H1N1: Should You Use a Face Mask? Respirator?

If you’ve been wondering about whether to use a face mask or a respirator to protect against the H1N1 flu virus or whether to recommend the use of respiratory protection to your workers, here are some suggestions from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In community and home settings, the use of face masks and respirators is generally not recommended.  However, for certain circumstances, such as for caregivers in the home, a face mask or respirator should be used. Use of a facemask or respirator should also be considered for people at increased risk of severe illness from influenza when they are in crowded community settings such as a nursing home or hospital.

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Use of N95 respirators or face masks generally is not recommended for workers in nonhealthcare occupational settings (i.e., industrial and office) for general work activities. For specific work activities that involve contact with people who have an influenza-like illness (ILI), such as escorting a person with ILI, interviewing a person with ILI, providing assistance to an individual with ILI, the following steps are recommended:

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  Workers should try to maintain a distance of 6 feet or more from the person with ILI.


• Workers should keep their interactions with ill persons as brief as possible.


• The ill person should be asked to follow good cough etiquette and hand hygiene and to wear a face mask, if able, and one is available.


• Workers at increased risk of severe illness from influenza infection should avoid people with ILI (possibly by temporary reassignment).


• Where workers cannot avoid close contact with persons with ILI, some workers may choose to wear a face mask or N95 respirator on a voluntary basis.

For workers in occupational healthcare settings, use of N95 respirators is recommended. Because infection control precautions, including respiratory protection, are imperfect, workers who are at increased risk of severe illness from influenza, and who are caring for a patient with known, probable, or suspected H1N1 or ILI, may consider temporary reassignment to avoid exposure.

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Face Mask vs. Respirator

CDC says there are important differences between face masks and respirators. Face masks do not seal tightly to the face and therefore should be used only to block large droplets from coming into contact with the wearer’s mouth or nose. Face masks can also help stop droplets from being spread by the person wearing them. Face masks should be used once and then thrown away in the trash.

Most respirators, such as the N95, are designed to seal tightly to the wearer’s face and filter out very small particles. Therefore, respirators provide much better protection against H1N1. However, compared with a face mask it is harder to breathe through a respirator for long periods of time, and respirators are not recommended for children or people who have facial hair.

CDC also points out that when respiratory protection is required in an occupational setting, respirators must be used in the context of a comprehensive respiratory protection program as required under OSHA’s Respiratory Protection standard (29 CFR 1910.134). This includes fit testing, medical evaluation, and training of the worker. For face masks, there are no such requirements.

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