The Importance of the Mask in the Coronavirus Pandemic

In the process of the Coronavirus (2019-nCoV), which has deeply affected people around the world for about 1.5 years, various measures have been taken to determine effective fighting methods against the virus. One of these methods was the use of masks. Masks come to the fore as devices that we see only in doctors at the beginning and that we do not use very often in daily life. The masks that doctors use and that we are used to being uniform in general are called surgical masks. When people first started using masks, they were not very conscious and did not know much about what to pay attention to when buying masks. However, they gained a lot of experience in the purchase and use of masks with the awareness gained later and in line with the advice of experts. After that, they started to search for masks that comply with hygienic standards and are made of quality materials.

Use of Mask

In the period when the coronavirus epidemic was first seen, it was stated that only people with symptoms of the disease should wear masks, but with the spread of the disease and the emergence of carriers who do not show any symptoms, it was made obligatory to wear masks for all in common areas. The reason for this is that the use of masks is a very effective method of personal protection against respiratory infections. However, there are some points that need to be considered while using the mask. Therefore, it would be appropriate to follow these steps to avoid any problems when wearing a mask:

• Hands should be properly soaped and washed before wearing the mask.
• The mask is held in such a way that the folded part of the mask is outside.
• The mask is worn with the metal strip on the top of the mask over the bridge of the nose.
• The metal strip on the top of the mask is placed over the bridge of the nose by pressing it lightly.

The things to consider when removing the mask that is already attached are as follows:

• The mask should be removed without touching the front part, which includes the nose, mouth and chin, where heavy contamination occurs.
• If the mask is elastic, it is removed from the elastics behind the ear, if it is threaded, firstly the lower threads in the nape area and then the upper threads at the back of the head are untied.
• The expired mask is disposed of properly.
• After removing the mask, hands are washed with soap and water again.