Surgical Masks Can Be Improved Using Rubber Bands To Fit Like N-95 Respirators, Study Shows

Over 590 million people worldwide have been impacted by the pandemic, which has claimed nearly six million lives in more than two years. The World Health Organization has repeatedly emphasised how easy steps may help slow the spread of the virus, such putting up masks and immunisation, and hospitals throughout the world have frequently cracked under strain to handle high volumes of cases ever since it had hit the world.

As reported by Hindustan Times, a study has shown how employing rubber bands can help address the lack of N-95 respirators, which are thought to filter the airborne particles effectively. The study, which demonstrates that rubber bands can assist in repairing the surgical mask seal, has been published in the peer-reviewed journal of the Public Library of Science, based in the United States.

“Rubber bands, a low-cost and easily-accessible modification, can improve the seal and protective ability of a standard surgical mask to the level of an N95 respirator,” the researchers concluded in the study. “This could mitigate N95 respirator shortages worldwide and provide individuals in under-resourced regions a practical means for increased personal respiratory protection,” it further adds. Since the surgical masks do not completely enclose the wearer’s face, they are not seen to be as protective. As a result, the airborne debris can avoid the mask.

“The creation of a seal around a standard surgical mask is hypothesized to protect the wearer and others against particle exposure by isolating air exchange via mask filtration,” it says.

Additionally, the journal provides pictures of demonstrations utilising eight-inch rubber bands. The Final PortaCount Fit Factor, which is a PortaCount-generated composite score based on four standard subscores of bending, talking, head side to side, and head up and down, was 100 or higher for 31 of the participants wearing modified surgical masks out of the 40 health care workers who were included in the final analysis. The researchers emphasised that this “exceeded the reported conventional passing requirements of N95 respirators.

The study, which was completed in 2021 with the participation of 40 healthcare professionals, was just released in the journal. Despite the fact that N-95 respirators are preferable, the US Food and Drug Administration advises against using these masks if you have a chronic respiratory, cardiac, or other medical problem because they could make it more difficult for you to breathe.

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