Some differences between diposable medical masks and N95 masks

The filtering capacity of general medical masks (also called surgical masks, which are several layers of non-woven fabrics) is lower than N95. The filtering capacity of 0.3 micron particles is about 65%. It can also be seen that the filtering capacity of non-professional masks such as gauze masks is extremely poor.

However, medical masks are different from general masks in two points. First of all, medical masks should not only consider the issue of filtration, but also consider the situation where blood and pus are sprayed directly, that is to say, they must be waterproof (in the test, synthetic simulated blood is used). Secondly, medical masks should not only protect the doctors inside the masks, but also protect the patients outside the masks. Therefore, medical masks are generally not allowed to have breathing valves, otherwise the air exhaled by the doctor will be sprayed out without filtering, which will not protect the patient.