Hot Take Do masks prevent sickness? A coronavirus guide on what to do (and not do) to stay healthy Bottom line: Wash your hands. Stop touching your face. Avoid large crowds if you are high risk. And leave the masks to the health care workers. Image: Medical Masks People wear medical masks on the AirTrain en route to John F. Kennedy Airport on Saturday, March 7, 2020, as concern over the new coronavirus grows in New York City.Spencer Platt / Getty Images -- My parents are confused and worried, and I can't blame them. Every article they read and every TV segment they watch about the novel coronavirus outbreak is dominated by pictures of people in masks. Hundreds of people at a time, all in masks. But then the surgeon general says to stop buying masks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says healthy people shouldn't wear masks, and even former President Barack Obama says to leave the masks to the health care professionals. What gives? Seriously people- STOP BUYING MASKS! They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus, but if healthcare providers can’t get them to care for -- These droplets contain virus particles, which then spread through the environment. You get it when it gets into your eyes, your nose or your mouth. So it seems pretty obvious that a mask should stop those saliva droplets from getting into your face, right? Well, not so fast. -- you're a health care worker taking care of someone who has been diagnosed, that's also a real risk. In those cases, wearing a surgical mask for prevention is a good idea (along with eye protection for health care workers). [tdy_health_8a_azar_200310_1920x1080.focal-760x428.jpg] -- that would still mean fewer than 1 in 1,000 people have active disease. That's why every public health official and organization has been saying there is no need to wear a mask if you're a healthy, uninfected person. -- person has contaminated with the virus, then you touch your eyes, mouth or nose, and voilà, you can become infected. That explains why, along with telling you not to bother with the masks, the same public health officials and agencies are shouting at you to wash your hands and stop touching your face. What are masks good for, then? First, they are crucial for people who have the disease. Remember those drops of saliva? Wearing a mask if you're sick can help catch a large number of them, greatly reducing the amount of virus that gets into the environment or onto other people. -- not to touch your face more because of it. But there's a catch. There are actually two main types of masks: surgical masks and N95 respirators. Surgical masks are what you see in all the pictures. They are what are useful to prevent infection if you are sick. Should you have some regular surgical masks in the house? Maybe a handful, to wear if you get sick. You don't need a hoard of them. -- drops of saliva but on tiny particles in the air. There aren't many of those. Tuberculosis. Measles. Chickenpox. Not the coronavirus disease. A regular surgical mask keeps out droplets just fine. Second, they are no better than a regular, cheaper surgical mask if not fitted correctly. N95 respirators are designed to form an airtight seal around the face to prevent even a tiny bit of air from coming in -- sprayed at your face over and over while you move your head up, down and around, bend and straighten and read a paragraph out loud. If you taste the aspartame, you know the mask doesn't fit correctly. Non medical friends, let’s have a chat about masks. So, you’ve bought yourself a box of N95 masks and you think you’re good for #COVID19. Let me tell you what my hospital makes me do EVERY YEAR to make sure my N95 mask fits (yes, they come in sizes). Watch out: long thread ahead! — Leora Horwitz (@leorahorwitzmd) March 4, 2020 -- supply and massively surging demand, we now have a global shortage of N95 respirators. Global production has been greatly reduced because China is a major mask manufacturer. As of mid-February, China was able to make 15 million surgical masks per day but only 200,000 N95s per day. The U.S. government estimates that we may need up to 300 million N95s in case of a major outbreak. -- Bottom line: Wash your hands. Stop touching your face. Avoid large crowds if you are high risk. And leave the masks to the health care workers.