3 ms·

N95 masks are made to protect others, as in surgeons wearing them to protect those they operate on. Not the other way round.

cwan 17y ago
Apparently, according to the CDC, it works both ways. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/respirators.htm http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/respirators.htm - N95 respirators were the only masks recommended by the CDC to mitigate the risk from SARS
- mahmud 17y ago
  Yes, and in the 50s, school desks where "recommended" as safety bunkers for kids in case of a soviet nuclear attack. Government safety prescriptions are often panaceas, but they serve the purpose of making the masses feel like everything is under control be calm.
  - HalcyonMuse 17y ago
    Do you have a better recommendation?
    - mahmud 17y ago
      Certainly no better recommendation, but I know for certain that governments tend to manipulate instances of mass-spread fear, either to gain advantage over the public, or to cover up their incompetence. Ductape wont save me from a suicide bomber, just as a piece of napkin with a rubber strap wont stand between me and a mass epidemic.
    - khafra 17y ago
      I thought that we were meant to lie down or put a paper bag over our head or something.
      - mahmud 17y ago
        HHGTG references go ungotten around here it seems.
  - cwan 17y ago
    Ugh. I don't see how this is even that controversial a point. Would you believe NPR instead? http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103789700 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1037897... - I don't take it to be a foolproof method by any means, but I suspect it's more effective than hiding under a desk in a nuclear attack as per your analogy. Besides, with the outbreaks of SARS, H1N1, scares over avian flu, the cost/risk ratio isn't exactly high given the options (which are few for most airborne viruses other than hide out until the risk has passed).
  - DannoHung 17y ago
    You realize that it was more for the ostensible situation that the school was in the blast zone but not in the immediate kill zone? And that by hiding under a desk, children might prevent themselves from being struck by falling debris? They knew perfectly well what they were saying. There's no point in making a kid hysterical about getting killed by the intense heat and pressure of an atomic bomb every time there's an air raid drill.

cwan 17y ago

Apparently, according to the CDC, it works both ways. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/respirators.htm http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/respirators.htm - N95 respirators were the only masks recommended by the CDC to mitigate the risk from SARS

mahmud 17y ago
Yes, and in the 50s, school desks where "recommended" as safety bunkers for kids in case of a soviet nuclear attack. Government safety prescriptions are often panaceas, but they serve the purpose of making the masses feel like everything is under control be calm.
- HalcyonMuse 17y ago
  Do you have a better recommendation?
  - mahmud 17y ago
    Certainly no better recommendation, but I know for certain that governments tend to manipulate instances of mass-spread fear, either to gain advantage over the public, or to cover up their incompetence. Ductape wont save me from a suicide bomber, just as a piece of napkin with a rubber strap wont stand between me and a mass epidemic.
  - khafra 17y ago
    I thought that we were meant to lie down or put a paper bag over our head or something.
    - mahmud 17y ago
      HHGTG references go ungotten around here it seems.
- cwan 17y ago
  Ugh. I don't see how this is even that controversial a point. Would you believe NPR instead? http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103789700 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1037897... - I don't take it to be a foolproof method by any means, but I suspect it's more effective than hiding under a desk in a nuclear attack as per your analogy. Besides, with the outbreaks of SARS, H1N1, scares over avian flu, the cost/risk ratio isn't exactly high given the options (which are few for most airborne viruses other than hide out until the risk has passed).
- DannoHung 17y ago
  You realize that it was more for the ostensible situation that the school was in the blast zone but not in the immediate kill zone? And that by hiding under a desk, children might prevent themselves from being struck by falling debris? They knew perfectly well what they were saying. There's no point in making a kid hysterical about getting killed by the intense heat and pressure of an atomic bomb every time there's an air raid drill.