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In 2024, we’ve got plenty of reasons to mask up. From pollen, air pollution and wildfire smoke outdoors to environmental allergens like dust and mold and airborne viruses like COVID-19 indoors, the air is chockfull of toxic contaminants clamouring to wreak havoc on our noses, lungs, and vascular systems.

More than ever before, we’re spoilt for choices of N95 respirators as new styles and brands have quietly burst onto the scene in recent years. But without a reliable one-stop site to monitor air quality and virus spread, many folks don’t know when and where to wear an N95 respirator, much less which one to wear.

You’re not alone in feeling overwhelmed and under-informed — but don’t despair! With this little crash course in available N95 respirators, you’ll be on your way to reducing exposures to airborne toxins in any season.

A Quick Intro to the N95

The N95 filtering facepiece respirator (FFR) is a disposable face covering designed to protect the wearer from inhaling dangerous airborne particulates. An FFR is generally comprised of several layers of melt-blown polypropylene fabric and two elastic head straps. Modern day FFRs often contain an electret filter, a layer with an electrostatic charge to trap particles. Some FFRs are treated to be fluid resistant for medical use. The N95 label represents a combination of the filter’s oil resistance (Not oil resistant) and efficiency level (at least 95% protection against airborne particles) as determined by NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) standards.

The disposable molded cup respirator has been a standard piece of industrial personal protective equipment (PPE) since the 1970s. In 1995, the electret filter was patented and introduced into medical settings to protect against virus spread. The N95 electret filter respirator has long been considered an effective tool to help protect against airborne diseases, though we’ve yet to earnestly employ them during widespread virus surges.

Although they are ubiquitous and cheap, the blue, pleated surgical mask is not N95 rated and not designed to protect the wearer from airborne particulates. This mask is predominately meant for blocking the wearer’s moist expulsions from contaminating the air. The pleated surgical mask was introduced as an emergency alternative to N95 at a time when there was a shortage of respirator manufacturers to meet demand.

Respirators can be used in a variety of situations where air quality is compromised. Maintenance workers might use respirators when dealing with dust and occupational hazards. People with allergies have been encouraged to consider using respirators/masks during pollen season or prolonged exposure to indoor allergens. Cyclists commuting in urban environments may use masks to guard against vehicle fumes and roadwork dust. Respirators are often recommended for use in wildfire smoke conditions. See more at IQAir about air pollution and masking.

Face Your Face

While it was once believed that an N95 respirator could be one-size-fits-all, this was discovered — through flawed real world application and improved testing procedures — not to be the case. Over the past two decades, manufacturers have produced several alternative styles to the traditional molded cup and now offer a wider range of shapes and sizes to better accommodate a broad assortment facial types and to maximize protection.

If you’ve grown up reading and being influenced by women’s magazines, you’ve no doubt encountered countless shopping guides devoted to buying the best swimsuit or little black dress for your body type or choosing the most flattering hairstyle or eyebrow arch for your face shape. It seems like a no-brainer that we should have something similar for mask shopping. However, as everyone has a unique combination of features and needs — and fit is vital in protecting against the smallest infectious particulates — putting together a breezy “find a flattering mask for your face shape” shopping guide is a daunting challenge. That said, with a few key measurements and a little patience, you might just find your new favourite wardrobe staple.

Determine Your Face Shape

Grab a flexible measuring tape and open the Face Shape Calculator. Following the instructions for the calculator, take your measurements to determine your general face shape — oval, round, oblong/rectangular, square, triangle, diamond, and heart. While face shapes don’t necessarily correlate with respirator/mask styles, knowing your facial measurements will give you an idea of what dimensions to look for in a respirator. As a bonus, you’ll be able to find out which chic hat or sophisticated sunglasses best suits your face shape when you want a fashionable accessory to detract from/complement your respirator.

Factor in Facial Features

It’s not just the length of your jaw or breadth of your cheeks that can influence fit. Facial features can change how a respirator feels and behaves on your face. For example, a respirator with a nose clip designed for a low nose bridge may not find purchase on someone with a high nose bridge. Respirators with shallow depth may press uncomfortably on longer noses or brush against pouty lips, while larger sized respirators may sit awkwardly under the eyes and obstruct vision.

Your hair, or lack thereof, may determine how the head straps sit around your head and neck. Straps might slide out of place on fine, smooth hair or get tangled in thicker hair with lots of layers. People with beards often have to wrestle with sacrificing facial hair for optimum respirator fit.

Consider Your Accessories

Compatibility between your existing accessories and your respirator is a valid concern, especially if you rely on an accessory like eyeglasses or hearing aids.

Many people have issues with fogging glasses, even when otherwise there seems to be a good seal. Parts of your own glasses (nose bridge, lens height, and temple arm) may impact respirator fit, head strap/ear loop placement, and long-term comfort. Similarly, hearing aids or assistive device worn on the head may challenge the fit or conflict with a respirator’s shape.

If you have facial piercings, you might need to adjust the size of your jewellery or remove it altogether while using the respirator.

Choose Your Toxic Air Fighter

If you’ve ever shopped for a pair of jeans, you know there’s multiple factors that go into fit — inseam and waist measurements, rise (distance between waistband to crotch seam), leg taper, fabric density, and fly closure. Even when the measurements on the label seem right, a pair of jeans can still fit poorly, with weird bulges in the fly zipper and embarrassing exposures in the backside when you sit or bend over. So, you try out a bunch of different brands and styles until you get a decent fit that’s comfortable and, preferably, flattering.

The hardest part of shopping for respirators is figuring out what to buy without being able to try them on first. Many online retailers don’t provide detailed dimensions of respirators, only cursory packaged dimensions or, if the product is available in multiple sizes, indicate a general small, medium, or large— and if you’ve shopped for any type of clothing, you know that one brand’s small is another brand’s medium. So, you won’t know what kind of weird bulges and embarrassing exposures you’ll experience until your order arrives.

In an ideal world, we’d have sterile, well-ventilated boutiques with expert staff to help the average consumer find the right style and offer complimentary qualitative fit testing onsite. At the least, ordering a box of respirators should be as easy as ordering prescription glasses online is these days. How nice it’d be to input some key measurements or upload your photo for a virtual try-on of various PPE. As it is, we’re relying on word of mouth reviews and vague sizing guides.

Basic Respirator Styles

Disposable N95 respirators are currently available in four basic styles — molded cup, vertical bi-fold, horizontal tri-fold, and duckbill flat-fold. None of these styles are particularly attractive, especially the NIOSH-approved models with the necessary but garish labelling stamped across the front.

Until bureaucracy prioritizes personal vanity on par with health and safety, it’s going to be pretty tough to feel cute in a glaringly white facepiece with protruding seams and conspicuous head straps. If you’re willing to forego official NIOSH approval for something more fashionable, you’ll find KN95 and KF94 masks in a wide range of colours.

• Molded Cup

The rigid molded cup respirator, what you might think of as a dust mask, is the one of the oldest styles and perhaps the most familiar. Its polypropylene layers are melt-blown into the cup shape that rests over the nose and mouth. The head straps and nose clip help to improve the seal on the face.

Molded cup N95 respirators are generally white, but the fluid-resistant surgical respirators may be a blue or teal colour. Some brands may offer small, medium, and large sizes.

This style is easy to find at hardware stores, but be sure not to confuse them with the common dust masks. Look for the N95 rating and NIOSH logo.

• Bi-fold / Vertical Flat-fold

The vertical bi-fold respirator has a similar shape to the molded cup, but has soft, flexible polypropylene panels that fit more snugly to the cheeks. Its vertical centre seam adds structure and depth to the facepiece for improved breathability and facial movement without compromising the seal. Respirator folds flat when not in use.

NIOSH-approved vertical bi-fold N95s have head straps and are mostly found in white. A couple of manufacturers do produce black N95s with head straps but they sell out fast. For a vertical bi-fold in assorted colours with ear loops, look for KN95 and KF94 masks from specialty PPE shops.

Vertical bi-fold respirators can be found in teen/small sizes as well as large and extra-large sizes from online shops specializing in respirators and related PPE, as well as hardware stores and medical supply retailers.

• Horizontal Tri-fold / Three-panel Flat-fold

The horizontal tri-fold respirator is one of the most popular styles of respirator on the market. It consists of three polypropylene panels — one that sits over the nose bridge, one that extends under the chin, and one that spans the front of the face. The seams joining the panels sit flat and run horizontally across the face, making for a smoother profile. Similar to the vertical bi-fold style, the three-panel respirator folds flat for easy storage.

Three-panel respirators with NIOSH-approval are typically white with head straps while KN95 and KF94 models are available in colourful versions with ear loops.

This style of respirator is available in multiple sizes, including kids’ size, from medical supply retailers and online shops specializing in respirators and related PPE. Tri-fold respirators may also be known as boat fold, fish fold, or willow leaf fold.

• Horizontal Bi-fold Pouch / Duckbill

The duckbill or pouch respirator is a horizontal flat-fold with a deeper polypropylene facepiece. Some models have more pronounced horizontal seams along the front, creating its exaggerated duckbill appearance. The duckbill/pouch is often considered to be one of the most comfortable respirators, in spite of its quirky exterior.

NIOSH-approved duckbill respirators are generally white with head straps and are available in small and large sizes from PPE retailers and medical supply shops.

Most respirators have a metal or aluminum nose clip at the bridge built into the nose bridge or affixed to the exterior of the facepiece. Some models include a thin foam strip along the nose bridge for comfort and fit. A lot of respirators have head straps made from soft braided elastic but a few are still outfitted with rubber bands.

Just like jeans and other fitted clothing, respirator sizes can vary slightly between manufacturers and even between models from the same manufacturer. For example, one three-panel boat fold might have a deeper nose bridge panel than another or a vertical bi-fold may have a shorter, shallower facepiece than one listed as the same size. If a style you like doesn’t work in one brand, try a few models before dismissing the style altogether.

Several dedicated PPE supply shops online offer sample kits with assorted N95 styles and sizes for a fraction of the cost for a full box. If this option is available in your region, try ordering sample kits from several shops for the widest selection of styles and models. Some sample kits may also include specialty respirators that are strapless or have a silicone seal.

For more in-depth information regarding individual respirator size, fit, and filtration efficiency, refer to Mask Nerd Aaron Collins’ videos. His spreadsheet covers countless respirator brands, styles, and models. Start there to see what gets top marks and search for those at reputable PPE online shops.

Respirator Certification

If having the maximum possible protection against exposure to viruses and pollutants is important to you, you’ll want a NIOSH/CE-certified respirator. Certified respirators have generally been rigorously tested by established agencies to meet OSHA guidelines for worker safety.

NIOSH is the United States’ federal agency for researching and recommending preventive measures for work-related illness and injury. CE (Conformité Européenne) is the mark indicating that a product complies with EU (European Union) safety standards.

Note the slight difference in the two certifications — NIOSH requires N95 respirators to meet certain criteria for fit testing whereas CE certification may not explicitly require fit testing for respirators.

Although N95 has become shorthand for disposable respirators, the FFR may have different designations depending on region and regulations. Respirators considered to be N95 equivalent include the FFP2 in the EU; the P2 in Australia, India, and Brazil; and the DS2 in Japan.

Many PPE suppliers offer KF94 and KN95 masks, N95-equivalent respirators from South Korea and China, respectively. The KF94 and KN95 are available in a wide range of colours and patterns in the vertical bi-fold and three-panel boat fold styles. They aren’t considered proper N95 as they don’t meet the NIOSH requirement for occupational use respirators to be equipped with head straps. This distinction may also be why you’ll see KF94 and KN95 referred to as masks instead of respirators.

Fit Testing

Fit is key in masking, though, what you may think of as fit in casual fashion terms is not necessarily the same as fit in technical respirator protection terms.

Ideally, you want a tight seal around your face so that there is no inward or outward leakage of air between your face and the respirator. Fit testing is a process to make sure your chosen respirator effectively seals against particulates.

Qualitative fit testing (QLFT) is a pass/fail test of the respirator’s seal. The costly test kit includes a hood, two nebulizers, and two tasting solutions (sweet and bitter). If the wearer can pass a series of exercises without tasting the solutions as they are released into the hood, the respirator is well-fitted. Generally, QLFT is conducted for use in workplaces where proper fit is mandatory.

User seal check is a quick self test you can do that requires no special equipment. Immediately after putting on your respirator, check for gaps and leaks by cupping your hands in front of your face and gently exhaling and inhaling. If you feel air escaping from the edges of the respirator, try adjusting the nose clip and head straps/ear loops or switch to an alternate style or size of respirator. Refer to the CDC’s tutorial for more detailed guidance on how to do a user seal check.

Where to Shop

Until someone opens that chain of PPE boutiques that stocks all our favourite respirators, the easiest way to find what you’re looking for is to order online.

Though they no longer sell PPE, Project N95 currently continues to maintain their site as a repository of available respirators and direct links for purchase. It’s a good place to start your search for lesser-known brands.

Some manufacturers operate their own online storefronts or provide a list of dealers that carry their products. Respirators from 3M, one of the oldest PPE manufacturers, are often stocked at big box hardware stores and PPE retailers.

Retailers like Amazon, with third-party marketplace sellers should be avoided as listings are often dubious or confusing and sellers may be offering knock-offs and fakes.

Ultimately, the best way to find what works for you is through old-fashioned trial-and-error. With your measurements in hand, you can narrow down the options for certified respirators in the style you prefer.

If you anticipate living through the 21st century and visiting a variety of crowded stores and musty old buildings during pollen and flu seasons as wind pushes wildfire smoke and smog through your region, and you don’t want to spend valuable time puzzling over why you’ve got a scratchy throat and runny nose, a respirator could save you time as well as literal and figurative headaches.

In 2024, we’ve got plenty of reasons to mask up. From pollen, air pollution and wildfire smoke outdoors to environmental allergens like dust and mold and airborne viruses like COVID-19 indoors, the air is chockfull of toxic contaminants clamouring to wreak havoc on our noses, lungs, and vascular systems.

More than ever before, we’re spoilt for choices of N95 respirators as new styles and brands have quietly burst onto the scene in recent years. But without a reliable one-stop site to monitor air quality and virus spread, many folks don’t know when and where to wear an N95 respirator, much less which one to wear.

You’re not alone in feeling overwhelmed and under-informed — but don’t despair! With this little crash course in available N95 respirators, you’ll be on your way to reducing exposures to airborne toxins in any season.

A Quick Intro to the N95

The N95 filtering facepiece respirator (FFR) is a disposable face covering designed to protect the wearer from inhaling dangerous airborne particulates. An FFR is generally comprised of several layers of melt-blown polypropylene fabric and two elastic head straps. Modern day FFRs often contain an electret filter, a layer with an electrostatic charge to trap particles. Some FFRs are treated to be fluid resistant for medical use. The N95 label represents a combination of the filter’s oil resistance (Not oil resistant) and efficiency level (at least 95% protection against airborne particles) as determined by NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) standards.

The disposable molded cup respirator has been a standard piece of industrial personal protective equipment (PPE) since the 1970s. In 1995, the electret filter was patented and introduced into medical settings to protect against virus spread. The N95 electret filter respirator has long been considered an effective tool to help protect against airborne diseases, though we’ve yet to earnestly employ them during widespread virus surges.

Although they are ubiquitous and cheap, the blue, pleated surgical mask is not N95 rated and not designed to protect the wearer from airborne particulates. This mask is predominately meant for blocking the wearer’s moist expulsions from contaminating the air. The pleated surgical mask was introduced as an emergency alternative to N95 at a time when there was a shortage of respirator manufacturers to meet demand.

Respirators can be used in a variety of situations where air quality is compromised. Maintenance workers might use respirators when dealing with dust and occupational hazards. People with allergies have been encouraged to consider using respirators/masks during pollen season or prolonged exposure to indoor allergens. Cyclists commuting in urban environments may use masks to guard against vehicle fumes and roadwork dust. Respirators are often recommended for use in wildfire smoke conditions. See more at IQAir about air pollution and masking.

Face Your Face

While it was once believed that an N95 respirator could be one-size-fits-all, this was discovered — through flawed real world application and improved testing procedures — not to be the case. Over the past two decades, manufacturers have produced several alternative styles to the traditional molded cup and now offer a wider range of shapes and sizes to better accommodate a broad assortment facial types and to maximize protection.

If you’ve grown up reading and being influenced by women’s magazines, you’ve no doubt encountered countless shopping guides devoted to buying the best swimsuit or little black dress for your body type or choosing the most flattering hairstyle or eyebrow arch for your face shape. It seems like a no-brainer that we should have something similar for mask shopping. However, as everyone has a unique combination of features and needs — and fit is vital in protecting against the smallest infectious particulates — putting together a breezy “find a flattering mask for your face shape” shopping guide is a daunting challenge. That said, with a few key measurements and a little patience, you might just find your new favourite wardrobe staple.

Determine Your Face Shape

Grab a flexible measuring tape and open the Face Shape Calculator. Following the instructions for the calculator, take your measurements to determine your general face shape — oval, round, oblong/rectangular, square, triangle, diamond, and heart. While face shapes don’t necessarily correlate with respirator/mask styles, knowing your facial measurements will give you an idea of what dimensions to look for in a respirator. As a bonus, you’ll be able to find out which chic hat or sophisticated sunglasses best suits your face shape when you want a fashionable accessory to detract from/complement your respirator.

Factor in Facial Features

It’s not just the length of your jaw or breadth of your cheeks that can influence fit. Facial features can change how a respirator feels and behaves on your face. For example, a respirator with a nose clip designed for a low nose bridge may not find purchase on someone with a high nose bridge. Respirators with shallow depth may press uncomfortably on longer noses or brush against pouty lips, while larger sized respirators may sit awkwardly under the eyes and obstruct vision.

Your hair, or lack thereof, may determine how the head straps sit around your head and neck. Straps might slide out of place on fine, smooth hair or get tangled in thicker hair with lots of layers. People with beards often have to wrestle with sacrificing facial hair for optimum respirator fit.

Consider Your Accessories

Compatibility between your existing accessories and your respirator is a valid concern, especially if you rely on an accessory like eyeglasses or hearing aids.

Many people have issues with fogging glasses, even when otherwise there seems to be a good seal. Parts of your own glasses (nose bridge, lens height, and temple arm) may impact respirator fit, head strap/ear loop placement, and long-term comfort. Similarly, hearing aids or assistive device worn on the head may challenge the fit or conflict with a respirator’s shape.

If you have facial piercings, you might need to adjust the size of your jewellery or remove it altogether while using the respirator.

Choose Your Toxic Air Fighter

If you’ve ever shopped for a pair of jeans, you know there’s multiple factors that go into fit — inseam and waist measurements, rise (distance between waistband to crotch seam), leg taper, fabric density, and fly closure. Even when the measurements on the label seem right, a pair of jeans can still fit poorly, with weird bulges in the fly zipper and embarrassing exposures in the backside when you sit or bend over. So, you try out a bunch of different brands and styles until you get a decent fit that’s comfortable and, preferably, flattering.

The hardest part of shopping for respirators is figuring out what to buy without being able to try them on first. Many online retailers don’t provide detailed dimensions of respirators, only cursory packaged dimensions or, if the product is available in multiple sizes, indicate a general small, medium, or large— and if you’ve shopped for any type of clothing, you know that one brand’s small is another brand’s medium. So, you won’t know what kind of weird bulges and embarrassing exposures you’ll experience until your order arrives.

In an ideal world, we’d have sterile, well-ventilated boutiques with expert staff to help the average consumer find the right style and offer complimentary qualitative fit testing onsite. At the least, ordering a box of respirators should be as easy as ordering prescription glasses online is these days. How nice it’d be to input some key measurements or upload your photo for a virtual try-on of various PPE. As it is, we’re relying on word of mouth reviews and vague sizing guides.

Basic Respirator Styles

Disposable N95 respirators are currently available in four basic styles — molded cup, vertical bi-fold, horizontal tri-fold, and duckbill flat-fold. None of these styles are particularly attractive, especially the NIOSH-approved models with the necessary but garish labelling stamped across the front.

Until bureaucracy prioritizes personal vanity on par with health and safety, it’s going to be pretty tough to feel cute in a glaringly white facepiece with protruding seams and conspicuous head straps. If you’re willing to forego official NIOSH approval for something more fashionable, you’ll find KN95 and KF94 masks in a wide range of colours.

• Molded Cup

The rigid molded cup respirator, what you might think of as a dust mask, is the one of the oldest styles and perhaps the most familiar. Its polypropylene layers are melt-blown into the cup shape that rests over the nose and mouth. The head straps and nose clip help to improve the seal on the face.

Molded cup N95 respirators are generally white, but the fluid-resistant surgical respirators may be a blue or teal colour. Some brands may offer small, medium, and large sizes.

This style is easy to find at hardware stores, but be sure not to confuse them with the common dust masks. Look for the N95 rating and NIOSH logo.

• Bi-fold / Vertical Flat-fold

The vertical bi-fold respirator has a similar shape to the molded cup, but has soft, flexible polypropylene panels that fit more snugly to the cheeks. Its vertical centre seam adds structure and depth to the facepiece for improved breathability and facial movement without compromising the seal. Respirator folds flat when not in use.

NIOSH-approved vertical bi-fold N95s have head straps and are mostly found in white. A couple of manufacturers do produce black N95s with head straps but they sell out fast. For a vertical bi-fold in assorted colours with ear loops, look for KN95 and KF94 masks from specialty PPE shops.

Vertical bi-fold respirators can be found in teen/small sizes as well as large and extra-large sizes from online shops specializing in respirators and related PPE, as well as hardware stores and medical supply retailers.

• Horizontal Tri-fold / Three-panel Flat-fold

The horizontal tri-fold respirator is one of the most popular styles of respirator on the market. It consists of three polypropylene panels — one that sits over the nose bridge, one that extends under the chin, and one that spans the front of the face. The seams joining the panels sit flat and run horizontally across the face, making for a smoother profile. Similar to the vertical bi-fold style, the three-panel respirator folds flat for easy storage.

Three-panel respirators with NIOSH-approval are typically white with head straps while KN95 and KF94 models are available in colourful versions with ear loops.

This style of respirator is available in multiple sizes, including kids’ size, from medical supply retailers and online shops specializing in respirators and related PPE. Tri-fold respirators may also be known as boat fold, fish fold, or willow leaf fold.

• Horizontal Bi-fold Pouch / Duckbill

The duckbill or pouch respirator is a horizontal flat-fold with a deeper polypropylene facepiece. Some models have more pronounced horizontal seams along the front, creating its exaggerated duckbill appearance. The duckbill/pouch is often considered to be one of the most comfortable respirators, in spite of its quirky exterior.

NIOSH-approved duckbill respirators are generally white with head straps and are available in small and large sizes from PPE retailers and medical supply shops.

Most respirators have a metal or aluminum nose clip at the bridge built into the nose bridge or affixed to the exterior of the facepiece. Some models include a thin foam strip along the nose bridge for comfort and fit. A lot of respirators have head straps made from soft braided elastic but a few are still outfitted with rubber bands.

Just like jeans and other fitted clothing, respirator sizes can vary slightly between manufacturers and even between models from the same manufacturer. For example, one three-panel boat fold might have a deeper nose bridge panel than another or a vertical bi-fold may have a shorter, shallower facepiece than one listed as the same size. If a style you like doesn’t work in one brand, try a few models before dismissing the style altogether.

Several dedicated PPE supply shops online offer sample kits with assorted N95 styles and sizes for a fraction of the cost for a full box. If this option is available in your region, try ordering sample kits from several shops for the widest selection of styles and models. Some sample kits may also include specialty respirators that are strapless or have a silicone seal.

For more in-depth information regarding individual respirator size, fit, and filtration efficiency, refer to Mask Nerd Aaron Collins’ videos. His spreadsheet covers countless respirator brands, styles, and models. Start there to see what gets top marks and search for those at reputable PPE online shops.

Respirator Certification

If having the maximum possible protection against exposure to viruses and pollutants is important to you, you’ll want a NIOSH/CE-certified respirator. Certified respirators have generally been rigorously tested by established agencies to meet OSHA guidelines for worker safety.

NIOSH is the United States’ federal agency for researching and recommending preventive measures for work-related illness and injury. CE (Conformité Européenne) is the mark indicating that a product complies with EU (European Union) safety standards.

Note the slight difference in the two certifications — NIOSH requires N95 respirators to meet certain criteria for fit testing whereas CE certification may not explicitly require fit testing for respirators.

Although N95 has become shorthand for disposable respirators, the FFR may have different designations depending on region and regulations. Respirators considered to be N95 equivalent include the FFP2 in the EU; the P2 in Australia, India, and Brazil; and the DS2 in Japan.

Many PPE suppliers offer KF94 and KN95 masks, N95-equivalent respirators from South Korea and China, respectively. The KF94 and KN95 are available in a wide range of colours and patterns in the vertical bi-fold and three-panel boat fold styles. They aren’t considered proper N95 as they don’t meet the NIOSH requirement for occupational use respirators to be equipped with head straps. This distinction may also be why you’ll see KF94 and KN95 referred to as masks instead of respirators.

Fit Testing

Fit is key in masking, though, what you may think of as fit in casual fashion terms is not necessarily the same as fit in technical respirator protection terms.

Ideally, you want a tight seal around your face so that there is no inward or outward leakage of air between your face and the respirator. Fit testing is a process to make sure your chosen respirator effectively seals against particulates.

Qualitative fit testing (QLFT) is a pass/fail test of the respirator’s seal. The costly test kit includes a hood, two nebulizers, and two tasting solutions (sweet and bitter). If the wearer can pass a series of exercises without tasting the solutions as they are released into the hood, the respirator is well-fitted. Generally, QLFT is conducted for use in workplaces where proper fit is mandatory.

User seal check is a quick self test you can do that requires no special equipment. Immediately after putting on your respirator, check for gaps and leaks by cupping your hands in front of your face and gently exhaling and inhaling. If you feel air escaping from the edges of the respirator, try adjusting the nose clip and head straps/ear loops or switch to an alternate style or size of respirator. Refer to the CDC’s tutorial for more detailed guidance on how to do a user seal check.

Where to Shop

Until someone opens that chain of PPE boutiques that stocks all our favourite respirators, the easiest way to find what you’re looking for is to order online.

Though they no longer sell PPE, Project N95 currently continues to maintain their site as a repository of available respirators and direct links for purchase. It’s a good place to start your search for lesser-known brands.

Some manufacturers operate their own online storefronts or provide a list of dealers that carry their products. Respirators from 3M, one of the oldest PPE manufacturers, are often stocked at big box hardware stores and PPE retailers.

Retailers like Amazon, with third-party marketplace sellers should be avoided as listings are often dubious or confusing and sellers may be offering knock-offs and fakes.

Ultimately, the best way to find what works for you is through old-fashioned trial-and-error. With your measurements in hand, you can narrow down the options for certified respirators in the style you prefer.

If you anticipate living through the 21st century and visiting a variety of crowded stores and musty old buildings during pollen and flu seasons as wind pushes wildfire smoke and smog through your region, and you don’t want to spend valuable time puzzling over why you’ve got a scratchy throat and runny nose, a respirator could save you time as well as literal and figurative headaches.

Hello world!

Politics, interdependency and solutions

One Health, according to the dedicated high level expert panel is “an integrated, unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals and ecosystems. It recognizes the health of humans, domestic and wild animals, plants, and the wider environment (including ecosystems) are closely linked and inter-dependent.”

Ph: Gustavo Fring, Pexels

First, I will describe the coronavirus pandemic in a local context, in Argentina. Then I will slowly slide into a more political analysis, which does not always bring out the best in us. We also depend on an environment from which goods are extracted, because we are part of an ecosystem. An “interconnected” ecosystem that provides us with air, water, food, building materials, energy and health. The rationale for one health policies. In the last paragraph, where you can jump right in, I will talk about solutions, including for the economy.

Coronavirus in Argentina

When the COVID-19 pandemic started, it wasn't a polarised issue. In Argentina, the political parties seemed united in their decisions. China overwhelmingly helped us by providing essential supplies to hospitals. At a time when the country was violently negotiating its national debt with private interests. Later, the Chinese gave us access to the Sinopharm vaccine. From 2020 to mid 2021, while most of G20 countries where alternating periods of lockdowns, Argentina and Chili were confined most of the time. The main reason was that South America doesn't have the hospital capacities of Western countries.

A company in Argentina was soon allowed to force-produce the AstraZeneca vaccine developed in the UK. To later learn that some of the components were extremely difficult to find. Russia also agreed to sell stocks of its vaccine. In addition, as part of a partnership, Sputnik V was soon to be produced in South America. Although it now seems unlikely that this vaccine will be recognized by the WHO any time soon.

In 2023, an Argentine vaccine was tested. With a new neoliberal government at the helm, we hope that the clinical trials will continue.

Politics

Then the more general question of the origin of COVID. Was the virus 'man-made' in a laboratory? Or did it come from the destruction of its host's habitat? Either directly or through climate change, both of which are 'man-made'. Not that the question is inconsistent, but when one of the authors of the book “Viral: The Search for the Origin of Covid-19” is a self-proclaimed post-Brexiter libertarian climate denier, it is eminently political. Virologists, some environmentalists, doctors and vets were soon to be caught in a political crossfire.

Back to the question: “Why do we need One Health?” One of many reasons is that we need better pandemic preparedness. And we need to understand the impact of politicians. An example: what motivates some political wings to polarise people on vaccination? How can anyone believe that vaccination is a bad thing? All the data explains, as always, that the benefits are collectively far better than the side effects.

Scientists know that strong beliefs, including political cults, sometimes belong to the same brain area. But it is not that people are being lazy to discuss rather than making consensus. In social networks, vaccine information is radically different according to whom your follow, your political flavour. These systems are amplifying polarisations, sometimes with paid advertising campaigns. Do you remember the Brexit campaign in Facebook/Meta?

Interdependency

An important part of one - public - health is to understand and mediate the correct equilibrium between humans, animals and plants. We are interdependent. And as the zoonotic pandemics of SARS-CoV-2 and monkeypox virus show, we are always part of an ecosystem. So we need transdisciplinary teams to understand what is going on.

Transdisciplinarity, and the definition is to evolve, is the accumulation of knowledge from different disciplines: from a laboratory, the field or the streets to model reality in all its diversity. These models help us to adapt to these harsh conditions. It has to be mentioned that some One Health actors consider the public participation is an obligatory prerequisite to any serious approach.

Another example: what makes people happy when the mask mandate is over? How do we explain that immunocompromised people, elders, children and anyone with a pre-existing condition, including heart diseases and maybe even cancer, or on the long list of Long COVID symptoms, are at risk? And the same holds true depending on your ethnicity, social class, gender and where you live because the health care framework is not the same for everyone, everywhere.

In addition, we need to do a better job of explaining why new variants of SARS-CoV-2 will emerge, that they are self-generating from the astronomical number of infected people and animals.

We have no reason to believe that these two diseases will not return in animals and come back to us as dangerous new variants. Indeed, as the WHO pointed out with SARS-CoV-2, the number of virus sequences studied from animals is minuscule. And there are animal species, among them many rodents, that can trigger contagion in humans.

Solutions

Western countries have described the “Zero-Covid” strategy as “unsustainable” in China, especially with the Omicron variant. In reality, lockdowns were shorter than reported in the media, and they worked.

We are not talking about “restrictions” when it comes to stay healthy, to be in condition to earn a living or to be alive. Furthermore, “Zero-Covid” is not only about the ultimate lockdowns, it involves hygiene, protection equipments, social distancing, ventilation, being able to assess the risk individually etc.

With One Health, we have a powerful way to promote climate and biodiversity adaptation policies. Because health is concrete to people, and viruses have no frontiers. We have left the “not in my backyard” issue. In same time, we have to address knowledge gaps:

• An example with bats. Bats have a robust immune system that makes them carry a considerable number of viruses. Long-term sentinel studies have detected new viruses in bats in Argentina. One of them is close to another virus affecting humans. In China, 35 patients with fever and recent animal contact carried the same virus, most likely from bats.

• A quick survey shows only a few publications on the ecosystem service provided by bats. Understanding ecosystem services is the only way to know how other animals spread these emerging diseases. As ecosystemic services are affected by climate change and biodiversity loss, a permanent monitoring system should be able to prevent emerging diseases.

• Although a later study highlights that climate change may have been a driver for the emerging of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, more studies are required. But one have to bear in mind that it is now proven that emerging diseases increase with climate change, not only biodiversity erosion.

The health of people at risk is the majority of the population, regardless of the country's income. The One-Health quadripartite alliance should gather more social scientists to understand our polarised world. And more economists, including from the World Trade Organisation and the International Monetary Fund, to better include the value of life into costs, including humans.

Since international treaties have a minimal impact when they disconnect from the economy. Global South countries need to have One Health Sovereign Debts Relief. In other cases, this instrument is called a debt-for-nature swap. Otherwise, they will not develop their health care infrastructures.

As there are green or sustainability bonds, why not call them One Health Bonds? States can emit these bonds on financial markets. To allow them to create projects that positively impact social and ecological pillars. One of the most famous players in the financial sector, BlackRock, is correlating the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with its investments, thanks to Carole Crozat and her team. They have probably upgraded the effect of a pandemic on both the SDGs and the economy [I think this team must feel very alone in this company].

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The impact of a pandemic can be very different depending on who you are and where you live. And government policies have a strong impact on public health. Sometimes beyond our understanding. This interdependence between us, animals like bats and the plants we eat is a balance that needs to be studied. And monitored if we are to avoid worst-case scenarios. The solutions therefore lie in bridging the knowledge gap in a transdisciplinary way. By including, for example, the social sciences, economics and indigenous knowledge. What's more, we must collectively find a way of including the cost of this lifestyle, to avoid an economic collapse.

To go further, as an autistic person, I'm used to the “I'll let you make your own accommodations”. This is more or less how public health treats everyone now. Ever since officials “believe” that vaccines alone can stop a pandemic. As a consequence of these “necropolitics”, a lot more of people are dying, or the way they used to live or even work is now affected. I am not sure that this kind of public health is ready for One Health, at least in what we have recently called the “non-endemic” countries. The One Health actors need to be aware of this.

Mastodon, about the writer

I read today that meditation is a way of disconnecting ourselves from our habits, by distracting them with new habits.

I find that this description only applies to a Western vision, i.e. to what is known as the state of mindfulness. While meditation cannot be described as a solely spiritual dimension either, what interests me is that it can lead to a state of flow (where thoughts and actions flow together without constraint) or a state of cohesion (mainly focused on thoughts and how everything within our reach is connected). To find out more, read Jorn Betting's excellent article on holotropism.

From an autistic point of view, I know that habits are much more complicated than controlling a given behaviour, such as walking or riding an elephant. Javier Benacer and Jose Ignacio Murillo describe habits as non-conscious actions that guide or enhance conscious actions. Most habits are acquired through the repetitive performance of tasks, and a parallel can easily be drawn with long-term memory. In simple terms, a reflex is a kind of habit, but no 'brain' neurons are needed to trigger it; it simply passes through the spinal cord. Emotions, once considered innate, are sometimes not so diverse in some people. Some even describe them as mainly acquired.

The way in which autistic people sometimes perceive their environment also shows that sensations can be reinforced (or attenuated) by habits. Some of us experience sound or touch as pain, which is described as a tuning mechanism that does not de-amplify our sensitive system.

So unless someone meditates with a strobe light, heavy metal music and a cannon firing tennis balls, we're unlikely to 'replace' our habits! As a runner, after half an hour I finally start to free my mind. Unsurprisingly, running becomes less tiring after this limit.

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I've been keeping a journal about my experiences with Covid-19 since March 27, 2020. I certainly didn't expect to still be writing about it in 2023. My frustrations were already coming through in my writings, even on that first day:

“Today I'm feeling more hopeless about Covid-19 than I think I ever have. We've tried to do everything right.”

“[Husband] went for a drive a couple days ago, and was alarmed to see so many people out.”

“Hospitals are already overwhelmed. They're talking about blanket Do Not Resuscitate orders for people with the virus. They're prioritizing saving young people. They're talking about hooking up multiple people to single ventilators. And still our idiot president is saying he wants people back to work by Easter.”

“I'm worried about all the people who bought guns. There were lines around the block at gun stores.”

“We had 3.3 million people file for unemployment yesterday...they are giving money to businesses instead of giving money to people so that they can survive and wait out the virus.”

“My friend [who is a healthcare worker at a walk-in clinic] has a single mask to use. She keeps it in a baggy and only uses it when she absolutely has to. Which I would think is all the time now, but I can see that she has to prioritize. She said there have been a lot of stupid people, people who were told by their doctor to go to the ER, but they 'didn't feel like going there' so they went to the walk-in clinic instead. And then she has to send them to the ER anyway.”

I started this journal as a Notepad text file. I labeled it “Journal-Corona.txt”. This year, I changed the name of the file to add “2020-2022” and then I started a new text file for 2023. It's been much harder to motivate myself to keep it going this year.

This year's entries still express frustration, but now it's different.

March 14, 2023: “I completely don't get it. Maybe it's my own neurodivergent brain. I don't understand how people can ignore the studies and information on covid. How do you shrug off a disease that destroys every organ in your body? How can you not want to avoid that at all costs?? How do you allow your children to catch it over and over??”

The knots into which a person will tie themselves, who wants nothing more than for SARS-CoV-2 to be a thing of the past.

The ol' gishgallop

If it's not one convenient, specious argument, it's another. In my experience at least, it's exceedingly rare to find a denier who understands much less can expound upon the various theories they regurgitate. How could they? Peel back a layer or two and it's all obvious nonsense, even to them. They just don't look. It doesn't matter, as long as anyone who inflames their cognitive dissonance remains distracted or deranged.

Decision-based evidence-making

It's not like you [or me or so many others] aren't doing/saying 'enough' or 'the right thing'. Deniers frame it as a lack of proof and put the onus on anyone but themselves – yet another illegitimate form of downloading 'pErSoNaL rEsPoNSiBiLiTy' – when really it's a choice they made and continue to make. Some may even double-down in the face of opposition, their resolve strengthened as they encounter contradictory information. But, until each of them is willing to make a different choice, we'll continue to be confronted with Decision-Based Evidence-Making in EBDM clothing.

Manufactured consent

Why is anyone making this choice? Why don't they 'want' to believe so many things that seem all too clear to so many others? I infer a good chunk of it is manufactured consent. Of course it would come to pass in this era, wherein we've made it easier than ever to tell people what they want, that doing so is the wrecking ball destroying our civilization. The very thing that's enabled, nay prompted deniers to deny is what would need to be reversed or overwhelmed, like for like... like+1, really.

Planck's Principle

Short of wresting control over all avenues of messaging+media away from the oligarchs and plutocrats – the feudal lords who no longer fear being found out – the only thing I can think of that has ever overcome this much lying is results-over-time: people who live according to the 'new' reality and who don't suffer the same consequences. Humanity has always found a way to reject this kind of “proof” though, until most if not all of the holders-on have gone to their graves; aka Planck's Principle. Pity, then that the lords are all too keenly aware of this vulnerability and have laid siege to every one of us who's refusing to comply, in hopes of outwaiting/outlasting any and all who remain part of the control group.

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keep running, don't look back

Hello! I'm excited to have this space to write. :) I enjoy writing, and hope to post often!

No, wait: Hello, world!

This post will be my sandbox test page for writefreely

Expect many meaningless updates :–)

Thanks!