Face shields are more comfortable than masks, but are they as effective? – Body and Soul

Face protection is an effective and proven measure in minimising the coronavirus infection rate. The cloth mask and plastic face shield both have their advantages, but you may be surprised to know which one is better. Around the world, face masks have become not just a tool to slow the spread of coronavirus but a social symbol, a mark of solidarity with workers on the front line.
But granted they can be a little pesky, especially if you wear glasses and have to battle the inevitable ‘fog up’ that comes when you exhale, and yes they do make breathing in a touch more difficult (though, as many will point out, not nearly as difficult as breathing on a ventilator).
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Enter the face shield, an option that is touted as being more comfortable and potentially more effective against the virus. But are they really?
“People who wear these homemade cloth masks are invariably touching their face constantly to adjust it, and we know that touching your face is one routine mechanism for infecting you,” Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security, told Yahoo News.
“When you’re wearing a face shield, you’re less likely to touch your face… They don’t impede your mouth, and you’re talking and you’re breathing as much.”
And while the humble cloth masks’ main drawcard is protecting others around you, the face shield can also protect the wearer from infectious particles, and they provide a physical barrier to touching your face.
A 2014 study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene investigated how well face shields block air droplets, finding they reduce exposure to cough droplets by 96 percent.
But that success rate becomes less with particles you can’t see, like those in our regular breath. Ultimately, researchers say a cloth mask is still the better option in slowing the spread.
“A cloth mask or a medical mask is going to do a better job of protecting you against the smaller particles than a face shield would,” William Lindsley, a biomedical engineer and author of the study, told NBC News.
“A face shield is good against the really big stuff

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