[leptons]

>Masks help the wearer.

Yes, they do.

> But the main purpose is to stop sick people spreading.

No, the main purpose of an N95 mask is definitely to protect the wearer first and foremost. It's why they were created and sold in the first place. These masks were intended to protect people from all manner of workplace environmental hazards, and they've been used for that for decades.

>And it’s more effective at preventing spread than preventing contraction.

Citation needed.

Also, many people purposely choose not to wear a mask during a pandemic, so a mask not worn is not protecting anyone. Protecting myself from people without masks is 100% the purpose of wearing an N95 mask. We aren't talking about cloth masks in this thread, this study was about N95 masks - the two are different in that a cloth mask protects others more than it protects the wearer, but an N95 mask will protect the wearer more than others (who may not be wearing any mask).

[wordofx]

I haven’t even mentioned N95 masks. I’ve stated masks as a general thing. Surgical masks that are cheap and readily available are to prevent the spread of anything.

N95 masks to prevent you getting covid don’t help anymore than surgical when we know it was be contracted through skin and eyes etc.

If you’re wearing it in a workshop or some dusty place then obviously they are far superior to surgical masks as they are designed for the wearer.

And obviously wearing an N95 when you’re sick is more helpful than a surgical mask as they are much better fitting and don’t let as much through if you sneeze of cough.

[leptons]

>I haven’t even mentioned N95 masks.

This entire thread is about N95 masks.

>when we know it was be contracted through skin

Citation needed (you still didn't provide the previous citation I requested)

Yes, it can be contracted through eyes, so eye protection is another mitigation that helps. When I had to travel in 2021, we wore eye protection on the plane, as well as P100 masks. We were well protected and did not get sick.

>If you’re wearing it in a workshop or some dusty place then obviously they are far superior to surgical masks as they are designed for the wearer.

Guess what they wear in Ebola wards. Guess why they wear them.