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What's the correct and incorrect way to take the masks off?



CDC provides guidelines for donning/doffing N95 masks here: https://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/hcp/ppe-training/n95respirator...

The process is straightforward. I was shown a different technique than they provided, and am not a fan of having dirty gloves on or around my head and face as they show there.

I have been trained to usa a gloved hand and place it over the center of the mask, use your other hand to lift the straps over your head, and then pull away and discard the mask and gloves. The key is to prevent any contact between the exterior of the mask and your face, and certainly not to touch your face with the gloves.

Removing the mask incorrectly risks exposure to whatever was outside the mask in the first place. For the kind of exposure nonmedical personnel ought to experience, and for extended wear periods, I would think the mask would act to integrate whatever you've been surrounded by. In other words, you've collected 8 hours of crap on the front of it, so you'd want to be extra careful with the dirty part.


> not a fan of having dirty gloves on or around my head

For what it's worth, the earlier steps include removing outer gloves, and disinfecting the inner gloves.


There are pages of results on Youtube, such as https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HluIkTbTBIw for a respirator type mask.

I would also recommend if you are following the procedure with a reused mask to immediately wash your hands afterwards since you will be touching a contaminated surface. Guides assume you are using a fresh mask, per health worker procedures.




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