Throughout history and throughout the world, face masks have hidden or changed the identity of people, whether in the special circumstances of spiritual rituals and theatrical performances, and, by contrast, medical masks are used for protection rather than hiding, thereby preserving the identity and health of the wearer.
Here is a summary that explains the history and development of medical masks that have entered our lives of 400 hundred years:
Europe in the seventeenth century
European plague doctors wore leather masks with a long, pointed beak, and masks filled with perfumes and scents to mask unpleasant odors and because they believed they were fighting infection carried by polluted air.
The same designs were later used in theatrical performances and carnivals, and the mask can be seen at the Deutsches Historisches Museum in Berlin.
Nineteenth century
Modern women wore thin masks to protect them from dust in light of the spread of bacteriological theory in Europe that Louis Pasteur reached in 1857, and says that microorganisms are called bacteria and are responsible for bacterial diseases and bacteria play a role in human diseases, but his theory was later refuted.
Read also: The origin of the word "quarantine" .. and the first city in which it was applied
In an article published in 1878, physician IG Jessup recommended wearing cotton masks to reduce infection during epidemics by preventing germs from entering the lungs and blood, while cholera was prevalent at the time.
Early twentieth century
Although the first study advocating the use of masks during surgery was published in 1897, it was rarely used at the turn of the century.
In 1905, Dr. Alice Hamilton published an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association, referring to experiments that measure the amount of streptococcus bacteria that are expelled when criminals fever cough or cry, and also measure streptococcus bacteria in healthy doctors and nurses when they talk or cough, prompting them To recommend masks during surgery.
In 1910, the plague of pulmonary plague struck several countries, prompting Chinese doctor Li Lin Tei (Wu Leland), appointed by the Chinese court to head the plague control efforts, to develop a mask for medical personnel and the general public to wear because the disease was transmitted by air.
During the spread of the Spanish flu in the aftermath of the First World War in Europe and the world and left millions dead in 1918, the medical staff routinely wore masks to protect themselves, and many cities imposed masks in public places.
In 1920, the masks became standard standards in operating rooms, and medical researchers continue to develop them in terms of designs and materials used in their manufacture.
Post World War II
Air pollution, especially in London, prompted the British to adopt smog masks, and as the problem ended in it and the smog moved to other countries, the masks or smog masks moved to India, China and other developing countries.
"Covid-19" masks in the twenty-first century
As the coronavirus invaded the globe, creating masks of ordinary fabrics or printing them in 3D became the most advanced version of the 21st century.