They're a familiar sight in countries like China and Japan. Should Australians consider them to protect their lungs from bushfire smoke?
A cloth or surgeon's mask fits loosely around the face and doesn't effectively filter out air pollution.While cloth and paper masks can stop aerosols and water droplets — which may in some cases be helpful for preventing the spread of infections — they don't filter well enough to be of use against the microscopic dust particles that make bushfire smoke dangerous, she said."They're not designed for pollution.
"[Even] a mask with highly efficient particle-filtering material may confer little protection when worn," the authors wrote, in part because the masks often fit poorly and moved around while they were strapped to someone's face.An air purifier in the home can offer some relief, Dr Johnston said, though shoppers should be careful they're getting something that works.
"You need to check it's got a HEPA filter — there's a lot of things sold as air purifiers that don't filter particles. You need to check on the box that it's physically rated to remove particles from the air," Dr Johnston said.
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