Children shouldn’t Wear These Face Masks to School, Which can Damage Lung

Recently, a number of primary and secondary schools have announced the opening of school
Wearing face masks and washing hands regularly also became a daily routine for school
But some parents have noticed.
Some students wore N95 masks to school.
Even run with these face masks.
Could this cause cardiopulmonary impairment in the child?

A few days ago, the China Industrial Textile Industry Association, Donghua University Professor of Textile College reminded parents not to blindly enthusiastically choose the N95 mask and medical-surgical masks.

 Can children wear N95 masks? 

Many parents have found that their children often “open their mouths to breathe” when wearing face masks, and some have difficulty breathing while wearing face masks. In response to this phenomenon, the Donghua University Professor said that wearing a face mask is like setting up a “filter barrier” for your respiratory system, which not only blocks particles and droplets but also ensures smooth breathing. Children’s lungs are relatively weak, and the first requirement for a child’s face mask that is worn for long periods of time is “comfortable ventilation”.

In the standard for face masks, it is specified that the ventilatory resistance of adult face masks must be less than or equal to 49Pa and that for children’s face masks, the ventilatory resistance must be less than or equal to 30Pa. Parents are therefore particularly reminded not to choose N95 masks and medical-surgical masks blindly and enthusiastically.

“These face masks all have a ventilation resistance of around 300 Pa, which, while protective, is not conducive to ventilation and is not optimal for daily protection of children.”

 Doctor’s Alert | Professional Answers 

Professor of Immunology at Peking University School of Basic Medicine reminded: Even when adults wear N95 masks, the time should not exceed 4 hours at a time, if the N95 mask is used continuously for a long time, it will cause lung damage and may cause emphysema and other problems.

Experts from the Department of Infection Management of West China Hospital of Sichuan University advise: do not wear N95 masks for children under the age of 7 years, even with special air valve design N95 masks, because breathing resistance will be too great, children will be at risk of suffocation.

The director of the Infection Management Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine said: If children need to attend physical education classes, it is recommended to do so in a ventilated outdoor area, without wearing a face mask, and try to choose sports that can maintain a certain distance, such as exercise, to avoid close contact.

 Can I buy cartoon face masks? 

Many parents are worried when buying children’s face masks, ordinary face masks children do not want to wear, children like green or cartoon face masks for children. But are such masks safe and do they discount the protection?

The inner fabric of the face mask in direct contact with the skin shall not be dyed, but this requirement does not apply to the outer layer of the face mask, whether the outer layer of the face mask is dyed and whether there are various patterns designed by the enterprise itself, the standard does not require. Beautiful face masks should be bought carefully, children’s face masks dyed with pigments better be able to meet the “food-grade standards”, on the contrary, the face masks dyed with chemical materials for a long time will cause negative effects.

 How often is it replaced? 

Medical personnel has strict rules on how long to wear face masks, so how often should students wear face masks in public places such as schools?

Each person’s breathing volume, the number of speech and the amount of movement are different, in general, the use of disposable face masks one day, it will be replaced, to choose the right size of the face mask, to ensure that the face mask airtightness, wearing a face mask with both hands to press the metal bars on both sides of the bridge of the nose, so that the upper end of the face mask close to the bridge of the nose, downward stretching the face mask, no creases left.

 The following should be taken into account when using face masks for children. 

1 Children’s face masks are not suitable for infants and children aged 36 months and under.

2 Children’s face masks are available in large, medium, and small sizes.
Small: suitable for children aged 3-6 years, should be worn with caution.
Medium: for children aged 6-9 years
Large: recommended for children over 10 years of age
Note: The above is for reference only, due to the variation in the individuality of children, it is more important to try on.

3 Children’s face masks should use ear-mounted mask straps, which should not have free ends and should not have small removable objects.

4 Children’s face masks encourage personalized design, but cartoon colored face masks require high dyeing pigments and workmanship, so careful selection of fancy children’s face masks is recommended.

5 For daily protection in public places such as schools, face masks are usually worn once a day.