Making a Mask to Stay Safe
The coronavirus is always on our minds now, and being hypersensitive to coughs may make us nervous. Learning how to make your own mask to protect yourself can help keep our minds less stressed. A mask is a way to help people stay safe and contracept potential viruses from entering your body. Now the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, also known as the CDC, has guidelines and tutorials on how to make a mask.
According to the CDC’s official website, there are five basic requirements before they are used. The mask should fit snugly but comfortably on the sides of your face, be secured by ties or ear loops, include multiple layers of cloth or fabric, allow for breathing without restriction, and finally be able to be laundried and machine dried without damage to the shape of the mask. Some other things to be considered should be to make masks with low cost household items and fabrics. The CDC says that people should make a mask and not buy a surgical mask or a N-95 respirator mask; these are valuable resources for health care workers and the supply is limited. Lastly, do not place a mask on children under the age of 2 or people that have trouble breathing or cannot take the mask off on their own.
For those who need ideas on what to use to make a mask, look no further. One thing that could be used is old clothing or not worn clothing to make a mask. UVA general medicine doctor John Leiner said,“People have at least one T-shirt or maybe baby clothes that they stop wearing which could be used for a mask.”
Some other materials and household items could be a diaper for those who have leftover diapers that are not in use. Hanh Cao, a person of the Charlottesville community, used a diaper and cloth she got from pants that were too long for her to make a mask. Hanh said,”I got the idea after talking to my sister in Vietnam, and I thought it was so ridiculous, but I was curious if it could work. I remembered that we have leftover diapers from when my son was a toddler. He is now 20 years old, so he won’t be using them anymore.”
For those who do not have the materials to make a mask, there are other options like buying them from stores or from other people making safe DIY versions.. Custom Ink is a company willing to make a mask. The cheapest mask on their website would be $30 for a 12 pack .
Those are only a few ideas for those who need ideas for making masks for the current climate of the pandemic. The following is an additional site for people who want to get more information on making and/or buying a mask.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html
