Last week the CF Foundation released a statements to all clinics letting everyone know their official stance on a popular mask. The Vogmask. Many were left confused and annoyed because these adorable masks have made getting the angstiest of children to wear them with ease.
Here is their statement:
Within the CF community, when something works it is spread throughout the groups pretty fast and people take hold of it to make their lives easier! Personally, I’m glad when the CFF decides to release an official stance on any product that has moved it’s way through the community. A huge annoyance for the community is the lack of across the board stances, with each doctor their comes a new norm for treatments and rules. No two clinics agree completely on how to handle Cystic Fibrosis, so for me it’s a breath of fresh air any time there is an agreed “this is how the foundation feels” memo released.
But with this we all have to look at our options and make our own informed decision on what is best for our family. When you have a child that refuses to keep any mask on, is any mask better than no mask? What makes the medical masks different from the Vogmask?
SPECS
The Vogmask lists their specs on their website here and where their mask is best used here. It states on their website that their mask “Does not eliminate the risk of illness, diseases, or infection.” This is extremely important to note, as we use the masks to prevent bacteria from spreading out of us, or into us from others. With bacteria like Pseudomonas, it can stay on surfaces and in the air for a lot longer than people realize.
I know many say “my kid has used them for years, and we’re fine” but our households motto is When you know better, you do better. It’s not about what we’ve been lucky not to contract, it’s what is the best possible way to prevent contracting bacteria and germs.
So how does this differ from the hospital mask? I found a great chart to help understand that not all masks are created equal.
As you can see a surgical mask is much more effective in controlling respiratory borne bacteria than a basic mask. Researching this has definitely been eye opening for us. These are the masks our hospital provides for us.
I would love to have a strap that I could take with us to clinic, to loop it from one ear loop to the other and keep the mask on the head easier. If I come up with something I’ll share it with you! I’m thinking our Nebulizer strap might do the trick. So I’m going to bring it along to our clinic visit next week. (click the photo to see where we purchased this strap from. She is a CF mama herself!)
If you are a CF household, are you still going to use the Vogmask? We own one and we still plan to use it, but more for dusk and allergens. I am going to look into purchasing the medical grade disposable masks for when we want germ prevention.