The mayor of coronavirus-plagued New Orleans took a shot at Trump, saying the city would have canceled Mardi Gras if the federal government had taken the outbreak seriously

[yuna628 9,694]

11 minutes ago, Dashinka said:

I would think face masks, shields, and goggles could be wiped with a disinfected wipe.  As to masks, could they be put in an autoclave?  I am not sure what plastics are used in them.

I don't think wiping them down is the proper protocol. It's not enough? Here's something I found about disinfecting a face shield.. seems complicated and requires more protection while disinfecting it. https://help.prusa3d.com/en/article/prusa-face-shield-disinfection_125457/

[Dashinka 24,700]

33 minutes ago, yuna628 said:

I don't think wiping them down is the proper protocol. It's not enough? Here's something I found about disinfecting a face shield.. seems complicated and requires more protection while disinfecting it. https://help.prusa3d.com/en/article/prusa-face-shield-disinfection_125457/

So they can do a moderate temperature autoclave.  Seems like that would work.

[Steeleballz 7,550]

3 hours ago, Dashinka said:

I would think face masks, shields, and goggles could be wiped with a disinfected wipe.  As to masks, could they be put in an autoclave?  I am not sure what plastics are used in them.

 

   Unless a filter is designed to be washed or autoclaved, it is not being used appropriately.  Anything that filters particles and microorganisms is eventually going to fill up to the point of not being useful. That's why reusing them is one of the things that does actually make them more dangerous(to the wearer). Not making the spread worse, but decreasing the effectiveness of the mask, and possibly exposing yourself to an organism that is already growing on the mask. 

 

  There may be ways to extend the life of a mask, but it's not really something we should be doing.

[Dashinka 24,700]

6 minutes ago, Steeleballz said:

 

   Unless a filter is designed to be washed or autoclaved, it is not being used appropriately.  Anything that filters particles and microorganisms is eventually going to fill up to the point of not being useful. That's why reusing them is one of the things that does actually make them more dangerous(to the wearer). Not making the spread worse, but decreasing the effectiveness of the mask, and possibly exposing yourself to an organism that is already growing on the mask. 

 

  There may be ways to extend the life of a mask, but it's not really something we should be doing.

I agree, under ideal conditions these items should not be reused.  These are not ideal conditions.

[Steeleballz 7,550]

Just now, Dashinka said:

I agree, under ideal conditions these items should not be reused.  These are not ideal conditions.

 

  Correct, but if you were to imagine autoclaving and reusing something like a furnace filter, or an air filter in your car, you have to recognize that there comes a point where things will be worse than not having one at all. Masks are the same. You might be able to sterilize them (to an extent), but whether or not they actually work, and when they stop working, is more of a guess.

 

  

[Dashinka 24,700]

1 minute ago, Steeleballz said:

 

  Correct, but if you were to imagine autoclaving and reusing something like a furnace filter, or an air filter in your car, you have to recognize that there comes a point where things will be worse than not having one at all. Masks are the same. You might be able to sterilize them (to an extent), but whether or not they actually work, and when they stop working, is more of a guess.

 

  

I understand that, but I also understand that filters have a certain capacity which I doubt is reached after one use.  As long as these items can be sterilized, they should be fine for at least a couple of uses.  I have no idea what the filter capacity is of an N95 mask, but that does not apply to shields, goggles, gowns, etc.

[Steeleballz 7,550]

6 minutes ago, Dashinka said:

I understand that, but I also understand that filters have a certain capacity which I doubt is reached after one use.  As long as these items can be sterilized, they should be fine for at least a couple of uses.  I have no idea what the filter capacity is of an N95 mask, but that does not apply to shields, goggles, gowns, etc.

 

   At work, we use N95's for up to 12 hours ATM. Normally we wouldn't, and I'm not sure if anyone has ever validated how effective they are. They are discarded if visibly contaminated or after single use if used with patients in isolation. They can also not be used with different patients, so if a nurse has 3 patients for her shift, she may need 3 masks but she can use reuse each one for the specific patient as long as it doesn't get contaminated. 

[Nitas_man 3,100]

9 hours ago, yuna628 said:

Those masks are going to doctors and hospitals though that desperately need them. Not to the general public.

 

At this stage the practice my sister is at has no more masks and could not get any more from suppliers.

The doctors and hospitals would not desperately need them if the general public was using them.  The medical community shot themselves in the foot playing that game.  Lose/lose

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

23 minutes ago, Nitas_man said:

The doctors and hospitals would not desperately need them if the general public was using them.  The medical community shot themselves in the foot playing that game.  Lose/lose

Incorrect, as many here have tried to tell you.  If you're sick, it can lessen the spread, and that is the primary reason Asians wear them normally.  (Now, China and maybe others has a mask-use-mandatory policy for everyone).  If you're NOT sick, and you don't get close to anyone else, you are not very likely to get sick.

 

That would leave a lot more masks available to be used by those who DO HAVE to get close to sick folks, right?  I can pass by 50 strangers in public, mask or no mask, and my chances of getting sick are pretty equal.  But those who have to purposely get close to infected people SHOULD use every precaution they have available.  And I'm sure they are.

[Nitas_man 3,100]

13 minutes ago, Voice of Reason said:

Incorrect, as many here have tried to tell you.  If you're sick, it can lessen the spread, and that is the primary reason Asians wear them normally.  (Now, China and maybe others has a mask-use-mandatory policy for everyone).  If you're NOT sick, and you don't get close to anyone else, you are not very likely to get sick.

 

That would leave a lot more masks available to be used by those who DO HAVE to get close to sick folks, right?  I can pass by 50 strangers in public, mask or no mask, and my chances of getting sick are pretty equal.  But those who have to purposely get close to infected people SHOULD use every precaution they have available.  And I'm sure they are.

The need for messages or information from our medical professionals after a quarter million people got infected following their advice has expired.  
 

If you are sick and you do not know you are sick and you are not wearing a mask then you make other people sick.  When you do not know you are sick unless you are tested and when masks, which minimize this, and tests, which identifies this, are both reserved for medical professionals that creates a problem.

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

58 minutes ago, Nitas_man said:

The need for messages or information from our medical professionals after a quarter million people got infected following their advice has expired.  
 

If you are sick and you do not know you are sick and you are not wearing a mask then you make other people sick.  When you do not know you are sick unless you are tested and when masks, which minimize this, and tests, which identifies this, are both reserved for medical professionals that creates a problem.

Masks wouldn't have made much of a difference.  It was all over the world way too fast.  And as stated many times, masks really only keep the sick people from spreading disease, so not many would be wearing them while asymptomatic.  I know I don't. 

Edited April 3, 2020 by Voice of Reason

[Steeleballz 7,550]

47 minutes ago, Voice of Reason said:

Masks wouldn't have made much of a difference.  It was all over the world way too fast.  And as stated many times, masks really only keep the sick people from spreading disease, so not many would be wearing them while asymptomatic.  I know I don't. 

 

   Even if they would have made a difference, by the time people started talking about wearing them back at the end of January, there were very few left and they were not cheap. I would suggest anyone who wants N95's buy them when this is over. They will be cheap and probably plentiful at some point and the world will be overstocked. Then if people want to wear them in future, they have them. No one needs to wait for someone to give the OK to wear them.

 

  One thing that will come out of this is how over reliant we have become on other countries for our medical supplies. Most of these masks are made in China, and the outbreak hit China first. We had supply chain issues before the virus even got here, we just didn't know it yet. It's actually going to drive home one of Trump's big talking points about having the ability to source production in the USA.  

 

  

[TBoneTX 45,813]

11 hours ago, Steeleballz said:

You might be able to sterilize them (to an extent)

I read earlier tonight* that the company Battelle apparently has developed a way to reuse masks, and that fast-track application has been made to the FDA.

 

*almost certainly on rushlimbaugh.com, but in passing and I can't readily find the comment or the supporting link

[Steeleballz 7,550]

2 minutes ago, TBoneTX said:

I read earlier tonight* that the company Battelle apparently has developed a way to reuse masks, and that fast-track application has been made to the FDA.

 

*almost certainly on rushlimbaugh.com, but in passing and I can't readily find the comment or the supporting link

 

  We do have a protocol for doing that at work too. UV I think. They want us to give them the masks in another seal bag with our names and they return them the next day. We are not doing it yet, but it's in place for when we get really low on masks.

[Lemonslice 4,941]

Boston hospitals getting ‘game changer’ machine that sterilizes 80,000 protective masks a day

 

Quote

Battelle’s machine, which will be available to multiple hospitals in the region, uses concentrated hydrogen peroxide vapor to decontaminate N95 masks, which are in high demand and offer superior protection to other masks. Under normal circumstances, N95 masks are discarded after each use. With this system, they can be reused safely up to 20 times, according to Battelle.