Thread by @tmprowell

🧵 Parents of teens looking for N95/KN95/KF94 masks that your teens will wear without complaint, I feel your pain. We are 2 drs w/ 3 teens. We obviously believe in high-quality masks, & we’ve struggled to find masks that fit well & are comfy enough for kids to wear all day. 1/x

Let me start by saying we have no relationship with any mask company, no one gave us any free masks, & no one asked us to review or recommend any mask. Our views don’t represent any employers. Tweeting here as parents & your kids may be different. 2/x

My teens (14, 16, 17) are both sexes & pretty average sizes, especially their faces (unlike their mom…I have a small face & can wear some kids’ eyeglass frames). We started trying the masks that we liked or had ourselves. 3/x

For my small face, I have found the Respokare N95 (size M) to be a comfy mask that I can put on & not need to adjust, & it’s got antiviral coating. It was too tight on them. Size L fit them width-wise but was still too long top to bottom, so would be 👍 for a long/wide face. 4/x

The antiviral coating has kind of a vinegar smell. I don’t mind it. It kind of reminds me of salt & vinegar chips. But one of my kids who is sensitive to smells & textures etc found the smell to be a dealbreaker. May not be a good choice if your kid is the same. 5/x

It comes only in light blue & straps go around head.

We also tried the 3M Aura N95 mask, which seems to be avail all over. We bought it directly off the 3M website, but I know many have found it in the paint aisle of HD, hardware stores, etc. It comes only in white.

6/x

It fits all 5 of us well, despite a pretty dramatic range of face sizes, & we all get a good seal, so if you had to go grab N95 masks for a ✈️ or something & hope they fit, it’s a 👍 bet. The nose wire is covered by soft rubber inside, which makes it comfy. Straps go around head.

Our kids have worn it for higher risk things where I was very worried about aerosol, like singing, & it doesn’t muffle voice, but straps are tight. They wear it w/o complaint it for 2-3 hrs, but all agree they would find it tough to wear for a full school day, day after day.

8/x

My kid who hates anything too tight from clothes to masks finds it too tight & will only stay in it for 20-30 mins before insisting on changing it. Many HCWs wear the Aura at work, so it CAN be worn all day, but the efficacy of a 😷 that’s not worn is 0%. Know your kids.

9/x

Since our kids felt those masks were too short/long, tight, or vinegary, we tried the Kimberly-Clark Kimtech N95 pouch respirator 53358. It comes only in white & has straps around head, but they are a soft kind of fabric, not rubber, so they don’t pull hair whatsoever.

10/x

Because they are thin & have a lot of airspace in front of the mouth, they also get less hot/humid & don’t muffle the voice at all. I thought that made them a slam dunk for school. Alas the teens feel they make them look the most ridiculous of any mask we’ve tried. Sigh.

11/x

They’re still extremely comfortable & affordable. My teens agree you could wear it all day & forget it’s on. (Except for people pointing at them.) A good 😷 for a teen who just wants comfort & doesn’t care if they look different. A good 😷 in home isolation for same reason.

12/x

And finally we tried Powecom GB2626-2019 KN95 mask. It comes in white, black, or pink, & has both ear loop & strap around head style. We got the ear loop one, & all agreed it was very comfy on both their faces & ears. The mask is closer to the mouth than any other.

13/x

But they didn’t find it bothersome. No one found it too hot or humid. No one asked if we were done yet. It’s also pretty affordable at ~$1 each, & it has scratch-off w/ a unique code on each bag you check on their website to know it’s legit (KN95 counterfeits are an issue).

14/x

I suspect part of why they like it is that it’s very well-fitted to the face, but not nearly as tight as a true N95 w/ headstrap is designed to be. It’s the only non-N95 mask we tried with them, & the only one with ear loops. It’s possible they’d like any KN95 just as well.

15/x

Nonetheless all are happy with this one. Being less tight, it’s prob less protective than one of the true N95 masks we tried, but I have far greater confidence they’ll keep it on, which is its true test in the real world. One of them liked it enough to give some to friends.

16/x

Lots of these masks are available via the nonprofit @projectn95, where the people are available 365 days per yr & so helpful if you’re having trouble finding a good match for yourself or your family. They’re affordable too, even without buying a truckload.

17/x

We’ve seen others available via the US-based family-run @BonaFideMasks, which began selling 😷 in 2020 at request of a community org. If you are buying KN95 masks, you should know that up to half of these in the US have been found to be counterfeit. I would strongly suggest

18/x

That you buy these from a place w/ a reputation for vetting its products carefully. Read the About Us section of the website. Or buy a brand that includes a scratch off # or QR code on the bag to enable you to verify the KN95 authenticity on the manufacturer’s website.

19/x

This article is helpful to identify reputable sites: scientificamerican.com/article/why-we…. If you buy KN95 masks in a store, ask the manager where they source their products from. If it’s not the manufacturer directly, might be best to steer clear.

20/x

If you’re still with me, on tweet #21, I think, at midnight on a Friday, you get a 🍪. Parents of teens, drop recs for other high-protection masks your kids like. They may not love to #WearAMask, but #schools will NOT succeed during #omicron w/o them.

Finally, we didn’t try any KF94 masks (the South Korean equiv of our N95; KN95 is the Chinese equiv). We’ve heard of KF94 masks w/ same shape as the 3M Aura & adjustable ear loops that many people say offer a great fit & comfort, but never any in stock, eg Bluna Facefit.

22/x

And finally, a surgical mask that you tie & tuck per this CDC demo () w/ a 😎 cloth mask over top is far better than either alone if your teen just won’t do an N95/KN95/KF94. Most important msg: we’re SO much safer w/ #Omicron when we all #MaskUp. 👇

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