Which side of a surgical mask should face out?

[LAS14]

I know, I know, I shouldn't ask these kind of questions of DU, only of "medical professionals." But I am interested in what you all have heard. I've heard many answers. Can anyone point to something definitive? The package mine came in doesn't have any instructions.

tia
las

[dewsgirl]

1. I believe it's the blue side. I may be wrong, I wore it backwards

a few times until a lady in the store told me.🤦

[BusyBeingBest]

3. Don't feel bad, my husband did the same thing, and I didn't even notice it until

we got back in our car. Blue side out, whitish-blue side in!

[DetroitLegalBeagle]

2. Blue side out

The blue side is usually water resistant, the white side is absorbent.

[link:https://apnews.com/afs:Content:8721490082|]

[FloridaBlues]

4. If your wearing blue or yellow medical like mask

With the elastic around your ear type, You wear the darker color out.

[Kaleva]

5. This is the second time you've asked this and you got answers.

"According to Dr. Seto Wing Hong, co-director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control, the blue or colored side must face out because it blocks moisture and filters fluids from other commuters."

https://www.dnx.news/covid-19/how-to-wear-surgical-mask-blue-or-white-side-out/

"CLAIM: The proper way to wear a medical mask is with the colored side on the outside if you are sick and don’t want to spread your germs and with the white side out if you’re not sick and want to stop germs from getting in.

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. Medical officials say the colored side of the mask should be worn on the outside away from your face regardless if you are sick or healthy.

THE FACTS: Social media users have been sharing the false claim since January, but it recently gained prominence in the U.S. as more Americans consider wearing face masks in the effort to protect themselves from the new coronavirus. "

https://apnews.com/afs:Content:8721490082

[LAS14]

7. As I said in the OP, I've seen a variety of opinions. I wanted another sample. Is that OK? nt

[Kaleva]

10. Go for facts backed by science. Stay away from opinions.

It didn't take long to find several sites with info from reputable sources that all say the blue side is always won on the outside.

[Midnight Writer]

13. Thanks for asking. I, too, have seen conflicting instructions. This is all new to me.

And it surprises me that the instructions are not clear on the package.

[bdamomma]

6. blue side faces out

and if the elastics are not tight enough and you wear glasses that may fog up you can put a little knot in it so it will be a little tighter.

[Mariana]

8. I think you should ask a medical professional

rather than rely on the opinions of a bunch of randos on the internet.

[Tipperary]

12. Lots of folks consider themselves experts here , ya know?

They can diagnose autism over the tv, dementia the same way, tell you cures or preventions for the coronavirus, what you should and should not drink/ear...oh, it goes on...

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

9. One side faces out for the first week. Then switch so the other side faces out.

Like in college, wear the sweatshirt one way for a week, then turn it inside out.

[Blue_true]

11. There is a nose enclosure tab on the mask.

The direction that bends slightly toward is the inside. Also, look at how the ear loops connect to the mask, when it is on right, they should pull right back without compressing any part of the mask that they connect to.

[chowder66]

14. Here is why you wear the colored side out

“The colored side of the mask is usually the front and should face away from you, while the white side touches your face,” the San Francisco Department of Public Health explains on its website.

snip.....

“You see it has the blue color on the outside because it is waterproof and then you have white on the inside because it is absorbent,” he said. “So, if I cough, it absorbs it."

Seto also stressed the importance of wearing a face mask with the metal wired edge on top and disposing of used masks without touching the outside.


https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/04/15/fact-check-disposable-masks-should-always-worn-colored-side-out/2993699001/

[backscatter712]

15. For most of them, blue side out, white side in.

The blue side has a coating that's moisture-repelling, while the white-side is most absorbing.

Also, on the top side of the mask, there's a metal clip or wire you can bend to fit your nose.

[Buns_of_Fire]

16. The "old school" thinking was that you should never wear white-side-out

before Easter or after Labor Day. (White was considered a summer wardrobe only.) Nowadays, though, it's perfectly acceptable fashion-wise to wear white-side-out anytime you feel like it.

But medical-wise, the blue side always faces out, year round.

Just don't wear anything brown with it.

~Miss Manners, M.D.

[LuckyCharms]

17. The side with the food stains.

That's how I figure mine out.