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Shortage of Facemasks

Between the start of cold and flu season, the developing Enterovirus D68 outbreak here in the US, and the CDC asking healthcare facilities to step-up their isolation protocols due to the ongoing Ebola outbreak, medical supply companies are already starting to see a shortage in the availability of medical grade protective supplies, like facemasks.

According to Martin Zarnock Jr., co-owner and Vice President of Mountainside Medical Equipment, “companies like 3M Healthcare and Dynarex are already telling us to expect a shortage of facemasks like the N95 Particulate Respirators. In fact, representatives from 3M Healthcare are already reporting a nationwide backorder on the popular 3M 1860 N95 Particulate Respirators (which we are already completely out-of-stock on) and the 3M 1870 N95 Disposable Particulate Respirator (which we are very quickly running out of).”

Personal protective supplies, like gloves, gowns, goggles, and masks are used as a first-line of defense against exposure to potentially infectious materials (such as blood, chemicals, and bodily fluids). Facemasks and respirators are used to protect the mouth, nose, and respiratory tract from the inhalation of any airborne particulates, contaminants, or potentially infectious agents. As you breathe, the mask filters out any airborne particulates before they can enter the respiratory tract. There are a variety of different types of facemasks with different levels of filtration and fluid resistance to provide different levels of protection. There are disposable and reusable masks, full-face and half-face masks, masks that can be used with a broad range of different types of filters, and even masks that come with their own supply of oxygen.

With all the recent talk going around about using various types of protective gear to help prevent exposure to various elements, there has been a steady rise in the market for facemasks. When choosing a facemask it is important that you choose the right mask to correlate with the required level of protection for the tasks at-hand. When choosing a mask, a good place to start is by evaluating the level of exposure and risks involved. Mountainside Medical Equipment offers a wide range of medical grade facemasks to best suite your needs. Whether you’re caring for a sick loved one, are a painter or welder, are a dentist, or work in a healthcare setting, Mountainside Medical Equipment would be happy to help you pick out the most effective and cost-efficient masks for your tasks. Give us a call today at 1-888-687-4334.

Sources:

http://www.cdc.gov/hai/pdfs/ppe/ppeslides6-29-04.pdf

http://www.crosstex.com/pdfs/MaskEnomics_Poster_2012.pdf

http://solutions.3m.com/3MContentRetrievalAPI/BlobServlet?lmd=1259276191000&locale=en_WW&assetType=MMM_Image&assetId=1258558088279&blobAttribute=ImageFile

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