cover the nose and ears, and in the back of the head have ear loops or chains or bands. There’s a lot of different brands that come in different colors. The use of an FDA approved face mask is critical. A medical disposable face mask (also known as surgical or operation mask) is a protective device that covers the mouth, nose, and chin providing a barrier that prevents the passage of an infectious agent between the hospital personnel and the patient.
These are used by health care professionals to avoid large breathing droplets and splashes from touching the wearer’s mouth and nose, and help minimize and/or monitor the spread of large breathing droplets from the person wearing the face mask at the source. Non-medical disposable face masks (or ‘group’ masks) include different types of self-made or commercial masks or face coverings made from fabric, other textiles, or other materials such as paper. They are not standardized and are not intended by healthcare practitioners or for use in healthcare settings.
Why and how have disposable face masks become essential to daily lives?
Rapidly increasing respiratory diseases and as an extra precautionary
Respiratory illness is a serious concern in the US. People are naturally more likely to have respiratory problems several times, but the job or exposures to the atmosphere may also play a significant role. One thing is for sure, the most common source of respiratory illness is smoking. Asthma is characterized as a severe, chronic respiratory condition due to inflammation of the airways causing trouble breathing. Symptoms of asthma include dry cough, wheezing, tightness in the chest, and shortness of breath.
Overly-polluted countries necessitate the adoption of face masks
Many European nations have given advisories in recent weeks to wear a mask in some public settings, and the new advice in England is to wear a face cover in “enclosed spaces where social isolation is not always possible,” such as public transport and some shops. Specific advice has also been provided by many US administrations, and even the White House also makes it compulsory for all workers to wear face-masks. Seasonal air pollution or heavy traffic pollution in crowded cities in some parts of Asia has also made it relatively common for people to wear masks outside.
As protection against deadly viruses like coronavirus
COVID-19 is a respiratory disease belonging to a broad family of viruses, or coronaviruses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC). A form of virus infects both humans and animals but before 2019 a new strain was not seen in humans. It appears the virus originated in Wuhan, China. From what we can understand, the virus spread primarily amongst people who are in close contact with each other (within about 6 feet). Unlike other viruses, COVID-19 spreads when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks through droplets released. Cough, shortness of breath, and fever are the main symptoms.
Types of disposable face masks:
Single-Use Face Mask
The shortage of disposable surgical masks and the filtration of facepiece respirators have contributed to the excessive use or reuse of single-use respirators and surgical masks by frontline healthcare staff. A variety of national and international recommendations refer to the common usage, reuse, and reprocessing of face masks with single usage. Single-use masks are usually made of polypropylene, a plastic derived from fossil fuel which can take hundreds of years to break down. While, tiny toxic microplastics are also dumped into our rivers, which are then eaten by unsuspecting fish. And while disposable latex gloves are biodegradable, nitrile and vinyl gloves are not.
Surgical Masks
A surgical mask, also known as a face mask, is meant to be worn during health-care operations by health professionals. This is designed to avoid patient infections and to treat workers by collecting bacteria from the wearer’s mouth and nose that are shed in liquid droplets and aerosols. They are not meant to prevent the wearer from breathing in airborne bacteria or viruses which have smaller particles. With respect to other diseases, such as influenza, they appear as effective as respirators, such as N95 or FFP masks; although the latter offer better protection in laboratory studies because of their content, shape, and tight seal.
Various applications and uses of disposable face masks:
Banking
Banks typically prohibit clients from accessing their branches from wearing things that may hide their identities. Some states and businesses also allow customers to wear a face mask when entering public indoor spaces, including stores, to help minimize coronavirus spread. It’s a dramatic change from a couple of months ago when it was extremely unusual — perhaps ill-advised — to encourage customers inside a store to cover their faces.
Hospitals
Surgeons and nurses conducting clean surgery wear disposable face masks. The intent of face masks is thought to be twofold: to avoid the passage of germs from the nose and mouth of the surgeon into the wound of the patient, and to shield the face of the surgeon from sprays and splashes from the patient. Face masks are thought to make infections with wounds less likely following surgery. Nevertheless, misused masks will increase the probability that the wound will get infected with germs.
Travel
One very common rule for air travel today is the requirement for all passengers and staff to wear a face mask. Numerous airlines follow different laws, with varying degrees of compliance. When you need one, most Premium airlines can have masks. Many airlines allow passengers to wear masks and hand out onboard hygiene kits to everyone. These include usually face masks, gloves, antibacterial wipes, and soap. Budget airlines require wearing face masks but don’t supply them. Wherever you are in the country, for the duration of your plane ride you will almost definitely need to wear a face mask.
To conclude
The disposable face masks market has eliminated the need to remove the need for drug sterilization and reduce cross-contamination with other reusable products. They are also cost-effective and avoid infection and minimize hospital stay, while reusable non-woven masks need to be decontaminated, cleaned, and sterilized for each re-use. While reusable surgical face masks can be sterilized and washed for re-use but are less safe and time-consuming for production as well as for washing and sterilization for re-use.
Free Valuable Insights: Global Disposable Face Masks Market to reach a market size of USD 91.3 billion by 2020
According to the FDA, surgical masks are not intended for use more than once. This can lead to the adoption of disposable respiratory masks. Disposable surgical face masks are often considered to have safety benefits over reusable surgical face masks because they must be immediately discarded because of biohazardous materials.