Stiftung Warentest judges FFP2 children’s masks: “None is wearable”

Corona pandemic
Stiftung Warentest judges FFP2 children’s masks: “None is wearable”

Stiftung Warentest took a closer look at more than a dozen FFP2 children’s masks

© romrodinka / Getty Images

Stiftung Warentest has tested 15 FFP2 masks for children. The result? Sobering. The so-called breathing resistance causes problems.

FFP2 masks for adults have proven their worth in the pandemic. A study recently confirmed the high protective effect. There are also specially tailored masks for children that look similar to the FFP2 masks for adults, but are smaller. How recommendable are you? Stiftung Warentest took a closer look at 15 models.

The assessment of the testers is clear: According to Stiftung Warentest, all tested models are “not very suitable for children”. The breathing resistance is “high”, the breathing comfort is “low”. Because the masks were already weak on this point, further test criteria, including the filter performance, were not even examined.

In the current test, the examiners wanted to know how great the breathing resistance of the FFP2 children’s masks is – i.e. how much force has to be used to suck in air through the mask and push it out again. There was already the first hurdle here, because the applicable standard, which defines the maximum permissible breathing resistance, does not even allow children to be users. “FFP2 children’s masks should therefore not exist, bear no CE mark and not be sold,” writes Warentest. Nevertheless, they are to be had in online shops, partly also in pharmacies.

Stiftung Warentest advises surgical masks in schools

Children between the ages of six and twelve have about half the lung volume of adults and usually less forceful breathing. In order to be able to assess the breathing resistance, the testers applied half of the norm allowed for adult masks. But none of the mini masks tested came close to the low values. According to the testers, many did not even comply with the limit values ​​for adult masks, according to the applicable standard, they would not even have been acceptable for adults.

Stiftung Warentest therefore recommends surgical masks for children, especially for use in schools: “They allow children to breathe well and protect each other.” The testers have additional advice for situations in which there is a high risk of infection – for example, at full length – in the current test they once again assessed an adult mask that was already convincing in a previous test – the 3M Aura 9320+. It was the only mask in the current test that came into the children’s area defined by Warentest.

The examiners write that children could wear this adult mask “briefly” if there was a high risk of infection. “Your breathing comfort is okay for children, and so is your filter effect. It also fits small heads.”

You can read the full test report here.

ikr

source site