welcome to the organic green doctor blog

i am a family physician who was diagnosed with
early mild cognitive impairment(mci) amnestic type on december 21, 2010
this is a precursor to alzheimers disease
because of this diagnosis i have opted to stop practicing medicine
this blog will be about my journey with this disease
please feel free to follow me along this path
i will continue blogging on organic gardening, green living,
solar power, rainwater collection, and healthy living
i will blog on these plus other things noted to be interesting

Monday, August 17, 2020

new way to sterilize your face masks

 NEW WAY TO STERILIZE YOUR FACE MASKS

i wear several different type of face masks

i wear a n95 mask with a ventilator on it that i have duct taped closed inside and out
it actually is the one that fits the best and feels the most comfortable
it has straps that i can tighten to make the mask fit to my face
doing it this way keeps a tight seal so it functions better
the way i clean it is i only wear it to high risk areas like the grocery store or pharmacy or stores or nurseries etc
when i return i take it off by the straps only
we have an area we leave our masks as we take them off
remember the outside of the mask is probably the most contaminated
i spray the inside and outside of the masks with hydrogen peroxide then move it to the front porch of our condo which gets direct sun for several hours each day

the mask gets a chance to air out some and hopefully any germs that have grabbed onto the mask will have died
i may only wear that mask once or twice a week

i wear a kn95 mask
one is labeled for grandson mr n who is a newborn 
the other is labeled for mr h who is immunocompromised since he takes meds to prevent his kidney from being rejected
wearing this mask which is probably as good as the n95 mask protects both grandkids
wearing the masks also protects us from infections
i recently ordered a strap that holds the elastic off the ears and it also tightens the mask around the face to make it evem more effective

the mask is only worn around the grandkids
then its removed
it will also be routinely sprayed with hydrogen peroxide and allowed to air out between uses

hydrogen peroxide evaporates eventually to just water and oxygen
you do have to be careful what you put on your masks since you will be breathing that stuff into the lungs

i also wear cloth masks someone made for me
the masks also have a slot for a filter if i want to insert it
they are two layers of cotton thick
i wear them anytime im not using the n95 masks like going to the garden to work or going for a walk or going to the gas station or anytime i go outside the condo
i only wear it one day then its cleaned

right now i hand wash it by putting soap on the mask and washing it real well in hot water
i usually let it sit in the sink in hot water then later will rinse it out 
i place it on our front porch to dry and air out
you also can use the washing machine with hot water and washing detergent

its the soap that removes the outer layer of the virus 
thus killing it

if you dont keep your masks clean you will accumulate germs inside and outside on the masks making it possible to infect yourself from the masks
always remove the masks by the straps trying never to touch the front 
as thats where the covid germs will mostly be on the front of the masks



then
i saw online this article on a new way to sterilize your n95 masks
it caught my eye since we use our instant pot a lot for cooking

here is the article linked here

basically you put a folded towel in the pot so the masks dont touch the sides
you then cook it at 212 degrees f for 50 minutes then open the lid and remove the masks
this kills the covid 19 virus according to the university of illinois researchers
there is a video on how to do it in the article
the masks retained its effectiveness even after over 20 times 

if you dont have an instant pot this may be a good time to get one huh

my guess is this would also work for cloth masks

now what will i do 
well ill probably just keep sterilizing mine like i am now letting nature kill the virus with sunlight and time and a little peroxide for the n95 and kn95 masks and soap and water for the cloth masks

remember dont just keep wearing your masks every day without cleaning them
you can catch fungal and other infections from the inside of the mask if you dont keep them clean

the common symptom of covid 19 you present with is fever first then cough then muscle pain then later cough and some develop nausea vomiting diarrhea fatigue etc

of course not everyone presents the same way

be safe
be sure and wear you masks and keep them clean

the organicgreen doctor


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