> No, because the outside of the mask is contaminated and now your fingers are contaminated.
My understanding is that that's a misunderstanding (one that I was under as well).
For people who aren't sick, the worry is that your hands get contaminated (much more common, from surface contact), and then you touch your mask and transfer to the mask, and eventually it works its way in since these aren't N95s.
i.e. it ends up being the same as hand-mouth contact, but people think the mask is keeping them safe from that.
Yes, you're right. That first point was about the DIY cotton masks, not fluid resistant surgical masks.
Right, but even with a cotton mask the worry is hand-to-mask, not the other way around.
When you're out in the world, the potential concentration of viruses will generally be much greater on your hands than on the outside of your mask.
Re:Apple Faceshield
by lonelappde on Tuesday April 07, 2020 @03:54PM
(#22806839)
Both of those things seem just as hard as managing a mask. People are crap at handwashing, and face touching is subconscious.
You inadvertently touch your face way more often when wearing a mask, that much is pretty obvious. You also are more likely to be more confident about your safety and behave in a slightly more risky way. Kind of like how cars drive closer to bikers with helmets than bikers without them.
I have found exactly the opposite. I mostly wear a mask because it stops me touching my face.
When I am out and about, I assume that my fingers are contaminated. When I get to my car, I always do a cleanup down with an alchohol wipe and when I get home, do the ABC wash of my hands and face.
Still, wearing the mask is a constant reminder not to touch my face. some people will still ignore that reminder but not everyone is going to follow the rules 100%.
Yes, but touching a dried droplet is much less likely to lead to infection than inhaling one.
No, because the outside of the mask is contaminated and now your fingers are contaminated.
> and in the case of a non-symptomatic individual wearing a mask to reduce outbound infectious particles has no bearing at all.
No, because the outside of the mask is contaminated because those masks are not impermeable and the virus does penetrate it, and so now that persons fingers are contaminated and they contaminate other surfaces.
> The whole 'masks are too hard to use'
So far every single video I've seen of people who aren't HCPs wearing PPE has shown them make mistakes that lead to contamination.
"Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds; don't touch your face" is much simpler than the protocols for donning and doffing gloves and mask.