Question for the medical people here

[infomama]

What kind of mask do you wear to protect you from viruses? I am replacing some drop ceiling tiles and I know there will be mouse poop up there and I want to protect myself and DH (worried about Hantavirus). I already have goggles and coveralls. CDC is talking about using a half-mask air-purifying (or negative-pressure) respirator with a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter or a powered air-purifying respirator (PAPR) with HEPA filters and I don't have a clue what to get. There are so many types and numbers (P100, R100, N95, N100....my head is spinning)

Help!

[mom2binsd]

When I have to limit exposure to a patient with anything airborne, I wear a gown, gloves and regular mask, that's all that is given to us. For the amount of exposure you may have I think one of those would suffice, it's not like you are becoming the Orkin Woman right????

[infomama]

When I have to limit exposure to a patient with anything airborne, I wear a gown, gloves and regular mask, that's all that is given to us. For the amount of exposure you may have I think one of those would suffice, it's not like you are becoming the Orkin Woman right????

LOL..no, I'm not becoming the Orkin woman but I have to admit I'm extra paranoid about this project.

[joonbug]

How about one of those air filtrating masks from the home improvement stores? I know they are recommended for stripping anything with lead paint particles so should be enough maybe?

[infomama]

How about one of those air filtrating masks from the home improvement stores? I know they are recommended for stripping anything with lead paint particles so should be enough maybe?
I saw those but they are in a different category (or number group) as the masks the CDC recommends for this task. This is what I mean...it's so confusing.

[icunurse]

We just dealt with a mouse in our home and the Orkin guy said to just use a painters mask and that should be plenty. He also said to try and have any visible poop moistened so that you wouldn't be brining up dust. Hantavirus does need to come from a certain type of mouse and, from what I have read, the virus dies after a week. But, being paranoid, this is what we did... Waited two weeks after fixing the alleged area of entry and not seeing any new activity before starting to clean. Sprayed all visible areas of poop with Lysol and let it dry. Sprayed again before sweeping/vacuuming. I also wore gloves and some disposable N-95 masks from work. We use those for TB patients, so I'm guessing they are good enough considering the small risk of actually catching the virus and the huge precautions I took anyway.

[liz]

N95 respirator mask like this one http://www.lowes.com/pd_209952-98-8511HA1-A_0__?productId=3082295&Ntt=3m+respirator+mask&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNtt%3D3m%2Brespirator%2Bmask&facetInfo=

[infomama]

I feel better now. Thanks for the input all. I'll pick up a few N-95's.

[infomama]

We just dealt with a mouse in our home and the Orkin guy said to just use a painters mask and that should be plenty. He also said to try and have any visible poop moistened so that you wouldn't be brining up dust. Hantavirus does need to come from a certain type of mouse and, from what I have read, the virus dies after a week. But, being paranoid, this is what we did... Waited two weeks after fixing the alleged area of entry and not seeing any new activity before starting to clean. Sprayed all visible areas of poop with Lysol and let it dry. Sprayed again before sweeping/vacuuming. I also wore gloves and some disposable N-95 masks from work. We use those for TB patients, so I'm guessing they are good enough considering the small risk of actually catching the virus and the huge precautions I took anyway.

Thanks!

[TxCat]

Yup, the N- 95 masks. And I would change frequently, like every 30-60 minutes as they can lose efficacy over time.

[VClute]

Yup, the N- 95 masks. And I would change frequently, like every 30-60 minutes as they can lose efficacy over time.

Huh. I wear these at work (I'm a nurse) and I wear the same one for my whole 12 hour shift. I don't wear it continuously, though. I take it off and put it back on as I go into the room.

[TxCat]

Huh. I wear these at work (I'm a nurse) and I wear the same one for my whole 12 hour shift. I don't wear it continuously, though. I take it off and put it back on as I go into the room.

I know, we all wear the same one all day. But it's bad practice, both to protect you and to protect the patient. The masks get "filed" with particulate matter over time, decreasing utility. I did an OR safety grand rounds a few years ago, where I first learned about this. Will see if I can find my references.