[prostheticvamp]

They provide no /self/ protection. As I have said in multiple threads on this topic: we wear astm3 masks to protect /patients/ from /us/. A lot of hospital PPE is oriented towards /patient/ protection.

And N95s are heavy and uncomfortable. No one can wear them for long. But if anyone wants to, they’re welcome to it.

[bootlooped]

I have worn N95 masks for probably hundreds of hours due to having had a job in a factory with poor indoor air quality. Wearing them for 30-60 minutes during high risk activities like riding in a packed subway car would not be a problem for most people.

[kragen]

N95 masks are used in many industries to protect their wearers from particulates, including wet particulates. Many of them have check valves that make them useless for protecting other people from the wearer. We don't yet know how much protection they provide against SARS-CoV-2 infection, because we don't know how essential saliva droplets are to contagion, but they probably provide some.

Although there are different kinds of N95 masks, the most common kind weighs a few grams; this is not uncomfortable.

[prostheticvamp]

Have you worn an N95 for any particular amount of time? Honest question. Because Uou refer to a few grams as “not uncomfortable.”

I find N95 face masks insufferably hot and muggy, with their “few grams” hanging off my nose and ears eventually very annoying. I don’t know if any hc workers that find N95s tolerable for very long.

[petertodd]

I've spent a summer in +30°C heat doing demolition and foam insulation in a house that had been through a fire. I had to wear a heavy half face cartridge respirator the whole time due to both the toxins from the fire, and the toxins from the foam insulation.

I wouldn't say that was fun. But it was tolerable. A N95 mask is fine by comparison - not much worse than a surgical mask.

[prostheticvamp]

That’s funny, because I wear the cartridge respirator outside of work for some hobbyist reno stuff I do, and find it much more tolerable than the N95. To each their own, I suppose.

[vanusa]

Can you please clarify:

(1) Which category of mask are you saying provides "no" self protection -- ASTM 3 and N95? (I've read over your post multiple times, and not entirely clear).

(2) So to be clear - are you saying that N95s provide "no" self protection? Not just that they can be misused; or that protecting against surface droplets is more important; but literally "no" self protection?

(3) And if the answer to (2) is yes, can you provide a source or two we can use for further illumination on this topic?

I'm not trying to waste your time, here. I'd actually really appreciate your input.

[prostheticvamp]

Sorry if I was unclear. ASTM3s do not provide self protection. They are estimated to reduce ambient virion uptake by about 2/3 - which just isn’t enough to make a meaningful difference most of the time, as 1/3 of the usual droplet output is already more than is needed to cause infection.

[vanusa]

Thanks for clarifying.