3M 7502 Personal Respirator: best option for the Covid-fighting nurse
If you’re a nurse on the frontlines fighting Covid-19, you should consider this personal respirator from 3M that may offer more protection than an N95.
Working in an ICU that has been taking Covid patients since March, I have become accustomed to a wearing a traditional N95 for hours at a time. Everyone has seen the pictures of nurses after they take their masks off after a 12 hour shift, and they don’t look pretty. So when I saw a physician wearing the personal respirator from 3M, I knew I had to try it out.
Purchasing
I purchased the 3M 7502 personal respirator mask after doing research online. There wasn’t a ton of information out there for healthcare workers, but I knew that this model is popular with physicians in my facility. An important note, the actual filters (the pink part in the photos) are NOT included with the mask, so you have to buy them separately. I’ll link to both below so you can check them out. There are a few other options on Amazon of personal respirators made by 3M, but the 7502 is the most widely used in my experience while still being very affordable.
Filtering Efficiency
I chose the 3M P100 filters, which have a filter efficiency of 99.97%. This is compared to the traditional N95 mask, which has a filter efficiency of only 95%. Once I learned these numbers, I knew I wasn’t going back to wearing an N95 at work. Yes, they are the most cost effective option for hospitals to purchase in bulk. But if I can purchase something myself for a relatively small price that offers MORE protection against Covid-19? I will absolutely make that purchase.
Comfort/Fit
This is my favorite part of this mask and the reason I recommend it to my co-workers. The 7502 blows the N95 out of the water when it comes to how comfortable it is to wear. The portion of the mask that surrounds the nose and face is made of a very soft, flexible plastic that molds to the face as you tighten the head straps. Unlike the N95, there are no pressure points that pinch your skin. With the fit, I never have issues with air leaking out while breathing, and never have any fogging of my eye protection while wearing the 7502. Whenever I wore the N95, I almost always had issues with my eyewear fogging up, which meant that the mask had a leak and really wasn’t working. The 4 adjustable straps make it easy to get the mask to fit nicely and comfortably around the back of your head as well as around your neck. I can’t praise 3M enough for making this mask comfortable enough to wear for long 12 hour shifts.
Disinfection
This mask is very easy to wipe down upon exiting a Covid patient’s room. You can use the preferred disinfection wipe at your facility to clean off the outside of the mask thoroughly after each use. An important point is to NEVER touch the inside of the mask. This applies to N95’s as well so it shouldn’t really be new news to anyone on this blog. The filters are in a plastic casing which can also be cleaned in the same manner. From my research, the P100 filters don’t need to be changed until you start having issues breathing due to the fact that the filters actually work better with the more that the filters take in. I haven’t had any issues with mine after about 1 month of use. I’ll update here in the future if I have any issues.
Final Thoughts
Although my facility doesn’t require us to disinfect or re-use our N95 masks, I know that many nurses are not so lucky. I can’t imagine being in a position to not have the proper PPE available to me and I truly feel for those of you who are in that position. Part of the reason I wanted to do this review is for nurses out there who are looking to protect themself at work and whose leadership has failed them by not providing enough PPE. So if you do invest in this mask, I hope that you improves your working condition. Please share this article with your friends and co-workers who should also consider investing in this personal respirator mask!
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