Hi AskDr, how can we prevent the wuhan virus? Is there a difference using surgical masks vs N95 masks?

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@miss_understood You can prevent contracting the wuhan coronavirus by practising safe personal hygiene. You should wash your hands with soap after coming into contact with common objects, before eating and before touching your face. You should avoid going to crowded areas and consider wearing surgical face mask when in crowded areas or when you are not feeling well. N95 mask will definitely be more protective against the wuhan coronavirus as compared to surgical mask, similar to the protection adopted against the SARS coronavirus (Same family of virus as the wuhan coronarvirus). You might like to refer to this article published by channelnewsasia for more health tips: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/wuhan-virus-singapore-what-can-you-do-health-advisory-12324632 Hope this helps! Cheers and happy chinese new year.

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Hi @miss_understood absolutely agree with @DR_TAN_YAN_YUAN ! Taking Vitamin C pills and other general measures to boost immunity like plenty of sleep and staying hydrated will also help protect you against the infection. The trouble with the n95 mask is also that it can be uncomfortable and difficult to manage properly, in which case surgical mask matched with avoiding crowded areas as suggested by Dr Tan would be instrumental. Take care, and happy lunar new year!

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@Mark

Has Vitamin C pills been shown to help immunity? I thought it was inconclusive.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3783921/

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Hi @Mark thank you for the question! The best measures are good hand hygiene and staying hydrated/well-rested. That being said, while the mechanisms aren't clear, studies have also reported some benefits with vitamin C and it is therefore recommended by expert bodies of GPs such as the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFPs) to hasten recovery if one catches the flu illness.

There are various levels of evidence that drive clinical practice, that article you shared being a type of summary research called a narrative review. Systematic reviews are superior in terms of objectivity, with cochrane reviews being highly regarded among them. Here is a cochrane review that discusses this topic if you may be interested to find out more: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15495002 Hope this helps!