Masks protect health workers, not patients
It’s been 100 years since a German physician came up with the idea that a mouth mask could cut down on infection rates during surgery. Do they? Several studies over the years suggest the answer is probably not much.
According to author Nathan L. Belkin, PhD, leakage from the edges of surgical masks averages 5% to 40%, depending on how well the mask fits. During long surgeries the leakage rate may be even worse. As the masks get wet, they leak more.
The first hint that surgical masks didn’t do much to cut down on infection came during the 1919 California flu epidemic. The public used the masks as instructed by health authorities, but they seemed to have no impact on the spread of the flu.
Surgical masks may actually provide more protection for the health care provider than the patient. With numerous bloodborne diseases threatening hospital personnel, the masks shield mucous membranes from surgical blood splashes.
[Editor’s note: The information for this story came from Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology 1997; 18(1):49-57.]
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