As the threat of coronavirus grows, so too does the number of prevention strategies. One of the latest comes from the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the form of a facial hair and medical face mask guide. Basically, the chart shows which facial hairstyles are and are not safe in conjunction with face mask optimization. For example, because mutton chops cross the sealing surface of the respirator, it is considered unsafe. In the case of having a soul patch, because the facial hair does not interfere with the sealing surface, it is considered safe. Check out the visual guide below for more details.
The issue with an abundant amount of facial hair is that it is great at trapping food, but not so great at catching gases, vapors, and air particles, the CDC wrote. Those types of particles can easily bypass facial hair and enter the respiratory system.
“While human hair appears to be very thin to the naked eye, hair is much larger in size than the particles inhaled,” according to the CDC. “Facial hair is just not dense enough and the individual hairs are too large to capture particles like an air filter does.”
According to MarketWatch.com, masks have been selling out since fears of the coronavirus began spiraling over the weekend. They currently rank number 1 among the top-selling household products on Amazon. Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC, said Tuesday that the center expects the coronavirus to spread more widely in the U.S. and that Americans should prepare themselves for a possible pandemic.
Featured image via Center for Disease Control and Prevention
