Face masks

[SchoolNurse91]

So, my superintendent asked me to buy face masks. I've looked... everything is sold out. Do you know of any places that have them in stock?

[SchoolNurse91, BSN, RN]

I wasn't too concerned until they said "when not if." We don't have any cases in my state, but who knows what will happen.

[Flare, ASN, BSN]

oh, it's a coming folks. I personally don't think it's worth spending 60 dollars for a case of surgical masks, yet that's the going rate on amazon. For all the good those do, may as well tie a bandana around your face.

[ruby_jane, BSN, RN]

Surgical masks are what you'd want for the kiddos, yes? Have you checked Henry Schein? It's a medical sales company.

[k1p1ssk, BSN, RN]

I am not going to worry about this until it is something I need to worry about... From the CDC:

"Follow CDC’s recommendations for using a facemask.

CDC does not recommend that people who are well wear a facemask to protect themselves from respiratory diseases, including COVID-19.

Facemasks should be used by people who show symptoms of COVID-19 to help prevent the spread of the disease to others. The use of facemasks is also crucial for health workers and people who are taking care of someone in close settings (at home or in a health care facility)." https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/prevention-treatment.html

[SchoolNurse91, BSN, RN]

7 minutes ago, k1p1ssk said:

I am not going to worry about this until it is something I need to worry about... From the CDC:

"Follow CDC’s recommendations for using a facemask.

CDC does not recommend that people who are well wear a facemask to protect themselves from respiratory diseases, including COVID-19.

Facemasks should be used by people who show symptoms of COVID-19 to help prevent the spread of the disease to others. The use of facemasks is also crucial for health workers and people who are taking care of someone in close settings (at home or in a health care facility)." https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/prevention-treatment.html

This is obviously why we would use them. I wouldn't use them on healthy kiddos. I use them now for flu symptoms, but of course we are running low ?

I would hope that a student wouldn't come to school if they were exposed to coronavirus, but I had a student with active TB at school for three months this year.

[adventure_rn, MSN, NP]

On 2/28/2020 at 9:24 AM, AdobeRN said:

I wouldn't bother with the hospital - the hospital staff will need them more than our students, staff etc.

We've actually had an ongoing discussion about this on another forum:

https://allnurses.com/coronavirus-supply-shortages-t715755/

Our hospital is at a point where we're postponing things like central line dressing and line changes while we try to rustle up enough masks for everybody. It's a total mess.

On 2/28/2020 at 11:08 AM, SchoolNurse91 said:

I would hope that a student wouldn't come to school if they were exposed to coronavirus, but I had a student with active TB at school for three months this year.

The biggest issue is that the incubation period is up to two weeks, so they could have been exposed to and already be transmitting it to others without even realizing it. If the infected students were to use a mask, they'd have to start wearing it several days before showing symptoms (which obviously isn't practical).

[OctaviaF]

All of this is so interesting. I am about to attend nursing school but work at a hospital and we sent out an email about masks and not taking them home and what they are used for....etc. I am about to fly the end of March to England and hope I won't be on the list of those that need to check in with the hospital and occupational health just to return to work. I have an elderly mother I am more concerned about than myself...wash my hands frequently and all that...but I have coworkers talking about taking N95s when flying and I'm like nah, I'll take Lysol wipes, hand sanitizer and not touch my face.

We've certainly had an email go out to our hospital about when and when NOT to use the masks to protect supply...we've even lessened our face mask-wearing policy for those that did not get flu shots.

[CommunityRNBSN, BSN, RN]

On 2/28/2020 at 9:32 AM, Nurse Jen said:

Even the CDC (when discussing the COVID19) stated that masks are a false sense of security and should not be worn unless the person wearing it is ill. I have found that children play with the masks and touch their face more often if wearing one.

YES. I lived in Japan during swine flu. The Japanese love their masks, so it soon became policy that all our students had to wear them. I taught 2nd grade! The kids would remove the mask to pick their noses; put it on top of their head like a headband; draw on them and then put them back on... it was absurd. You can not get a young child to use a mask correctly.

[Herecomesthesun]

I work in the hospital, and we are conserving our supply too. We are keeping them at the nursing desk instead of leaving them out on the floor, and advised to hand them to family members only if they are absolutely needed.

[NurseSpeedy, ADN, LPN, RN]

Masks won’t help as much as having sick children and staff staying home-but good luck with that ever happening. Schools are petri dishes.

[MSO4foru, ADN]

We need a system that dosen't penalize people for being at home sick. Just imagine one Covid19 positive employee working at a grocery store or fast food place. Buckle up folks.

[Wuzzie]

On 3/1/2020 at 3:37 AM, OctaviaF said:

but I have coworkers talking about taking N95s when flying and I'm like nah, I'll take Lysol wipes, hand sanitizer and not touch my face.

You aren't even a nurse and yet you have more common sense then most! ?The N-95's are rated to 0.5 micron particles. The virus measures 0.02-0.05 microns so even the N-95s are useless.