LIFESTYLE
Medical Masks vs Cloth Masks vs Cotton Masks: Study Reveals Which One Offers More Protection
Are you one of those who hates wearing the blue medical face masks and you prefer fancy cloth ones?
That's fine and all, but it might not offer as much protection you think it would.
Some has higher protection than others
A study conducted on 14 types of common face masks recently has found that medical masks offer significantly more protection against droplet spread than any other face masks.
According to a report by AFP, a team of scientists at Duke University tested the masks by letting people stand in a dark room and asking them to speak the words “Stay healthy, people" five times into the direction of an expanded laser beam.
The action was recorded with a cell phone camera, and a computer algorithm was reportedly used to calculate the number of droplets.

It found that N95 masks reduced droplet transmission to less than 0.1 per cent, while surgical or polypropylene masks came in second, bringing droplet transmission down by 90 per cent or more compared to no face-coverings.
Hand-made cotton masks, meanwhile, did its job albeit not as effective, by eliminating 70 to 90 per cent of the spray from normal speech, depending on the number of layers and the pleating the mask has, of course.

And if you're wondering which is the worse face masks to wear, it is none other than bandanas and balaclavas, as they only reduced the droplets by about 50 per cent.
So guys, remember to choose your face mask wisely, OK?