Sorry to hear that. I think I may have figured out a solution your son could try. I've used this double-sided tape before to try to seal the gaps and stop the air from blowing out of my nose and up into my eyes. But I still felt that some air was getting around the tape.
The tape I linked can get pricey, but there are many solutions to sealing the tops of the mask that people have come up with, particularly for those who wear glasses to prevent fogging.
I think the key is to make the top of the mask a tight seal, but the bottom and sides slightly loose. That way the air can escape without going up into the eyes. So if he is wearing cloth masks, buy a slightly larger size and/or stretch out the fabric along the bottom of the mask and maybe around the ears too. If he's wearing regular surgical masks, those tend to allow air out of the sides anyways.
I know that ideally we want to stop ANY air from escaping, so I'll probably get downvoted for suggesting this. But most people are already walking around blasting air out the top of their masks, so I really don't feel bad about simply changing the direction at which the air comes out of my mask. Plus, it is still better than wearing no mask at all.
Your young son may have trouble applying that double-sided tape (I imagine he has to take the mask off to eat and such at school), so maybe there's another kind of tape he could use, or simply loosening the mask at the bottom/sides may help.
In America, my company provided some adhesive strips to put on the inside of your mask as we constantly worked outside in the cold and couldn't have our glasses fogging up. There's also a spray. There are also cheaper options than the link listed. Google "mask anti-fog adhesive for glasses".
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Here's a link: https://www.amazon.com/MaskTite-Glasses-Medical-Grade-Hypoallergenic-Double-Sided/dp/B08J2CLYXW
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08J2CLYXW/ref=ox_sc_act_image_2?smid=A1THZZUXLKI2OP&psc=1
I love these things. The adhesive stays attached to my masklab.us KF series masks, so I can remove the mask and re-use. It stays very adhesive too, even though I have oily skin over my nose.
I use Masktite.
There's double-sided tape on Amazon that was made specifically for this purpose. I highly recommend getting some (the one I got is called MaskTite). FYI once you "stick" it onto your nose, it's better to just leave it like that if you can—it will lose stickiness or twist/stick to itself if you keep taking the mask off.
During the exam, when I needed water or snacks, I would just lift up the bottom of the mask and leave the top stuck to my nose. Felt a little like a Hungry Hungry Hippo but it did the job.
https://www.amazon.com/MaskTite-Glasses-Medical-Grade-Hypoallergenic-Double-Sided/dp/B08J2CLYXW
Someone here recommended them to me and I've recommended them many times to others. I like them because they're far less painful to remove than medical tape and very strong. I have not had to try them on an Aura yet though.
MaskTite sticks very well to the Posh KF94s (and the Masklabs that I used to use). When I use it with my BLUNA KF94, it tends to stay attached to my face after removing the mask. Not as big a deal to then remove from my face, but then I have to put a new strip on the mask.
The KF94, well fitted on your child, will have a protective effect. Is it a perfect shield, no, but what we are after is as many layers of mitigation to prevent infection and spread as possible. If you google the "Covid Swiss Cheese Defense" you'll see many graphics showing how these layers work together including things like vaccination, ventilation, distancing, and high quality masking. You want to make sure you have as many of those layers in your deck as possible.
You and your partner should absolutely pack well fitting N95s and plan to wear them consistently whenever indoors and whenever you can't be spaced about 10 feet from other people outdoors (some people are less worried about outdoor transmission, but unless there's a constant breeze, I err on the side of caution using microcovid.org as a risk calculation tool.) This means you don't take your masks off in the airport or airplane to eat. Every time you break that seal, you do add a little risk - does it mean you're definitely going to be exposed to Covid and it wasn't worth wearing the mask at all? Not necessarily, just know that every time you do break that mask seal, it introduces some risk to your swiss cheese defense.
Your child should absolutely wear a KF94 or KN95 mask that fits well - you need to make sure these are legit KF94 and KN95 and not a cheap knock off that you buy cheaply from Amazon or Ebay. My kids wear BOTN, Blue, and Posh KF94s and Powecom KN95s and we have the USA Mask Kid 95 which has headbands like N95s (but they don't fit well on my kids' small heads, so we don't wear these right now, though the headband style is definitely easiest to wear for long periods so you don't get earaches.) Get a variety of masks now, and test them out with your kid. When one of my kids needed to go into the hospital for a long day of testing, we used these MaskTite tape strips to make sure the seal on his mask didn't budge (we prepped the skin before with Cavilon Barrier Film, since he's sensitive to adhesives and it worked great and held for hours.) We all also wear protective eyewear now that no one is masking because people spittle quite a bit even when they speak normally.
In that long time, your kid will probably need to drink water. Pack a straw with you in your carry on. Turn up the air in your seat on the airplane to full blast and use it as an air curtain, lift the base of the mask and have them use the straw to drink before returning the mask to its place. The airplane is probably going to have the best ventilation available compared to the airport itself, so as long as you're not seated right next to someone who may be infectious, you are getting a lot of good air exchange that way.
My kids wear masks indoors and outdoors and sometimes our family is the only one wearing masks outside, but I make sure I am leading by example. My mask stays on too and they don't complain (when we are distanced from people outdoors, or riding bikes, the masks come off, but are on a lanyard to put back on easily as needed.) More often than not, I've been surprised by finding other families who have made the choice to mask even outdoors and suddenly its like a calling card to know who else is still taking this seriously and it's brought a big sense of relief.
I use this and it’s great!
https://www.amazon.com/MaskTite-Glasses-Medical-Grade-Hypoallergenic-Double-Sided/dp/B08J2CLYXW
If you're in a situation where your mask has a comfortable fit and you don't plan on taking it off at all for long periods of time, you might try these: Mask Tite Face Tape they make the masks harder to reuse, but for one-time higher risk situations, they've worked well.
My kid wears the Powecom masks, but no matter what we do with the bridge there is air escape - not a big deal in low risk situations with some antifogger, but for the few occasions that were higher risk, it has helped get a beautiful leakproof seal. I prep his skin with a barrier film wipe (we use Cavilon for his other medical stuff, so we have it on hand) and let it dry, then follow the instructions on the Mask Tite face tape and once it is pressed into place, it really holds well. I don't know how it would work without the barrier film, since that's made to help adhesives attach to the skin without damaging skin, but with the barrier, it works beautifully.
Sure! These are the ones I got.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08J2CLYXW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Someone here recommended them. I also tried fashion tape on a tape dispenser roll,
but that kinda sucked. These MaskTite strips are not cheap but they really are the bomb. When I used to wear them with my Masklab KF Series, they would easily stay attached to the mask. I could get multiple uses out of them before I peeled them off and applied a new one.
Now, if I use them with most other KF94s or KN95s, I need to replace it every time, or very carefully peel them off my face as I remove the mask, so it stays attached to the mask.
I've been using this from Amazon, although I should probably mention that I've only just started.
You might've already seen others recommending this: https://www.amazon.com/MaskTite-Glasses-Medical-Grade-Hypoallergenic-Double-Sided/dp/B08J2CLYXW
I haven't tried it yet, but it might work.
Which FFP3 mask(s)?
I used MaskTite tape strips on my son with adhesive sensitive skin that is prone to tearing. It adheres very well and he didn't have a reaction or skin tearing, but I also prepped with some of the products we use for some of his other medical procedures that require adhesives. We prep with Smith & Nephew Skin Prep for any areas of skin where adhesive is going to touch, then when it comes time to remove, we use Free Derm Adhesive Remover (but that's been hard to get the last few months, so he's also used UniSolve Remover on a q-tip)
First, dont buy any mask from amazon. Most are counterfeit or fake or not up to the appropriate standards.
You want an N95, KN95, KF95 mask. Most important is that it fits and seals well.
My recs are the following:
Moldex 2200 https://www.grainger.com/product/MOLDEX-Disposable-Respirator-1DLL5
Moldex 4800 https://www.grainger.com/product/MOLDEX-Disposable-Respirator-20JJ53
The 4800 is one of the best out there. It seals well and the straps are adjustable. Also breathable. The 2200 is also very strong. Though with the 2200 i would get something that helps the nose area seal because often there are leaks there. Do help with that get this:
Mask tite. This you can buy off amazon. Works really well. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08J2CLYXW
Another option that is more cost conscious is use this: Fix the mask: https://www.fixthemask.com/ It sits on top of a surgical mask(you want level 2 or above ATSM) and ensures no leaks.
Those are my recommendations.
I use these MaskTite things to help the nose bridge seal.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08J2CLYXW/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=A1THZZUXLKI2OP&psc=1
They stay well attached to my Masklab.us KF style masks.
Disclaimer: I don't work in healthcare.
To be honest, I haven't tried to purchase N95s. I will have to look at Aaron's Google Doc to see the best place to get a legit N95s.
Recommend these MaskTite things to your friends. See my other comment above. I love 'em.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08J2CLYXW/ref=ox\_sc\_act\_title\_2?smid=A1THZZUXLKI2OP&psc=1
I think you're right about this! I've been using these things and they help the nose bridge seal very well. They stick to the mask (masklab.us KF series) and not my face so I can re-use. Yet I do occasionally get that "Slight fogging that dissipates between breaths" now.
To be transparent, I'm in an office setting and occasional grocery store. I am not in a healthcare setting.
I have a thick nose, so even a well fitting kf94 mask fogs the glasses. I find a combination of double sided skin tape on the nose bridge https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08J2CLYXW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_85k6FbZWR0YMD and anti fog wipes work well https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082CVL87S/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_L8k6FbXQG9Y23
There's actually a pretty good product that does this a bit more elegantly.
https://www.amazon.com/MaskTite-Medical-Grade-Double-Sided-Securing-Fogging/dp/B08J2CLYXW
Try these instead, you'll be pumped. Masktite are super good and last all day.
Try amazon smile to donate to a charity of your choice automatically at no cost to you!
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These are a million times better than a bandaid.
Upvote so that medical workers see it plz