Flu mask and preventing swine flu

Keep a supply of N-95 and surgical face masks on hand, in case someone in your house becomes infected with the flu, and know how to wear one correctly.

Covering up at home could help you stay flu-free when someone else in the house is sick.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—A study that will appear in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine in October shows promise in drug-free ways to prevent the spread of swine or seasonal flu if someone in your home is already infected. This information comes at a time when the U.S. is bracing for an early flu season because of the pandemic swine flu strain that's circulating all over the globe.

THE DETAILS: Researchers in China set out to see if hand hygiene and face masks could prevent the spread of flu within the home. They took more than 400 people ill with the seasonal flu and implemented one of the following three prevention techniques for the people living in the homes with ill patients: lifestyle education, hand hygiene, or hand hygiene and wearing surgical masks. (Both the sick person and other members of the house were asked to wash their hands often and wear the masks as much as possible.) When the hand-washing, mask-wearing group implemented the preventative measures within 36 hours of the patient showing flulike symptoms, the odds of flu transmission were cut by nearly 70 percent.

WHAT IT MEANS: This was the largest study of its kind, and it backs up many other studies that show washing your hands frequently and keeping them out of your nose and mouth can cut flu transmission rates drastically. It also gives more merit to the practice of wearing flu masks in the house if someone's sick. A smaller study done in Australia and published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases in January also found that wearing masks helps healthy family members reduce their risk of contracting the flu from a sick family member by up to 80 percent. It's important to note that the latest research suggests that you have to use these flu-preventing measures early and often to avoid getting sick. Since a vaccine against the virus likely won’t be available until at least mid-October, you should plan to use preventative measures in the very possible case that another outbreak will occur earlier.

Here's what you need to know about drug-free ways to prevent the spread of this illness in your house:

• Decode the different masks. The studies above use looser-fitting, surgical type masks, like the kind doctors wear in the O.R. These are thinner and cheaper than the N95 type (see below), and should be thrown away after they become damp from your breath. This usually only takes a few hours. People who are sick might consider wearing one of these masks to keep from infecting other family members, since they're more comfortable to wear for long periods of time.

Respirator or "N95" masks are thicker, and are held against the face with elastic straps. Look for the N95 designation on the package or on the mask itself. They're often used as dust masks for home projects, and can be found at hardware stores and sometimes in pharmacies. They are more expensive, but if unsoiled, can be reused. It's important to always wash your hands before and after putting on a mask. You shouldn't completely rely on them for protection, either. Instead, think of masks as a piece of your protection puzzle. For more in-depth information about masks, including how to wear them, check out our previous story Flu Masks: What You Need to Know.

• Wash your hands properly. Wash your hands with regular soap and warm water throughout the day. To make sure you're doing it right, check out our
hand-washing advice.