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N95 Masks & Uses

During the 2003 outbreak of the respiratory disease Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome or SARS, health-care workers in affected hospitals used N95 masks or respirators as a first line of defense in protecting themselves from the deadly virus. The filtering capacity of the facemask makes it a good protective device for everyone from health-care workers to homeowners and laborers for protection from harmful debris or germs. Learning more about when and how you should use an N95 mask will help you avoid unnecessary illness and discomfort.

  1. About N95 Masks

    • The earliest form of a modern mask similar to the N95 mask was developed in the early 1900s to protect miners, soldiers and firefighters from hazardous dusts, gases, chemicals and smoke, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Over time, various workplaces and industries began requiring their workers to wear the masks to decrease the risk of inhaling harmful particles. Today, the device is commonly used in health-care institutions to prevent the spread of flu or other respiratory illnesses.

      An N95 mask filters and blocks at least 95 percent of small airborne particles such as viruses, bacteria and dust or mold from reaching your lungs. To work efficiently, the mask must fit tightly to your face. For that reason, it does not provide full protection for children or people with facial hair. If you have a medical condition that makes breathing difficult, talk to your doctor before using an N95 mask.

    Construction and Industry Uses

    • Workers exposed to dust and small particles, or involved in processing coal, minerals, iron ore and flour, use N95 masks, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and 3M note. The mask does not provide protection from gases or chemicals in the air or from vapors from paint spraying, asbestos, lead or cadmium. At home, if you are sweeping, using a power saw, shoveling a large amount of debris or cleaning mold, use an N95 mask, the Minnesota Department of Health advises.

    Health-Care Uses

    • Health-care workers use N95 masks when in contact with ill patients who have conditions that spread through the air. Health-care professionals commonly wore the masks during SARS and again during the H1N1 flu outbreak in 2009 to prevent the spread of the illnesses from one person to another. In a health-care setting, N95 masks are specially fitted for each person or "fit tested" to ensure its effectiveness, and are discarded after every use.

    Research

    • A February 2004 study in the journal of Emerging Infectious Diseases by Mark Loeb and colleagues found nurses who wore an N95 mask during the SARS outbreak in 2003/2004 had an 80 percent lower risk of developing the illness. That risk was nearly 50 percent lower than nurses who wore only a surgical mask. However, wearing an N95 mask doesn't come without discomfort. A March 2006 study in the journal Acta Neurologica Scandinavica by ECH Lim and colleagues found 37.3 percent of people who wore an N95 mask while treating patients infected with SARS experienced headaches. Researchers believe pressure from the strap of the N95 mask on the neck or back of the head caused the headaches.

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