[indymike]

> Actually we did from the decades surgeons wore masks to prevent the spread of airborne diseases.

I remember asking my dad (who was a doctor who performed surgeries - mostly c-sections and appendectomies - often) about masks, and his answer in the early 80s was interesting:

“It’s mostly to prevent me from getting spit into open wounds and incisions when I'm talking or I have to sneeze or cough. Bacteria is a real problem, and the mask stops that.”

I never really thought much of that until recently.

[classichasclass]

But you can see this go both ways. Ortho surgeons in total procedures have full air filtering due to the large amount of bone dust that's liberated, some of which are very fine particles. No one wants to breathe that in.

Meanwhile, I'll be in TB clinic shortly with an N95 mask on. I've yet to convert my TB test in 17 years.

We absolutely rely on surgical masks not to contaminate the field. But they don't have one way valves, so if we trust the airflow one way, it's logical to trust them for airflow going the other.

[generalizations]

>> “It’s mostly to prevent me from getting spit into open wounds and incisions when I'm talking or I have to sneeze or cough. Bacteria is a real problem, and the mask stops that.”

> so if we trust the airflow one way

Pedantic, but it matters: that's not airflow, that's droplets and spit.