The air pollution in China is so bad experts say the face masks worn to protect against the smog don't work, Discovery News reported Friday.
"For so long, people have worn these and believed they are effective," Lisa Brosseau, a certified industrial hygienist from the University of Illinois, told Discovery News.
"But I believe they give people a false sense of protecting themselves when they are really not getting much protection."
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, "the heavy smog is caused by industrial pollution, coal and agricultural burning, and has been trapped by the mountains to the west and wind patterns." The administration released photos last year showing the smog can be seen from space.
The most common protection worn by citizens are surgical masks that are available over the counter. The surgical masks were meant to protect a patient's open wounds from being contaminated by the doctor, such as mucus from the mouth or germs from a sneeze.
They were not, however, designed to protect the doctor, meaning the person wearing them, Discovery News reported.
Though studies show the face masks can slow down the spread of diseases like the flu, they do not stop the wearer from inhaling the air pollution, experts say. Since the masks are loose fitting, air can pass through the sides and into a person's nose.
Donald Milton, an occupational and environmental medicine specialist at the University of Maryland, told Discovery News there is no complete protection unless the masks are fitted to match each person's face, Milton said.
"If it's going to work, it has to fit your face," Milton told Discovery News. "If you buy a box of these things at the hardware store, it's not clear you're getting anything that's going to work for you."
Experts say the best way to protect against pollution is to develop good personal health.
"We don't want people to put on these masks and think they don't need to get vaccinated or wash their hands or do other routine things like cough into their sleeves," Pritish Tosh, an infections diseases physician, told Discovery News. "If someone chooses to put on a mask, it's up to them. But it's important to do other things first."
