Wearing face masks became common during the coronavirus pandemic to reduce the spread of the virus. Before the pandemic, masks were majorly worn by medical personnel and patients in the hospital vicinity. Due to debates surrounding the significance of masks, several studies have been conducted to determine their effectiveness of masks. Findings of most of the studies conducted indicate masks play a significant role in curbing the spread of coronavirus and other airborne infections. This paper analyzes the importance of wearing masks based on the findings of medical studies.
Firstly, the appropriate wearing of masks reduces viral transmission significantly. According to a study, masks are essential in reducing the spread of a virus by 70%. However, this effect depends on how the mask is worn (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020). When the mask covers both the mouth and the nose, it traps the droplets containing the virus and prevents them from contacting the nose or the mouth. Airborne infectious germs are often released in the environment when the infected person sneezes, coughs or talks. These droplets are then suspended in the atmosphere and are likely to be inhaled through air. Wearing masks act like a sieve that filters air and blocks droplets from penetrating the respiratory system.
Various types of masks filter the air at different degrees. The various masks include cloth masks, surgical masks, KN95 masks, and N95 masks (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020). Cloth masks are the least effective masks, but they play a significant role in trapping large respiratory droplets suspended in the air. The surgical masks protect the wearer from large droplets and toxic sprays. Surgical masks are more effective than cloths masks. On the other hand, KN95 masks efficiently protect the wearer from inhaling small and large droplets. The KN95 is the most recommended mask that meets international standards, and they are more protective than surgical masks. Lastly, the N95 masks are the most effective of all masks, and they can filter both large and the tiniest particles, thus protecting the wearer from inhaling germs or infectious droplets.
Secondly, masks are essential in preventing one from spreading an airborne infection to others. As they trap the incoming droplets, masks also prevent outgoing droplets from leaking into the atmosphere. Droplets may be deposited in the air when the infected person sneezes or coughs. However, the infectious droplets are trapped when the infected person wears a mask. According to medical researchers, this is an effective way of controlling a highly contiguous infection from rapidly spreading from one person to another (Howard et al., 2020). Preventing the leakage of airborne infectious droplets is vital in ensuring the safety of others who are yet to be infected. This is because the air is maintained clean and safe for inhaling. According to the CDC, most of the initial deaths caused by the coronavirus pandemic would have been prevented if people had worn masks. The COVID-19 virus was mainly spread unsuspectingly (Howard et al., 2020). An infected person without a mask would release the droplets in the air through talking or sneezing, thus infecting several others who inhaled the air. Therefore, masks also enable one to protect themselves and those around them.
Thirdly, wearing face masks is essential because it allows faster control of a contagious infection. Airborne infections are often contagious and maybe take little time to spread within the community. This makes facemask an effective mechanism to control such a quick spread. There are various mechanisms for controlling the spread of airborne infection, including quarantine and isolation (MacIntyre & Chughtai, 2020). However, these mechanisms may not be effective in a populated environment, and the infection has already spread within the community. In this case, the infection rate is likely to be rapid, thus overwhelming the healthcare system. There is, therefore, the need for a mechanism that will prevent the spread of an infection before the other solutions are implemented. Wearing facemasks is a solution that can significantly reduce the amount of infection communally. This preventive mechanism allows the control of the airborne infection without largely interrupting the everyday life of the members of the affected area.
Fourthly, masks are important because they are hygienic. Aside from protecting the wearer from viral and airborne infections, face marks promote hygiene by preventing the passage of other forms of germs from the nose and mouth of the wearer to the environment. This is common in a healthcare setting (Scarano et al., 2021). It is often necessary for surgeons and other medical professionals to wear masks to prevent the spread of germs to patients. It is essential to wear a mask, especially when dealing with a patient with an open wound. According to researchers, the caregivers can transfer germs from their mouths or noses to the patients, thus affecting their recovery rate or introducing a new infection (Scarano et al., 2021). During operations, the transfer of germs from the surgeon to the patient’s open wound is likely to cause an even bigger problem that may pose a significant threat to the healing of the wound. It is, therefore, recommendable for medical professionals to wear masks to prevent such incidents.
Other circumstances make wearing masks unhealthy. Firstly, wearing a mask may be harmful when the wearer suffers from either physical or mental illness that may be worsened by wearing masks. This may include people suffering from chronic pulmonary diseases (Geiss, 2021). Secondly, people with neurodevelopmental conditions may suffer from increased anxiety caused by wearing masks. Thirdly, it is unhealthy for children below two years to wear a mask. These children have developing respiration systems and may suffer suffocation if they fail to get enough oxygen. Lastly, it is unhealthy for a mask wearer to wear masks for a long time (Geiss, 2021). Healthcare workers who wear masks for the whole day have often reported severe headaches believed to have been caused by a lack of enough oxygen.
In conclusion, facemasks are essential in reducing the spread of airborne infection in various ways. Firstly, they reduce viral transmission by preventing the wearer from inhaling the infectious droplets by trapping them. Secondly, they prevent the patient from releasing the infectious droplets into the environment, thus protecting those around them from being infected. Thirdly, facemasks effectively control the spread of an infection within a populated area without majorly interfering with the everyday lives of the residents. Fourthly, facemasks are hygienic by preventing the spread of germs from the medical professional to the patient. Lastly, masks boost people’s confidence with high anxiety levels caused by increased self-consciousness. However, there are circumstances where masks are not recommendable, including when the wearer has a mental and physical illness, children under the age of 2 years, and the people wearing the masks for a long time.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Considerations for wearing masks.
Geiss, O. (2021). Effect of wearing face masks on the carbon dioxide concentration in the breathing zone. Aerosol and Air Quality Research, 21(2), 200403.
Howard, J., Huang, A., Li, Z., Tufekci, Z., Zdimal, V., van der Westhuizen, H. M.,… & Rimoin, A. W. (2020). Face masks against COVID-19: An evidence review.
MacIntyre, C. R., & Chughtai, A. A. (2020). A rapid systematic review of the efficacy of face masks and respirators against coronaviruses and other respiratory transmissible viruses for the community, healthcare workers and sick patients. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 108, 103629.
Peeples, L. (2020). What the data say about wearing face masks. Nature, 586(7826), 186-189.