Surgical Masks & Medical Masks Australia

Unlike other face coverings made of cloth, a medical mask is designed to ensure it can effectively prevent the spread of diseases whilst ensuring minimal respiratory distress to the wearer as a result of heavy air pollution. 

At Alpha Medical Solutions, we stock surgical masks ideal for hospital environments and other areas where the users have to protect themselves from the people they interact with. 

Is N95 a surgical mask?

The N95 face masks aren’t considered surgical masks, but medical masks. They are a type of respirator masks designed using a specific, specialised process known as melt blowing. The process forms a protective layer as well as a filter on the inner side of the mask. The filter helps tightly control what can be breathed in through it. So, it can only work effectively to prevent viral infection if you wear it properly and if it has been manufactured to standards.  Surgery masks are used in surgery rooms to attend to a patient.  

The Australia Department of Health, as well as the US Centers for Disease Control AND Prevention (CDC), recommend using N95 masks and hospital masks at times of peak air pollution or peak illness. 

How do you use surgical masks?

A medical mask such as an N95 respirator mask or those worn by surgeons and other healthcare workers are usually tied around the individual’s back of the head. They can also be secured with an ear loop and they tend to completely cover the person’s nose and face. With medical masks such as the N95 respirator masks, they should be worn entirely over the individual’s nose and mouth. They should also be tight fitting. Also, there should be a complete seal occurring between the mask’s edge and the individual’s skin so that they remain effective in protection. Respirator masks aid to filter the air a person is breathing. 

Surgical masks, on the other hand, work a little differently. First of all, they are looser in fitting and are used mainly to capture fluid and droplets expelled by the user and aren’t designed for filtering the air the user is breathing. 

Because surgical face masks tend to offer a looser fitting, they are ideal if you want to ensure breathability. P2 masks or N95 masks can increase breathing difficulty, so you may find them uncomfortable until you get used to wearing them.  Buy surgical masks in Australia at Alpha Medical Solutions.