Medical face mask

Buying Medical face masks

Not all face masks are suitable for medical use. There are certain quality requirements for this. The packaging must also state that the mask is suitable for medical use.

In addition to being listed, there are several ways to check whether the face mask meets the requirements before it can be classified as a medical face mask. For example, the packaging of medical masks must bear the CE mark. The medical IIR masks are inspected based on the NEN-En14683 standard. In addition, they must also comply with the European Medical Devices Directive. 

Surgical medical face masks type I, II, IIR

There are different types of medical masks available, with varying degrees of protection. But how well does each medical mask protect?

The surgical face masks of types I, II and IIR are suitable for treating and caring for patients. These surgical masks are therefore a medical device. In this case, they protect mainly the patient and less so the person wearing the mask. This is because the surgical mask does not fit tightly on the face. So there is still a chance that viruses can get in. 

Surgical type I face masks

The medical-surgical type I face mask is not splash resistant. Also known as not splash resistant. If we look at the BFE (bacterial filter efficiency) the surgical mask type I protects for at least 95% and thus has the lowest protection level in this category.

Surgical type II face masks

The medical-surgical type II face masks are, just like the type I model, not splash resistant. The type II mask has a minimum bacterial filtering efficiency of 98% and thus protects a little better than the type I mask.

Surgical IIR face masks

The main difference with the surgical IIR face mask is that these masks provide double-sided protection. So in this case, the person wearing the mask is also protected against the viruses of the people around him. This makes the mask more suitable to be worn when caring for corona patients, for example. However, these masks are not completely watertight, as they do not fit tightly on the face.

FFP medical face mask

We also sell other medical masks, the FFP masks. At Nobraa you will also find the FFP2 mask and the FFP3 mask. FFP stands for Filtering Facepiece Particles, so these masks filter out particles. The number indicates the degree to which this happens. The higher the number, the more protection is offered. 

Buying non-medical face masks

Since the corona outbreak, the demand for face masks has increased enormously. There is or was even talk of a mandatory requirement to buy face masks. To ensure that this explosive growth in the demand for face masks did not come at the expense of supplies to hospitals, non-medical surgical face masks were also used. When you see these, they are often indistinguishable from the surgical masks that are suitable for medical use. 

However, the requirements for these are much less strict. For example, the packaging of the budget masks, or non-medical masks, does not have to bear the CE mark. However, in most cases it does say something like 'non-medical' to avoid confusion. These masks are designed to protect not yourself, but the people around you, and therefore do not have a double-sided effect. Think of disposable and fabric masks. 

Need help?

Would you like to purchase medical masks, but do you have any questions about IIR face masks? Please contact one of our customer service representatives, they will be happy to help you!