Is an N95 face mask really enough to protect you from Corona virus For me it failed twice.?

About 3 weeks ago I started wearing an N95 mask everywhere I went in public. I had only been to a public place 3 or 4 times in the last month. Here is what I would do to protect myself: 1. Wear N95 2. Sanitize Hands thoroughly after leaving public places. 3. Pay attention to cross contamination and not touch things with unsanitized hands from public places. 4. Not touch face with unsanitized hands. 3/27 I tested positive for Influenza B and spent about 5 days sick with that. 2 days better and then started feeling terrible again. Went to urgent care again and tested negative for FLU B and positive for Flu A. So, in the last 20 years I have not had the flu and all of the sudden two strands back to back. Lucky me... I’m pretty sure I picked up Flu A while getting tested for Flu B ironically. It seems like I am doing the opposite of what I should be doing. My dad is 78 and I would like to educate him on how to stay safe but obviously the general guidelines of mask and sanitize are not enough. Here is what I suspect could have exposed me to 2 flu viruses: 1. Walked in public place and “droplets” floating in air settled on my skin. Went home and took shower and the velocity of water splashing on skin turned those into aerosol and I breathed them in. 2. Did not wear goggles/glasses in public. I’m guessing in a public place there will be aerosols that you could walk into that could get into your eye and you could be infected. Coronavirus can linger in the air for 3 hours so maybe this is how I got exposed? 3. Improper fit near nose piece of N95 allowing 2 small gaps on each side of nose. I later noticed that in the mirror it looked tight but when I held a camera pointing straight downward I noticed two small gaps. I also realized that when I put safety glasses on when those gaps were present they would fog the glasses. When gaps were remedied the fog wasn't present. For better protection I have considered the following: 1. Wear N95 and make sure properly sealed. 2. Wear full protection chemical goggles to prevent droplets from entering eye when walking in public space. 3. Wear long sleeve clothing and a hat to prevent particles from getting on skin/hair. Remove clothing and wipe exposed areas with alcohol before taking a shower. 4. Avoid touching face and cross contamination when in public and sanitize/wash hands regularly. Any thoughts on how I got exposed and measures to better protect?

Rusty Craig ∙

Lvl 1

∙ 4y ago