Which masks will best protect your children?
Experts weigh in on what type to buy, where to buy and general use and care
With in-person schooling resuming in Ontario on Monday, shielding children from COVID-19 infection in the classroom is once again at the forefront of many parents’ minds.
While kids were home, the highly contagious, more vaccine-resistant Omicron variant spread an incredible amount throughout the province and the world. It changed much of what we thought we knew about COVID.
Still, many of the tried-and-true methods of staying safe from the virus still hold up, such as getting vaccinated, social distancing and masking, experts say.
But which masks should children wear now? Where can parents buy them? How should masks be cared for and worn? The Star reached out to pediatricians for advice.
Which masks should I be buying?
Not all masks offer the highest level of protection, but any mask is better than none — or, crucially, one that’s too large for your child’s face, experts say.
In an ideal world, all kids would come to school wearing high-quality masks, such as N95, KN95, KF94 or FN95 respirators. These all offer about the same high-level of filtration, but may be more expensive in child sizes and are routinely sold out.
Parents shouldn’t feel guilty if they can’t afford or locate these kinds of masks, said Dr. Anne Wormsbecker, a pediatrician at Unity Health Toronto. Instead, they should focus on ensuring they use the best option available to them.
“I really want to stress to families to get masks that fit your child and that they will wear,” she said. “That means a mask that is firmly fitting around the face, no large gaps.”
Wormsbecker said even a mask that is, on paper, less effective than an N95 — such as a surgical mask — may be preferable to a respirator that’s far too large for a small child’s face. Dr. Dina Kulik, a Toronto pediatrician and director of Kidcrew medical clinic, agreed. “You could have the most expensive mask, but if it doesn’t fit properly, it’s useless,” she said. “It’s much more important to have a well-fit mask that’s touching all areas of the face.”
If you can’t find a high-quality respirator in the right size, double-masking is a practical way to make do, the pediatricians said. Kulik suggested a combination of surgical and cloth masks, with the more effective surgical mask put on first.
How do I make a mask fit well?
There are a few steps parents and older kids can take to secure masks better, the pediatricians said. But it all starts with getting an appropriately sized mask.
“You absolutely have to have a kids-size (mask) for a child because, otherwise, the fit won’t be there,” said Kulik. “An adult mask might fit me well but be completely useless to my child.” While N95 respirators may not come in small kids’ sizes, Kulik said, KN95 and other equivalent masks do, some sized for children as young as two.
To ensure a better fit if a mask sits loose, Wormsbecker and Kulik both suggested adjusting the ear loops by tying a knot.
Kulik also recommended parents buy attachable plastic ear loop adjusters, sometimes called “mask locks” or “ear locks” online. They’re reusable and the “child can move them close or farther away from the mask to make it tighter or looser,” she said.
Where should I buy masks online?
The internet is vast, and it can be hard to know which sites can ship you what you really need.
Kulik advised people avoid general commerce sites, like Amazon, when mask shopping and instead opt for canadastrongmasks.ca or dent-xcanada.com, both of which carry high-quality respirators or surgical masks in child and adult sizes.
Can I reuse masks?
Surgical masks are single-use and should be discarded if they become wet from condensation or otherwise soiled, the pediatricians said.
“Especially in wintertime, if we’re wearing masks outdoors, there’s a lot of condensation and masks get wet,” said Wormsbecker. “Once a mask is wet, or visibly soiled, it doesn’t work anymore”
Kulik said KN95 and similar respirators can be reused if they’re not wet or soiled — but ideally only once. She recommends used masks be left out for two to three days before they’re worn a second time.
Because these kinds of masks don’t come in direct contact with the mouth, like surgical or cloth masks do, they’re both more comfortable to wear and less likely to get soiled, Kulik said, which makes them easier to re-use.
If all you have is a cloth mask, it should be laundered on a hot cycle and dried between uses, she said. While you don’t have to throw them out if they get wet or soiled, you should still put on a fresh one once that’s happened.