The world has been “masking up” for nearly a year now, but with the information causing what many can feel like is an information overload, it is easy to feel some confusion about how to go about protecting yourself from COVID-19.
A recent study out of Australia’s findings showed that two masks might be better than one.
The CDC has also recommended layering up.
With all that said, where do health professionals stand on those guidances, and how should people protect themselves?
Dr. Joseph Gastaldo, who specializes in infections diseases with OhioHealth agrees with the mask layering logic.
“The more layers of filter you have, it does make sense that wearing more than one mask would do a better, more efficient job of filtering out particles in the virus,” he said.
Dr. Gastaldo would really just be happy to see people wearing two layers in any form. That could mean just one mask that has two layers.
The key to wearing the mask is making sure it’s fitted.
That means fully covering the nose and mouth because wearing a mask is not just a selfless thing.
“We know now that mask does offer a layer of protection to the wearer in the setting where somebody else has COVID-19, that mask can act as a filter to prevent the virus from causing infection in the wearer,” he said.
Basically, as long as people have a multilayered mask that fits snugly and are following the CDC’s guidelines for hygiene, they will do fine.
For those who have more questions, the CDC has mask guidelines on their website.