5 ms·

FYI, there are CDC guidelines for extended use/reuse: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/hcwcontrols/recommendedguidanceextuse.html https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topi

FYI, there are CDC guidelines for extended use/reuse: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/hcwcontrols/recommendedguidanceextuse.html https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/hcwcontrols/recommendedguid...

ceejayoz 6y ago
Limited reuse. If you read it, "extended" here means "several patients in the same day". Hours, not days/weeks.
- deelowe 6y ago
  I have read it. Have you? I'm trying to be helpful. Here are a few key quotes: Thus, the maximum length of continuous use in non-dusty healthcare workplaces is typically dictated by hygienic concerns (e.g., the respirator was discarded because it became contaminated) or practical considerations (e.g., need to use the restroom, meal breaks, etc.), rather than a pre-determined number of hours. Extended use alone is unlikely to degrade respiratory protection. If no manufacturer guidance is available, preliminary data(19, 20) suggests limiting the number of reuses to no more than five uses per device to ensure an adequate safety margin. The most significant risk is of contact transmission from touching the surface of the contaminated respirator. Basically, the major risk factors for extended use and reuse is contamination of the respirator resulting in infection from handling it and damage rendering the respirator inferior (e.g. due to improper seal). Also, these guidelines are for clinical settings where these specific risk factors significantly elevated. For a normal person who uses the mask maybe once per week (assuming they are rotating), a single n95 mask could last quite a long time.
  - ceejayoz 6y ago
    Yes, I did read it. > Extended use refers to the practice of wearing the same N95 respirator for repeated close contact encounters with several patients, without removing the respirator between patient encounters. You're reading it as "extended use" meaning multi-day use, but that's not what the article defines it as. You will eventually have to discard the thing as it gets soiled or becomes harder to breathe through as it collects particles.
    - deelowe 6y ago
      Extended use is single instance. Re-use is multiple instances. These are separate things. If you read the linked papers, the reuse guidance is over the course of days with rest periods in between.
GuB-42 6y ago
This is only practical in hospitals and simular healthcare facilities, where they need lots of masks and have trained staff and sterilizing equipment. Also, you don't usually find N95 masks littering the streets. These are usually just surgical or cloth masks, and they are not really worth reusing.

FYI, there are CDC guidelines for extended use/reuse: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/hcwcontrols/recommendedguidanceextuse.html https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/hcwcontrols/recommendedguid...

ceejayoz 6y ago

Limited reuse. If you read it, "extended" here means "several patients in the same day". Hours, not days/weeks.

deelowe 6y ago
I have read it. Have you? I'm trying to be helpful. Here are a few key quotes: Thus, the maximum length of continuous use in non-dusty healthcare workplaces is typically dictated by hygienic concerns (e.g., the respirator was discarded because it became contaminated) or practical considerations (e.g., need to use the restroom, meal breaks, etc.), rather than a pre-determined number of hours. Extended use alone is unlikely to degrade respiratory protection. If no manufacturer guidance is available, preliminary data(19, 20) suggests limiting the number of reuses to no more than five uses per device to ensure an adequate safety margin. The most significant risk is of contact transmission from touching the surface of the contaminated respirator. Basically, the major risk factors for extended use and reuse is contamination of the respirator resulting in infection from handling it and damage rendering the respirator inferior (e.g. due to improper seal). Also, these guidelines are for clinical settings where these specific risk factors significantly elevated. For a normal person who uses the mask maybe once per week (assuming they are rotating), a single n95 mask could last quite a long time.
- ceejayoz 6y ago
  Yes, I did read it. > Extended use refers to the practice of wearing the same N95 respirator for repeated close contact encounters with several patients, without removing the respirator between patient encounters. You're reading it as "extended use" meaning multi-day use, but that's not what the article defines it as. You will eventually have to discard the thing as it gets soiled or becomes harder to breathe through as it collects particles.
  - deelowe 6y ago
    Extended use is single instance. Re-use is multiple instances. These are separate things. If you read the linked papers, the reuse guidance is over the course of days with rest periods in between.

GuB-42 6y ago

This is only practical in hospitals and simular healthcare facilities, where they need lots of masks and have trained staff and sterilizing equipment. Also, you don't usually find N95 masks littering the streets. These are usually just surgical or cloth masks, and they are not really worth reusing.