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With the CDC now recommending that everyone wear cloth face coverings in public, many of us have rushed out to DIY them or buy them on places like Etsy and Groupon. While you don’t need to wear surgical masks or N-95 respirators like health care workers do, there are some important rules to remember when wearing the cloth ones, health experts say. What are they?
Jamie Bacharach, licensed health coach and medical acupuncturist of Acupuncture Jerusalem: Adjusting your mask often.
"While wearing a mask is helpful, constantly moving your hands to your face to adjust your mask is not a good idea. Many people have a tendency to fidget with their masks due to the obvious discomfort they can present, and will even touch their mask or face with gloved hands. When shopping, it is critical to not touch your face or ideally mask at all due to the fact that you are in an uncontrolled environment."
Jagdish Khubchandani, professor of public health at Ball State University: Dropping masks in public places.
"This is overwhelming public health and sanitation systems and can be a risk for self and others in creating unsanitary conditions that can increase the risk of infectious disease in communities."
Brandon Colby, MD, founder of Sequencing.com and the author "Outsmart Your Genes:" Touching your mask when it becomes uncomfortable:
"One of the common mistakes when wearing a mask is to touch the mask after touching a surface that may be contaminated. For example, masks are not comfortable and after loading your groceries into the checkout lane, a person may inadvertently adjust their mask. Whatever is on the person’s hands may have transferred to the mask, including virus particles. When the person arrives home, they may wash their hands really well and then take off their mask, re-contaminating their hands. So it’s very important to not touch your mask once you’re outside of your home. And it’s also good to always consider the outside of your mask as contaminated so that you know whatever the outside of the mask touches, may also be contaminated.
Dr. Edo Paz, VP Medical at K Health: Touching your face.
"Wearing gloves and a mask are helpful for protecting yourself, but you should still remember to avoid touching your face!"
