Assessing the effect of beard hair lengths on face masks used as personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic.
J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol
; 31(6): 953-960, 2021 11.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1233697
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Globally, a large percentage of men keep a beard at least occasionally. Workplace regulations prohibit beards with N95 respirators, but there is little information on the effect of beards with face masks worn by the public for protection against SARS-CoV-2. METHODS ANDFINDINGS:
We examined the fitted filtration efficiency (FFE) of five commonly worn protective face masks as a function of beard length following the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration Quantitative Fit Test N95 (respirator), KF94 and KN95, surgical/procedure, and cloth masks. A comparison using N95 respirators was carried out in shaven and bearded men. A detailed examination was conducted for beard lengths between 0 and 10 mm (0.5 mm increments). The effect of an exercise band covering the beard on FFE was also tested. Although N95 respirators showed considerable variability among bearded men, they had the highest FFE for beard lengths up to 10 mm. KF94 and KN95 masks lost up to 40% of their FFE. Procedure and cotton masks had poor performance even on bare skin (10-30% FFE) that did not change appreciably with beard length. Marked performance improvements were observed with an exercise band worn over the beard.CONCLUSIONS:
Though variable, N95 respirators offer the best respiratory protection for bearded men. While KF94 and KN95 FFE is compromised considerably by increasing beard length, they proved better options than procedure and cotton face masks. A simple exercise band improves FFE for face masks commonly used by bearded men during the COVID-19 pandemic.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Respiratory Protective Devices
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
Limits:
Humans
/
Male
Language:
English
Journal:
J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol
Journal subject:
Epidemiology
/
Environmental Health
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S41370-021-00337-1
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