Can the mask be used when it is wet?
After the mask is wet, it will not only make the wearer feel uncomfortable, but also compromise the protective effect.
Experts suggest that if conditions permit, it is best to replace it in time.
"It's not that I don't want to wear a good mask. It is too uncomfortable when the mask is wet." In the subway car, when the security officer prompted a female passenger to wear a mask, she also felt wronged.
This scene took place on January 7, when the cold wave hit.
In the severe cold winter, this problem not only plagues the passenger, but many people have encountered such a problem. Alternate hot and cold, wearing a mask into an indoor public place with a relatively high temperature, the mask will instantly become soaked.
On January 14, the reporter found a similar situation when taking Metro Line 5. Occasionally, people could see the masks of passengers in the carriages that looked mottled, and the masks were soaked from inside to outside.
Not only in the subway, as long as there is an alternating hot and cold entering and exiting areas in cold weather, such problems may occur.
Take off the mask and observe carefully. There are a lot of water droplets hanging on the inner surface of the mask.
If the mask is wet, in addition to making the wearer feel uncomfortable, will the protective ability be compromised?
Shi Yuexin, deputy chief nurse at Beijing Tiantan Hospital, used to be an expert in hospital infection prevention and control in 2020 and rushed to the front line of Wuhan with the Beijing Medical Aid Team to ensure zero infection among medical staff.
She told reporters that wet masks do have an impact on the protective effect. “We usually wear medical surgical masks when we go out. The working principle is to rely on the electrostatic fiber layer to block and absorb particles. If the mask is wet, the effect will be Discounted."
In this regard, Shi Yuexin suggested that you can bring a spare mask when you go out, and use it as a spare when the hot and cold alternate.
In addition, the reporter also noticed that disposable masks are currently provided in public places such as subway stations, and they can be replaced in time if they become soaked.
Photo by our reporter Jing Yiming