Children's masks are not suitable for infants and young children under 36 months of age: beautiful children's masks should be bought carefully

As the school time is announced throughout the country, "child masks" have recently become a sought-after item for parents to purchase intensively for school. A reporter from the China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily noted that on major e-commerce platforms, the price of a disposable child mask ranges from three to four yuan to several tens of yuan. Many parents worry about the purchase of children's masks.

How to choose a child mask? What kind of masks meet the standards? Is the market supply sufficient? The recently released "Civil Sanitary Masks" group standard (hereinafter referred to as "group standard") classifies and regulates children's masks and provides a basis for production supervision. The reporter interviewed Jin Xiangyu, one of the drafters of mask group standards and a professor at the Textile College of Donghua University, to analyze the standard and production capacity of children's masks.

Don't buy N95 masks blindly

Many parents have found that children often "open their mouths to breathe" when wearing masks, and some children have difficulty breathing while wearing masks. In response to this phenomenon, Jin Xiangyu said that wearing a mask is like setting up a "filter barrier" to his respiratory system. This barrier must block particles, droplets, etc., and ensure smooth breathing. Children's lungs are relatively weak. Children's masks worn for a long time first require "comfortable ventilation".

In the mask group standard, it is clearly stipulated that the ventilation resistance of the adult mask must be less than or equal to 49 Pa, and the ventilation resistance of the child mask must be less than or equal to 30 Pa. Jin Xiangyu particularly reminded parents not to be blindly keen to choose N95 masks and medical surgical masks. "The ventilation resistance of these masks is around 300 Pa. Although the protection performance is high, it is not conducive to ventilation. It is not the best choice for children's daily protection. "

However, if the ventilation resistance is lower, will it affect the protection of the mask? It is understood that the protection standards for adult population masks and child masks in the group standards are "same treatment" and are equally strict. The standard stipulates that the filtering efficiency of children's masks for dust, droplets, aerosols and other particulate matter is not less than 90%, and the bacterial filtration efficiency is not less than 95%, which can meet the needs of ordinary consumers to protect bacteria after wearing masks. At the same time, considering the poor ability of children to be active and active, the flame retardant performance of children's masks is also specified. The index refers to YY0469-2011 "Medical Surgical Masks". The burning time of the masks after leaving the flame is not more than 5 seconds.

In addition, according to the new standard, children's masks should use earhook mask straps. Mask straps should not have free ends, detachable small parts, etc., and there should be no sharp points and sharp edges that can be touched. The raw materials of masks for children should not use recycled materials. Jin Xiangyu said that under such strict safety standards, as long as consumers choose to purchase qualified and compliant child masks, both safety and comfort can be achieved.

Can cartoon color masks be bought?

Many parents are very worried when buying children's masks. Ordinary masks are reluctant to wear. Children like colorful children's masks with cartoon patterns. But is such a mask safe and will its protective effect be compromised?

The reporter noticed that the mask group standard stipulates that the mask and the skin in direct contact with the fabric should not be dyed, but this requirement does not apply to the outer layer of the mask. Whether the outer layer of the mask is dyed and whether there are various patterns is designed by the enterprise. The standard does not require it.

"Beautiful masks should be bought with care!" Jin Xiangyu said that the pigments used for children's mask dyeing should best meet the "food grade standard". On the contrary, wearing masks dyed with chemical materials for a long time will cause negative effects.

Regarding the choice of size, the mask group standard also has a large (L), medium (M), and small (S) size for children's masks, but many parents are still "silly."

Jin Xiangyu reminded that children's masks are not suitable for infants and children under 36 months of age. He suggested that the trumpet is generally suitable for children from 3-6 years old. Children wearing masks will affect breathing, so young children should wear masks carefully, and parents must pay attention to observe and adjust at any time. The medium size is suitable for children 6-9 years old, the large size is generally recommended for children over 10 years old.

Jin Xiangyu said that because there are individual differences in children's growth and development, the choice of masks according to age is only as a reference. Parents are choosing the mask that fits the face size after trying on the child.

It is reported that Jin Xiangyu has led a team to carry out in-depth research on children's masks, and cooperates with the School of Fashion and Art Design of Donghua University, Children's Hospital, professional testing institutions and other units, using big data investigation, computer simulation, sample test feedback, etc. to further refine Relevant standards for children's masks. In the future, the choice of children's masks will be more diverse, with improvements in size, design, manufacturing process and performance.

Strict group standards, whether manufacturers "can keep up"

It is understood that compared with adult masks, due to the small market size, the size specifications of children of different ages differ greatly, and the group standards have higher requirements for the material of child masks.

Jin Xiangyu told reporters that the key to the production of children's masks that meet national standards is the problem of filtration and mask materials. The focus is on solving the three major technical problems of melt-blown process technology, modification technology and charging technology. Since the outbreak of the epidemic, the non-woven materials research team of Donghua University has been working on scientific research, continuously optimizing the material, structure, function and performance of children's masks. The material structure and function of the new masks will be more suitable for children and fit more closely with the face Close, 360-degree seamless protection.

It is reported that through joint research with enterprises, Donghua patented child protective mask products have been put on the market in batches.

Medical staff has strict rules on the wearing time of masks. How long should students wear masks in public places like schools? Jin Xiangyu said that everyone's breathing volume, speech frequency and exercise volume are different. Generally, it is enough to use a disposable mask to change it once a day. "You must choose a mask of the appropriate size to ensure the tightness of the mask. Use both hands when wearing the mask. Squeeze the metal strips on both sides of the nose bridge so that the upper end of the mask is close to the nose bridge, and stretch the mask down without leaving wrinkles. "

Zhu Yichao China Youth Daily · China Youth Daily reporter Wang Yejie Source: China Youth Daily