How to pick an N95 mask, your most important travel accessory

By Ria Gupta

With the highly virulent Omicron variant of coronavirus staring us in the face, the choice is clear: stay indoors or stay masked. And not just any mask will do. Studies now show that the coronavirus cannot be blocked by a handkerchief, a well-cut silk or cotton mask–no matter how nice it looks–or even by your serious-looking surgical mask. The most effective way to block it is an N95 or KN95 mask, made from non-woven fabric, topped up with a second layer of defence. If you must head out right now, here is a little lowdown on this very important accessory:

An N95 mask is a protective shield that efficiently filters airborne particles. The edges of the device come with a seal which can be adjusted to fit it tightly around the nose. This ensures minimal spillage of air. More importantly, the N95 mask's filters are electrostatically charged to trap airborne particulate matter, bacteria and viruses. Through this, the multilayer polypropylene fiber walls filter out 95 percent of 0.3 micron particles from the air. Hence, the ‘95’ (‘N’ stands for ‘non-oil’, referring to the mask's capability of filtering particles that are not oil based).

If you’re in a sterile environment like hospitals and closed crowded spaces, consider wearing only an N95 mask without valves. India's Ministry of Health & Family Welfare warns against the use of N95 masks with breathing valves. Breathing valves let out air that you exhale, exposing people around you to the infection. Such respirators with a valve can be worn in open public spaces like malls and parks, where exhaled particles can disperse quickly.

Cloth masks offer very poor protection from the coronavirus.

Surgical masks, like the ones used by medical staff, are designed to protect the wearer from liquid splashes or large-particle droplets. But their material and design is not effective against smaller particles like the coronavirus, transmitted by breathing, coughing or sneezing. They are also not very good at blocking the air you exhale. Hence, you could be at a risk of exposure from someone wearing only a surgical mask.

In India, the KN95 mask is commonly mislabelled as the N95. The difference, however, lies in their country of certification. N95 is approved by the US-based National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The KN95 is a certification issued in China. In Europe, the certification is FFP2. All offer a similar range of protection against coronavirus.

Ria Gupta

Priya Misra

Arundhati Ail

Roshni Bajaj Sanghvi

However, since none of these masks offer 100% protection, experts now advise double-masking: a snug-fitting N95 or an equivalent first, with a three-ply surgical mask on top.

An original N95 respirator will always carry an approval marking by NIOSH, which is a federal research agency based out of the United States. While many national agencies like Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) also certify similar respirators, their testing guidelines are different. Hence, only a NIOSH certified mask is considered an N95 across the world, while other versions of the model with similar efficiency go by different names in different countries (like FFP2 in Europe). A respirator may be fake if:

Read the user instructions on the manufacturer's label carefully before donning your mask. The N95 respirator is worn by tying the two straps that go around the head. The seal inside the rim of the mask should be adjusted to tightly fit over your nose. The mask should cover your entire nose and mouth.