In the midst of the “give me a pill” era, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved the first face mask, or respirator, to fight airborne germs.
Fitting tightly over the nose and mouth, the masks filter 95 percent of minuscule, virus-causing particles from the air. Facial hair and deformities can affect their success rates.
“Its efficiency is dependent upon how well it fits the face,” said Al Romanosky, Maryland?s emergency preparedness coordinator in the Department of Mental Health and Hygiene. “Fit testing needs to be done to determine how effective the mask is in sealing around the [user?s] nose and mouth.”
Experts believe face masks could prevent the spread of viruses such as influenza. The 3M Company, based in Minnesota, manufactures the approved filtering respirators.
