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A genuine MASSIVE coronavirus business idea/need.

GIlman

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Ok, this just occurred to me...What is one of the biggest needs right now?

N95 masks and other PPE for medical personal.

But are we being creative in how to solve this problem? Why do they need to be disposable in the first place, could we get 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 20 uses out of a single mask?

Can we come up with a device for hospitals that is easy to build and get online quickly.

My initial thoughts

1) UV light?
2) Vaporized ethanol (alcohol sterilization)?
3) Moderate heat

Obviously a combination of several of these.

There are some questions to be answered. First, does it impact he integrity of the mask to sterilize it? do the masks stop being effective in addition to just becoming contaminate?

All important questions, but drastic times comes up for drastic solutions.
 
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biophase

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Ok, this just occurred to me...What is one of the biggest needs right now?

N95 masks and other PPE for medical personal.

But are we being creative in how to solve this problem? Why do they need to be disposable in the first place, could we get 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 20 uses out of a single mask?

Can we come up with a device for hospitals that is easy to build and get online quickly.

My initial thoughts

1) UV light?
2) Vaporized ethanol (alcohol sterilization)?
3) Moderate heat

Obviously a combination of several of these.

There are some questions to be answered. First, does it impact he integrity of the mask to sterilize it? do the masks stop being effective in addition to just becoming contaminate?

All important questions, but drastic times comes up for drastic solutions.

Just as an FYI, one of my China suppliers told me that they can supply me masks. I mentioned to this to a few friends who also import and they said that their China suppliers also told them the same thing.

My guess is that China factories made a ton of masks in the last 2 months. And now they are oversupplied over there and the virus is on the decline.

So I expect that the US market will get flooded with masks in about a month. If me and 2 of my friends got mask offers, it means that there are probably thousands of other importers that received the same offers and probably hundreds that placed orders.

Give them a month to make them and a week to airship them. So let's say around end of April, there will be plenty of masks here.
 

GIlman

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Just as an FYI, one of my China suppliers told me that they can supply me masks. I mentioned to this to a few friends who also import and they said that their China suppliers also told them the same thing.

My guess is that China factories made a ton of masks in the last 2 months. And now they are oversupplied over there and the virus is on the decline.

So I expect that the US market will get flooded with masks in about a month. If me and 2 of my friends got mask offers, it means that there are probably thousands of other importers that received the same offers and probably hundreds that placed orders.

Give them a month to make them and a week to airship them. So let's say around end of April, there will be plenty of masks here.

that’s an even better solution. And that is great news if true.
 

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that’s an even better solution. And that is great news if true.
Common sense tells me that wearing masks is at least somewhat effective in preventing the spread of the virus, especially if you're the one infected (coughs/sneezes will be more contained).

But I remember reading a few weeks ago that the masks were largely ineffective with C0VlD-19...any thoughts?
 
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I don't understand why people are buying them. The point of a surgical mask
is to stop surgeons coughing and sneezing their germs into an open wound. Not much use at all in stemming the virus. You need a proper respirator for that. I guess people are too lazy to do the research and just follow the herd as always.
 

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The point of a surgical mask
is to stop surgeons coughing and sneezing their germs into an open wound. Not much use at all in stemming the virus.

Considering one of the largest problems with C0VlD-19 is that people who are not yet showing symptoms are spreading the virus through coughs/sneezes, I think there would be a huge benefit to having everyone wear masks simply to prevent people from unknowingly spreading the virus when they don't know they have it yet.
 

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Considering one of the largest problems with C0VlD-19 is that people who are not yet showing symptoms are spreading the virus through coughs/sneezes, I think there would be a huge benefit to having everyone wear masks simply to prevent people from unknowingly spreading the virus when they don't know they have it yet.

Yes very true, but people in the western world are buying them for self protection not for the benefit of others.
 
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Some paper from 2009



During an influenza pandemic, a shortage of filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) may occur if manufacturing production is unable to meet the demand or if FFR stockpiles become depleted. According to a 2006 report from the National Academies’ Institute of Medicine, over 90 million N95 FFRs will be needed to protect workers in the healthcare sector during a 42-day influenza pandemic outbreak (Bailar et al., 2006). Guidance provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that once an FFR is worn in the presence of an infected patient, it should be considered potentially contaminated and not be reused by the same person or a coworker (CDC, 2007). A contaminated FFR could potentially serve as a fomite and lead to self-inoculation or spread of the organism to patients and other healthcare workers. Guidance from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) considers FFRs to be one-time-use devices when used in the presence of infected patients and advises employers and employees to only reuse FFRs during a pandemic if FFRs are in short supply and the device has not been obviously soiled or damaged (e.g. creased or torn), and it retains its ability to function properly (OSHA, 2007).

One possible strategy to reduce the impact of a respirator shortage would be to apply a biological decontamination process (e.g. such as those used in hospital settings for infection control) to inactivate the influenza virus that may be on the FFR. If the treatment did not deteriorate the FFR or leave potentially toxic residues on the FFR, then it could be available for subsequent reuse by the original user. Until recently, no data were published on the effects of decontamination on FFR performance. Viscusi et al. (2007) measured the laboratory filtration performance of one N95 model and one P100 model FFR that were exposed to 20 different biological decontamination treatments. They found that filtration performance after one-time decontamination treatments using bleach, ethylene oxide (EtO), microwave oven irradiation, ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI), and hydrogen peroxide (vaporized and liquid forms) was observed to have filter aerosol penetration values that remained less than the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) certification criteria. It was also found that decontamination using an autoclave, 160°C dry heat, 70% isopropyl alcohol, and soap and water (20-min soak) caused significant degradation to filtration efficiency.
 

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I don't understand why people are buying them. The point of a surgical mask
is to stop surgeons coughing and sneezing their germs into an open wound. Not much use at all in stemming the virus. You need a proper respirator for that. I guess people are too lazy to do the research and just follow the herd as always.
Nailed it. Lack of education + Hype + Fear + $ Transfer to the Wise :)
 

GIlman

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I don't understand why people are buying them. The point of a surgical mask
is to stop surgeons coughing and sneezing their germs into an open wound. Not much use at all in stemming the virus. You need a proper respirator for that. I guess people are too lazy to do the research and just follow the herd as always.

You are part correct and part incorrect.

Surgical masks are not the same as N95. You are 100% correct that the point of a surgical mask is to prevent the surgeon from infecting the patient...it's patient protection not surgeon protection.

N95 masks are totally different. They do fit testing for N95 masks for medical use where they spray a chemical you can taste to make sure that you are not getting any air leak around the edges of the mask. N95 masks ARE 100% intended to protect the medical personal from the patient. We use these for several things, especially bad respiratory illnesses like tuberculosis. N100 masks are even better than N95, but not commonly in use in the medical setting.

But you are getting a mixed message, the CDC is saying that N95 masks are ineffective in the community for spread of COVID. This is accurate but misleading at the same time.

N95 masks are used in the medical setting and are quite effective, but it is only a small part of the protection medical workers use. They also use shoe covers, hats, gowns, gloves, and face shields. When we leave the room they strip all of this off and throw it away. We even have a procedure of HOW we remove this stuff so we don't cross contaminate our skin in removal of this gear.

In the community setting, N95 masks are effective for not breathing in the contagion (COVID), however none of the rest of your body is protected and so if you would have breathed it in, you are covered with the contagion. So what happens when you take off your mask. Your hand, arms, legs, chest, etc all are infected. As soon as you touch any part of your body then touch your face or mouth, you have now undone any utility of breathing in air through your N95. In addition, unless you underwent decontamination procedures outside your house, when you enter you are carrying it in with you.
 
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RazorCut

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Yes I was not referring to N95’s. It’s very rare to see anyone of the general public wearing one. I have an N95 respirator but that certainly isn’t for medical use.
 

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1) UV light
Hi,
as an optical engineer, I can state that there are hand santizers available based on UV light. The sun is one of the best santizers we have. But FDA approval is a bit difficult since you have to check the operational modes in a laser safety laboratory for laser class 1 confirmaty (2 is not applicable because this works just for visible light or you have a safety mechanism which triggers the blink reflex).

There are also UV disinfecting robots

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CgIMW95uEA


But nothing cheap in market so far, I guess. Also, I do not like UV treatment. It increases the likelihood of catharacat and leads to blindness and skin cancer. Thus the disinfection should just be applied on rooms in which there are no persons present if possible.

Writing these lines, I am thinking hard about a good solution which is not long term harming. Sanatizing protecting gloves makes just limited sence I guess but would not harm the skin. These smartphone sanitizers are quite simple and easy to build ... well in principle you can put any object inside - maybe your own mask for reuse? I ahve read that you can get the same effect backing the masks for 15 mins in the oven at 70°C, so they also lose the humidity. Mhm. I am not happy with the applications ;-)

Edit:

Just found this, and I like it:

 
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biophase

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Are these legit N95 masks?

These photos are from different suppliers. There must be a glut of them in China for so many suppliers to be offering them to everyone.


Hi

I do not sell the mask, just some of my customers need the help, and they can not get the mask from their countries, so i found some factories who sell the mask. And usually the mask MOQ is about 100,000, But i have a friend who open the mask factory. So i can help our customers.

If you need, please kind check the quotation sheet.

Looking forward to your reply.


Dear Kenric,

I can supply you the KN95 Mask with and without breather valve passed CE and FDA. Enclosed pls. find the pictures together with the CE and FDA certificates. If you like I will quote you.




312643126531266
 
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GIlman

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Are these legit N95 masks?

These photos are from different suppliers. There must be a glut of them in China for so many suppliers to be offering them to everyone.


Hi

I do not sell the mask, just some of my customers need the help, and they can not get the mask from their countries, so i found some factories who sell the mask. And usually the mask MOQ is about 100,000, But i have a friend who open the mask factory. So i can help our customers.

If you need, please kind check the quotation sheet.

Looking forward to your reply.


Dear Kenric,

I can supply you the KN95 Mask with and without breather valve passed CE and FDA. Enclosed pls. find the pictures together with the CE and FDA certificates. If you like I will quote you.




View attachment 31264View attachment 31265View attachment 31266

they look legit. The top one is more comfortable to wear because of the outlet valve they don’t get so humid inside.

the bottom style is required during surgery or any sterile procedure. But I’m assuming your taking about for consumer use.
 

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FYI.

In The Netherlands, at least 1 hospital is now sterilizing used masks.

They are not yet using them. Waiting for test results and final approval by authorities.
 

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So I expect that the US market will get flooded with masks in about a month. If me and 2 of my friends got mask offers, it means that there are probably thousands of other importers that received the same offers and probably hundreds that placed orders.

Give them a month to make them and a week to airship them. So let's say around end of April, there will be plenty of masks here.

This. I know one factory sitting on a million + masks. I'm going to import them and supply for the next 2-3 weeks to F*ck over the price gouging dickheads. My expectation is in 4 weeks that we'll have ocean deliveries hitting and sufficient supply.
 
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This. I know one factory sitting on a million + masks. I'm going to import them and supply for the next 2-3 weeks to F*ck over the price gouging dickheads. My expectation is in 4 weeks that we'll have ocean deliveries hitting and sufficient supply.
Where are you going to sell though?
 

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Trump just used old ww2 war powers to engage industry for mask making

one thing to consider

They're also trying to crowdsource the actual ventilators themselves , you can augment a bipap for forced air but not a cpap, obviously you can't 3d print the electronics yet but if someone got the molds ready and instructions out local universities and 3d printing groups could take up some of the projected slack with some off the shelf parts.

Not sure how you'd profit off of it unless some government grant money comes online (maybe do it anyway and worry about the business side on the back end)

Once they run out of negative pressure rooms and ICU / regular beds they can voerflow aptients into hallways but it doesn't do any good if they need breathing support and no machines are available , until a pharmaceutical intervention becomes viable thats the lynchpin to prevent the medical system from collapsing (well, other than sick doctors and nurses)
 

GIlman

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Trump just used old ww2 war powers to engage industry for mask making

one thing to consider

They're also trying to crowdsource the actual ventilators themselves , you can augment a bipap for forced air but not a cpap, obviously you can't 3d print the electronics yet but if someone got the molds ready and instructions out local universities and 3d printing groups could take up some of the projected slack with some off the shelf parts.

Not sure how you'd profit off of it unless some government grant money comes online (maybe do it anyway and worry about the business side on the back end)

Once they run out of negative pressure rooms and ICU / regular beds they can voerflow aptients into hallways but it doesn't do any good if they need breathing support and no machines are available , until a pharmaceutical intervention becomes viable thats the lynchpin to prevent the medical system from collapsing (well, other than sick doctors and nurses)

I have been thinking a lot about handing the surge capacity. Needs are air containment, climate control, protection from the elements, and electricity. We saw Wuhan make huge hospitals in 10 days. We can do the same.

what about using shipping containers, we can space these out, setup electricity, foam insulate quickly, put in independant AC, and pipe in o2. Save the in house hospital beds for critical needing Vents. These can be for people needing o2 but not critical. We can construct these offsite from current materials and bring them in.
 
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what about using shipping containers, we can space these out, setup electricity, foam insulate quickly, put in independant AC, and pipe in o2. Save the in house hospital beds for critical needing Vents. These can be for people needing o2 but not critical. We can construct these offsite from current materials and bring them in.

yeh but thats like, fema level stuff
 

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Just as an FYI, one of my China suppliers told me that they can supply me masks. I mentioned to this to a few friends who also import and they said that their China suppliers also told them the same thing.

My guess is that China factories made a ton of masks in the last 2 months. And now they are oversupplied over there and the virus is on the decline.

So I expect that the US market will get flooded with masks in about a month. If me and 2 of my friends got mask offers, it means that there are probably thousands of other importers that received the same offers and probably hundreds that placed orders.

Give them a month to make them and a week to airship them. So let's say around end of April, there will be plenty of masks here.
Just be very careful / cautious of those masks and double check, triple check if they're genuine, not fake and used masks for recycling. My friends & families in Vietnam told me polices caught tons & tons of these one on the market. Example is the link below, it's in Vietnamese, and it says: "Collecting fake, used masks for recycling, and sell them on the market"

Google translate of the first paragraph: "TPO- The General Department of Market Management has just reported to the Ministry of Industry and Trade leaders that some people have taken advantage of the disease, collected used medical masks, one-time-use ones for recycling and sold. market. In addition, there is also the phenomenon of producing fake hand sanitizer and antiseptic water....."

Best of lucks
 
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Just be very careful / cautious of those masks and double check, triple check if they're genuine, not fake and used masks for recycling. My friends & families in Vietnam told me polices caught tons & tons of these one on the market. Example is the link below, it's in Vietnamese, and it says: "Collecting fake, used masks for recycling, and sell them on the market"

Google translate of the first paragraph: "TPO- The General Department of Market Management has just reported to the Ministry of Industry and Trade leaders that some people have taken advantage of the disease, collected used medical masks, one-time-use ones for recycling and sold. market. In addition, there is also the phenomenon of producing fake hand sanitizer and antiseptic water....."

Best of lucks
And it's the same in China: China confiscated over 31 million counterfeit face masks as coronavirus fears cause supply shortage and spike in demand
 

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You are part correct and part incorrect.

Surgical masks are not the same as N95. You are 100% correct that the point of a surgical mask is to prevent the surgeon from infecting the patient...it's patient protection not surgeon protection.

N95 masks are totally different. They do fit testing for N95 masks for medical use where they spray a chemical you can taste to make sure that you are not getting any air leak around the edges of the mask. N95 masks ARE 100% intended to protect the medical personal from the patient. We use these for several things, especially bad respiratory illnesses like tuberculosis. N100 masks are even better than N95, but not commonly in use in the medical setting.

But you are getting a mixed message, the CDC is saying that N95 masks are ineffective in the community for spread of COVID. This is accurate but misleading at the same time.

N95 masks are used in the medical setting and are quite effective, but it is only a small part of the protection medical workers use. They also use shoe covers, hats, gowns, gloves, and face shields. When we leave the room they strip all of this off and throw it away. We even have a procedure of HOW we remove this stuff so we don't cross contaminate our skin in removal of this gear.

In the community setting, N95 masks are effective for not breathing in the contagion (COVID), however none of the rest of your body is protected and so if you would have breathed it in, you are covered with the contagion. So what happens when you take off your mask. Your hand, arms, legs, chest, etc all are infected. As soon as you touch any part of your body then touch your face or mouth, you have now undone any utility of breathing in air through your N95. In addition, unless you underwent decontamination procedures outside your house, when you enter you are carrying it in with you.

On the topic of masks:

What do you think about this study: Surgical Mask vs N95 Respirator for Preventing Influenza Among Health Care Workers

That says there's not much of a difference between surgical mask and n95 in preventing influenza among health care workers.

Also this study: Professional and Home-Made Face Masks Reduce Exposure to Respiratory Infections among the General Population

Not taking a stand, just wondering what your thoughts are on the data presented.
 

tommyz7

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What do you guys think about the overall shift to doing things remotely? Do you think that this health crisis could be a catalyst for a number of online businesses (new and current)?

If customers are forced to do everything remotely for a number of months, they should build new behavior patterns that will stay with them even after everything goes back to normal.
 
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It's very coincidental that I'm reading this today. I am about to create a crowdfunding campaign for a product that actually does exactly what we're talking about here.

Dyna-MaskTM Incorporating Dyna-CidalTM in the mask for all out protection. The mask will protect against most viruses namely the H1N1 and the Ebola virus as well as a multitude of others. Definitely against MRSA, Staphylococcus.Aureus, Anthrax, TB, E.Coli, Pneumonas. Aeruginosa, Pseudomonas, Mycobacterium.Bovis, Mycobacterium.Smegatis, Candida, Aspergilus.niger, Bacillus.Subtilis, etc. Dyna-Mask™ has received EU CE certification (CE- 0194) for bacteriocidal and virulcidal including H1N1, Coronavirus allowing us to sell in any country accepting CE certification. We are now seeking EPA and NIOSH certification for the USA. We are also setting up for world wide production of our unique mask.

I have attached a brochure to this post. Our CEO is currently getting this off the ground with resellers, so if anyone has any interest in bulk buying etc., let me know.
 

Attachments

  • DynaCidalBrochure11172014ver4.pdf
    1.8 MB · Views: 15

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Common sense tells me that wearing masks is at least somewhat effective in preventing the spread of the virus, especially if you're the one infected (coughs/sneezes will be more contained).

But I remember reading a few weeks ago that the masks were largely ineffective with C0VlD-19...any thoughts?
If you end up in confined spaces then FPP3 / N95 masks do offer protection against C0VlD-19 especially if you can't distance yourself from other people. The virus will mainly be carried in droplets, so if you keep about 2m away from someone you should be fine (especially in open air). There are reported cases of the virus behaving as an aerosol but this seems to occur mainly due to medical procedures (such as intubation) hence the reason why medical professionals and ICU staff really need the right PPE.
 

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You are part correct and part incorrect.

Surgical masks are not the same as N95. You are 100% correct that the point of a surgical mask is to prevent the surgeon from infecting the patient...it's patient protection not surgeon protection.

N95 masks are totally different. They do fit testing for N95 masks for medical use where they spray a chemical you can taste to make sure that you are not getting any air leak around the edges of the mask. N95 masks ARE 100% intended to protect the medical personal from the patient. We use these for several things, especially bad respiratory illnesses like tuberculosis. N100 masks are even better than N95, but not commonly in use in the medical setting.

But you are getting a mixed message, the CDC is saying that N95 masks are ineffective in the community for spread of COVID. This is accurate but misleading at the same time.

N95 masks are used in the medical setting and are quite effective, but it is only a small part of the protection medical workers use. They also use shoe covers, hats, gowns, gloves, and face shields. When we leave the room they strip all of this off and throw it away. We even have a procedure of HOW we remove this stuff so we don't cross contaminate our skin in removal of this gear.

In the community setting, N95 masks are effective for not breathing in the contagion (COVID), however none of the rest of your body is protected and so if you would have breathed it in, you are covered with the contagion. So what happens when you take off your mask. Your hand, arms, legs, chest, etc all are infected. As soon as you touch any part of your body then touch your face or mouth, you have now undone any utility of breathing in air through your N95. In addition, unless you underwent decontamination procedures outside your house, when you enter you are carrying it in with you.

I have actually started to take off my coat in the garage (cold here) and leave it there... I only became conscious of having to do this after having watched this short documentary.

View: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2226887764286560
 
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Islands of Calleja
But I remember reading a few weeks ago that the masks were largely ineffective with C0VlD-19...any thoughts?
i'm pretty sure the CDC just doesn't trust americans to not horde the shit out of masks

i mean there's a mask shortage and look what they did with toilet paper
 

douglas93

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Ok, this just occurred to me...What is one of the biggest needs right now?

N95 masks and other PPE for medical personal.

But are we being creative in how to solve this problem? Why do they need to be disposable in the first place, could we get 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 20 uses out of a single mask?

Can we come up with a device for hospitals that is easy to build and get online quickly.

My initial thoughts

1) UV light?
2) Vaporized ethanol (alcohol sterilization)?
3) Moderate heat

Obviously a combination of several of these.

There are some questions to be answered. First, does it impact he integrity of the mask to sterilize it? do the masks stop being effective in addition to just becoming contaminate?

All important questions, but drastic times comes up for drastic solutions.


I don't get why everyone is talking about building a business based on Corona virus..I think it doesnt make sense..why don't you spend your time and energy identifying genuine painful problems that people/businesses are actually facing and offer the solution. Isn't that make more sense?

This virus is gonna be gone anyway.
 

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