Why are people wearing surgical masks to “protect” against swine flu when they don protect against aerosols?
Well, surgical masks are not designed to protect the person who is wearing the mask. Surgeons and doctors wear a mask to protect the patient. If the doctor sneezes or coughs, the mask blocks the spittle from flying onto the patient. Similarly in this situation, the mask is completely useless if you are trying to stay away from the virus. But, if one has the flu, he coughs into the mask, so that decreases the chance that others will get the flu. A virus is so small that it will go right through the mask. Many people don’t know this. And for this reason, handing out masks offers a false sense of security to these people.
