Nope.
To be sure, sitting on a crowded plane surrounded by people who may be harboring nasty bugs raises fears of catching something awful, especially since TB patient Andrew Speaker’s famous escapade.
But infectious diseases specialists insist that, while it makes sense for people who do carry germs to wear masks to protect others, the benefits of healthy people wearing masks to protect themselves are negligible.
At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, infectious disease specialist Dr. Phyllis Kozarsky said that the masks are “difficult to wear and minimally effective” for healthy people. “The biggest thing is, if you are wearing the mask, then taking it off to eat, you get the germs on your hands. Your biggest risk is not inhaled air, but getting germs on your hands,” she said. “And everybody should practice ‘respiratory etiquette,’ which means covering your mouth when you cough and sneeze and disposing of your own tissues, not leaving them on the seat.”
Dr. Marc Siegel, an associate professor of medicine at the New York University School of Medicine and author of “False Alarm: The Truth about the Epidemic of Fear,” added that the HEPA filters used on planes “filter out 99 percent of bugs, much better than any of these masks,” though “if someone in row C sneezes on someone in row B, these filters don’t help.” In any case, he said, “everybody uses the bathroom,” which means germs are on the faucets and every other surface touched by passengers.
The minimal effectiveness of masks is bad news for Internet companies now touting designer masks, though frankly, even these masks don’t look very pretty to me.
Bottom line? If you’ve got a respiratory illness, wear a mask to protect others. Whether you’re sick or healthy, wash your hands early and often.