Considering the present situation, we know that wearing a mask is quite important to protect us from this invisible enemy that has practically change the world. As what they say, the new normal. I’m sure many of us have heard about protective equipment such as mask, face shield and many more.

If you work in a medical facility such as hospitals, dialysis center, ambulance service, I am sure that you are familiar with the N95 mask and surely have worn them in line with your work. But did you ever ask yourself this question…

What is the meaning of the N95 respirator?

Do they represent something? Are they  just some bunch of letter and numbers for production?

Well, the N95 represents something.

An N95 respirator is “a respiratory protective device designed to achieve a very close facial fit and very efficient filtration of airborne particles.” A surgical N95 respirator, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “is a NIOSH-approved N95 respirator that has also been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration. NIOSH stands for National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

The N95 is a classified as a disposable particle respirator. Particulate respirators are also known as ‘air-purifying respirators’ because they protect by filtering particles out of the air as you breathe. These respirators protect only against particles—not gases or vapors. Since airborne biological agents such as bacteria or viruses are particles, they can be filtered by particulate respirators.”

How Come it’s called N95?

According to NIOSH, “respirators are rated as follows

 ‘N,’ if they are Not resistant to oil,

 ‘R’ if somewhat Resistant to oil,

 ‘P’ if strongly resistant (oil Proof).”

What do the numbers indicate?

Respirators that filter out 95 percent of airborne particles are given a 95 rating, so N95 respirator filters out 95 percent of airborne particles but is not resistant to oil. The respirators that filter out at least 99 percent of airborne particles have a 99 rating and the ones that filter out 99.97 percent of airborne particles, which NIOSH notes as essentially 100 percent, receive a 100 rating.

Source: Readers Digest