Is it true that masks only work to prevent germs/diseases from exiting one’s mouth/nose and not from entering one’s mouth/nose? If so, why?
In: Other
Depends on the masks. N95 masks can filter incoming air, but due to that filtering the airflow is slower and it’s harder to breathe regularly. However the masks that most people use during the current pandemic like surgical masks are not very filtering because the don’t form a perfect seal on the face.
Now wearing a mask prevents germ from getting out because of simple physics, when water droplets are propelled from your mouth they have energy pointing them in one direction, the mask makes a barrier that redirects the air. Water being heavier than air is harder to make change direction meaning it bumps into the mask and is caught along with the virus inside, while air molecules flow around and are expelled out the side of the mask. However it’s not perfect and smaller and lighter droplets can escape, but the mask has redirected the air and gotten rid of a lot of the energy that would carry it a distance. Thus reducing the transmission range significantly.
Now those gaps in the mask means that breathing in the air will want to take the path of least resistance and not flow through the cloth, thus flowing around the mask and taking any airborne particles with it and straight into your mouth and nose.
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