Masks

Loukik Kulkarni
 A mask is a Personal Protection Equipment that is used to cover the face,
typically for protection against microbes causing air-borne diseases.
 Masks have become a necessity in the current scenario.
 Masks do not provide complete protection against these diseases, but
help to reduce the chances of transmission.
Types of masks

 There are a variety of masks for various uses, but with respect to the
COVID-19 pandemic, these 3 are the most common ones in use:
 Cloth masks
 Surgical masks
 N95 masks
Cloth masks

These masks are made from normal fabric
and can have one or multiple layers.

The filtration capacity of these masks is
lower than the surgical masks and the N95
masks.

They can have variable pore sizes and
dimensions, meaning these parameters
are not standardized.

These masks are the preferred masks
when target is to prevent community
spread due to their low cost and easy
availability.
 Surgical masks

Surgical mask is a type of mask, which is
usually used in medical and surgical
procedures.

It is also known as Fluid Resistant Surgical
Mask.

It has 3 layers: an outer hydrophobic layer, a
middle filter layer and an inner hydrophilic
layer.

The pore size of these masks is not
standardized.

These masks provide protection from particles

having size 0.04–1.3 μm.
 N95 masks

This mask comes under the ‘Respirator’ category.
This mask is the most commonly used mask for
protection from air-borne disease causing
organisms.

The ‘N’ in N95 stands for Non-Oil, which means it
is not resistant to oil.

It is 5 layered mask and provides protection from
particles of sizes 0.03 μm and smaller.

The outermost layer is hydrophobic, middle layers
are for filtering particles according to the size as
they move in.

These masks have standardized dimensions and
are considered most reliable from protection
against diseases like Swine Flu and COVID-19.
THANK YOU!