Respirators and surgical masks are widely used in healthcare settings. It’s interesting to know that only respirators can be used for respiratory protection against airborne chemical hazards. As both of these masks are used in healthcare settings, it is important for all to know the differences between them.

Respirators

·         Designed to protect the wearer from inhaling airborne contaminants such as dust, fume, vapours and infectious agents

Surgical Masks

·         Designed to provide a barrier protection against large particle droplets and does not effectively filter inhaled small particles, fumes and vapours

·         These are used in situations where respiratory protection is recommended

·         It is primarily used to protect patients and healthcare workers from people who may have respiratory infections

·         Also used to protect sterilized and disinfected medical devices and supplies

Tips to Improve the Selection and Use of Respirators and Surgical Masks

• Thorough inspection and assessment of the specific work environment to determine the hazards that are present. Surgical masks do not provide respiratory protection from chemical hazards.
•  If chemical or any other hazards are present, the appropriate selection needs to be done to protect the workers from them and communicate selection decision to each affected worker.
•  All workers who are required to wear tightly fitted respirators must have a medical evaluation to determine the worker’s ability to wear a respirator
• Governments all around the world are trying to contain the spread of the coronavirus. There is also a section of people for who wearing a mask is difficult or distressing. Some of the reasons are:

·       Autism: People with autism spectrum disorders might find covering the nose and mouth sensory overload, panicky and a situation of extreme anxiety

·        Disability: With disabled people, it might be difficult to remove to move the mask from their face and so, they might find wearing a mask difficult

·        Claustrophobia and Asthma: People with such conditions may find it hard to wear a mask

·        Hearing Impairment: People who are with such problem might find it difficult to read lips to communicate. Hence, deaf people or people with the hearing problem have their own challenges to wearing the mask

·        Facial deformities: They might be incompatible to wear masks

It is therefore advisable for all of such people to stay at home and avoid interaction with people. Talking about professionally made face mask, Honeywell is a trusted name in the manufacturing of N95 masks. Honeywell’s N95 masks are regulated by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. It is a trusted and well-known brand when it comes to the manufacturing of facemasks. One can visit their website to know more about the features and the production update on these.

Wearing a mask has proven to be a massive saviour for all in these COVID19 times. It helps in protecting you and the people around you from the deadly virus and the spread of the disease. It is also mandatory to wear a mask while stepping outside the house. Wearing a mask does not replace other protecting measures inscribed by WHO such as:

·         Social distancing

·         Hand washing

·         Covering your cough or sneeze

·         Not touching the eyes

·         Self-monitoring for the COVID symptoms

·         Staying at home until it is necessary

Masks

Talking about masks, there are many types of masks available. They can be:

·         Cotton masks

·         Disposable masks

·         Medical masks

The idea of wearing a mask is to securely cover the nose, mouth and chin while coming in contact with the surroundings without gapping, as they filter the respiratory droplets. While buying the masks, one should look for:

·         Two or three layers of cotton woven together for protection as well as easy breathing

·         A secure fitting to cover the nose, mouth and chin

·         No seams over the mouth and nose through which air may leak

·         Reusable fabric should be easy to wash when dirty and damp

Community Mask Use

We all have been hearing article and news since a long time now that wearing a mask is effectively curbing the community the spread of coronavirus. It leads to provincial, national and international public health organisations making the wearing of masks a mandate when physical distancing cannot be assured.

·         Wearing a mask reduces the risk of the spread of COVID19

·         Many benefits when masks are worn properly

·         Mask use should be combined with other protective measures such as physical distancing, hand wash, not touching your eyes, nose, mouth, eyes etc.

Few of the cases or reasons where people are not advised to hear masks are:

·         Autism

·         Disability

·         Claustrophobia

·         Asthma

·         Hearing Impairment

·         Facial Disformities

Medical masks and N95 respirators should be reserved for health care workers and are not recommended for day-to-day activities. It is important to preserve the supplies of these masks to limit the spread of the virus.

Circuit protection is the intentional addition of a weak link in an electric circuit. This link can be broken in the event of a fault, be it a short circuit, high temperature, excessive current etc. It protects the electric circuit from damage.

Protective devices are important as they ensure that in case of faulty conditions, the circuit is broken and the consumer is safe from any accident. Overcurrent protection arises from overloads and short circuits, and these are protected through circuit breakers or fuses. These devices disconnect the supply automatically in case of an overload or fault current. There are many types of circuit protection devices.

·         Fuses

·         Miniature Circuit Board (MCB)

·         Residual Current Device (RCD)

·         Residual Current Breaker with Overcurrent (RCBO)

What is an MCB?

Miniature Circuit Breakers, commonly known as MCB, are electromagnetic devices which are used to protect an electric circuit from an overload, overcurrent and short circuit. It switches off the electric circuit during an abnormal condition of the network. Also, it avoids overheating in case of excess current & provides fire protection. The difference between a fuse and an MCB is:

·         A fuse has to be replaced or rewired every time after a fault

·         An MCB does not have to be replaced every time a fault occurs

Advantages of using an MCB over a Fuse

It is majorly used to secure your household appliances to heavy electrical machines with short circuits and overload currents. Its main advantages over a fuse are: 

More sensitive: It detects any abnormality in the current flow and automatically switches off the circuit.

Faulty zone can easily be identified: Faulty circuit trips to the off position. In case of a fuse, the entire fuse wire needs to be checked for confirming the faulty zone. So, an MCB saves time and unnecessary workload.

 Simple to resume the supply: Many must be aware that in case of an MCB, one just needs to push up the knob back to the ON position. Whereas in case of a fuse, the entire fuse wire needs replacement.

Safer than a fuse: In case of an MCB, the user is not exposed to live electrical parts, and hence, it’s comparatively safe than a fuse.

Reusable: The complete fuse needs to be replaced whenever it goes faulty.

Better interface

Read Also: How circuit protection safeguards your smart home products