COVID-19 pandemic is a unique situation affecting countries worldwide. Now, one of the measures that WHO advised is wearing face masks. Well, face masks were not among the initial COVID-19 prevention strategies. However, experts are now convinced that they could help reduce the spread of this disease by discouraging people from touching their faces, preventing asymptomatic carriers from spreading this disease, and reminding individuals about practicing hand hygiene as well as social distancing.
But, there has been a lot of confusion about which masks or fabrics offer excellent protection and which ones to avoid. However, as the number of infections and deaths continue to increase, public health officers in the U.S are now urging individuals to wear fabric face coverings when in public.
Those who don’t have a fabric face mask can use a scarf or a bandana. However, there are some guidelines you should follow. Keep reading this guide to learn how best you can use your scarf as a homemade face mask.
Double Up Thin Fabric for a Better Face Covering
By now, most people know that COVID-19 is spread when droplets of an infected person find their way into a non-infected person’s lungs via nose, mouth, or eyes. Now, masks prevent the entry of this virus through the mouth and nose. But, if the mask one is wearing is light, the virus might still be able to penetrate and use these passages to enter into your lungs. Therefore, you’d want to ensure that your fabric has 2 or more layers for better prevention. Natural fabrics work better like silk or cotton, but a thin chiffon works as well if its folded in to two layers. And with any face covering, you can always add a filter layer, or cotton panel inside the folded scarf or bandana.
Fortunately, there are several things you can do to add thickness to your thin bandana or scarf. For instance, one can cut an old t-shirt and use it as the first covering layer then place your bandana or scarf on top. What’s important is to ensure that there are at least two fabric layers. Or your could use a thin natural fabric such as cotton or silk, fold it into two or more layers, and have a more fashionable option as a face covering. Just like the new silk Cherry Blossom scarves available now at the link here https://encausticstudios.com/product/new-blue-medulli-long-silk-scarf-16-x-72/
Make Sure That Your Homemade Mask Covers Your Nose and Mouth
One of the most common mistakes people make is wearing their masks halfway. Remember that the idea here is to completely block the virus from entering your lungs via your mouth and nose. Therefore, you should ensure that the fabric you’re using doesn’t leave gaps between your face and fabric.
After tying your bandana or scarf make sure it stays in place until you return home. But remember, even though you don’t want to leave any gaps, don’t make it too tight otherwise it’ll be uncomfortable. Additionally, one should also ensure that they can remove their masks without touching their face. Also, ensure that you practice proper hygiene and wash your scarf daily after use.
How Effective Are Scarfs and Bandanas for Protecting Against Coronavirus?
There’s been a lot of debate on whether homemade face masks offer excellent protection against this COVID-19 virus. Provided they’re used correctly, along with other prevention measures, they’re just as effective as other masks. So if you’re using a scarf or bandana as a face covering ensure that you still wash your hands regularly, practice social distancing and avoid touching your face. Also, do not use these cloth masks on children below 2 years, people with trouble breathing, unconscious, incapacitated, or those who cannot remove them without assistance.
If a person is infected, especially asymptomatic, these masks can prevent large droplets from sneezes or coughs from dropping on surfaces or other people. And for those who’re not infected, using these masks along with other prevention measures will protect one from large droplets.
There’s no doubt that masks play a huge role in reducing the rate of COVID-19 infection. Think about it. If everyone covered their face, it’ll help those infected to keep the droplets in and those who’re not infected to keep the infected droplets out. This will ultimately, reduce the number of infections. Experts, in fact, say that masks are a completely equitable intervention method.
However, medical and surgical masks should be left for doctors, nurses, and other people who’re frontline in battling COVID-19 in the hospitals. Bear in mind that there’s a shortage of these masks. Therefore, anyone who’s not a health worker should avoid wearing N95 or surgical masks.
With the new demand for face masks online, sometimes it would be faster to order a fashionable scarf instead as a backup or until a mask is made available. Masks and other face coverings should be single use for each shopping or outing session and washed afterwards. Therefore, it would be best to have more than one option at home such as silk or chiffon scarves available to buy now at the link here https://encausticstudios.com/product/cherry-blossom-silk-scarf-long-16-x-72/
