First, Wear a Face Mask: A Doctor's Guide to Reducing Risk of Infection During the Pandemic and Beyond

by Philip M. Tierno

Stay safe and stay calm. A New York University microbiologist gives you the knowledge you need to protect yourself from COVID-19 and other common infectious diseases.With the spread of COVID-19, the world has never felt less safe. And with so much advice out there, it's hard to know whether you're taking the right precautions to stay safe. Don't there are simple steps you can take to best protect yourself from infection.Professor of microbiology and pathology at NYU School of Medicine Dr. Philip M. Tierno Jr. cuts through the noise with to-the-point explanations, checklists, and best practices in this brief yet authoritative guide to protecting yourself from infectious diseases. First walking you through what germs are and how every infection happens, First, Wear a Face Mask offers calming, straightforward advice to address the ongoing spread of COVID-19 as well as the germs that imperil us every year. This practical approach will give you peace of mind as it helps you learn how to protect yourself in a variety of scenarios, from cooking at home to eating out, from your everyday commute to air travel. With tips and tidbits of history, he guides you through taking care of your home, kids, and pets. Dr. Tierno has more than 40 years of experience in the clinical and medical microbiology fields and recently appeared as an expert during the pandemic on CNN in conversation with Chris Cuomo and on Doctor Radio. And in this book, he distills his wide-ranging knowledge into actionable, digestible steps.Although there is no impenetrable shield to infection, there's a lot you can do to increase your odds of staying safe. Arm yourself with knowledge, keep calm and carry hand sanitizer.

Genres: Nonfiction, Medicine, Audiobook

134 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2020

Reviews

[Lara Maynard · Rating 3 out of 5]

First, Wear a Mask is a short book by American microbiologist Dr. Philip M. Tierno, Jr. in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Much of the information contained within this book you will have already learned elsewhere by watching news coverage, reading articles or listening to alerts from public health agencies and officials. However, it might be handy to have it gathered in a small volume like this, with some other information for context and guidance.

Tierno explains what a coronavirus is and includes an interesting section on the history of germs where the reader learns that the earliest sign of life on Planet Earth was the germ a.k.a. microbe. These germs are necessary and amazing, and human beings, like other organisms, are covered in them. In fact, we are especially good hosts for germs because of our long life spans.

This reader also learned that there is a mathematical equation relating to “super-spreaders” called Ro, where Ro = number of contacts x shedding potential. If I were to write up a quiz about this book, that equation would be included - even though no member of the public outside of the health or statistics fields will likely ever need to use it.

There is a short section on how disease microbes spread in the chain of infection. And, as one would expect, strategies for avoiding infection, like handwashing and keeping things you touch throughout the day such as iPads, water bottles, glasses, doorknobs, phones and table tops clean and disinfected. There’s a helpful section on the use of disinfectants. And a section listing symptoms that mean it’s time for you to see a doctor.

Given the title, the book of course includes a short section about wearing masks called “Cover Your Face.” It has no advice about putting a mask on and off, handling, transporting or storing them, or how they should fit, or when to wear them. This is a shortcoming. But it does include brief advice for decontaminating them.

Some of the sections towards the back of the book, apparently included under the broader goal of “staying safe” sort of feel like filler for a short book. These include sections on tampon use and toxemia, avoiding food poisoning, doing laundry, caring for pets and potty training.

While First, Wear a Face Mask has some interesting and good information, it feels hastily compiled - which, no doubt it, was.

I read an advance, uncorrected proof of this book via the publisher and NetGalley. My review is unpaid and voluntary.

This review was drafted on July 21, 2020 and posted on January 3, 2023.

[Penny Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short book at just 125 pages. It literally covers everything – how to clean every surface and item you can imagine, the best homemade cleaning supplies, how to travel safely, how to sanitize your mail, how to keep germs to a minimum in your home – again, just about everything. The information contained within First, Wear a Mask left me feeling confident in my ability to protect myself and my family.

I appreciated all of the information, but there were a few times where it may have gotten a little too over the top. For example, his suggestion that you take your own cleaning supplies to hotels to clean the room before staying there. If you want to do that, great – do it. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with making sure you’re in a clean environment. Personally, however, I’m choosing not to go to those lengths. (As an aside, I worked in hotels for most of my twenties. One of them was a very upscale resort hotel and the other a pretty cheap beach hotel. Most of my friends also work in hospitality, some of them specifically in housekeeping. In all cases, I never came across situations where the rooms weren’t being properly cleaned. I’m sure it happens, but in my experience, it isn’t common.)

I’d really recommend this short, informative book to everyone. From people just getting out on their own to older people who have been cleaning up after themselves for decades, there is bound to be some bit of information within these pages that will teach you something new.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

good review of how sicknesses are passed. not really any new information here.

[Becki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a quick read by a reputable microbiologist. I have followed the Covid news closely and was interested to see what new info I would get from this book. Well....

This book touches on Covid, but it is primarily about germs (how they work, why we need them, how they cause sickness) and ways that we can stay safe (wear flip-flops in hotels, change tampons frequently, wear long pants on public seating, etc). Throughout the book Dr Tierno stresses the importance of washing your hands and yes, wearing a mask.

If you are looking for a book on Covid (as I was), keep looking- for Covid info I'd give this book 3 stars. As a general book about germs and healthy behaviors, though, I give the book 4 stars, This isn't a bad book at all, it just wasn't the book I was hoping it would be.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion, which I've provided here. My thanks to #NetGalley, the author and publisher for this opportunity.

[Katy C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overall information and helpful preventative measures for illness but a little outdated as it was published in 2020 while Covid was still somewhat new. In particular the part where it mentioned that only healthcare providers should wear N95S masks (pg 50). Two things: 1) healthcare providers didn't seem to heed this and still only wear surgical masks to this day if any mask at all, and 2) newer scientific evidence shows that N95s offer way better preventive protection against airborne viruses than surgicals and is beneficial for both doctor and patient. However, I will give this excerpt the benefit of the doubt that there may have been more shortages of N95s at the time the book was published and the author may have been trying to urge readers to save the N95s for the providers.

Other than this, I found all the tips and protocols for various settings to be very helpful and I will indeed be looking back on this if I'm ever unsure what to do to prevent getting sick.

[Shhhhh Ahhhhh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not a bad for a mini book. A decent primer on what to do and how to do with regards to keeping yourself safe from the microbiome not only everywhere outside of your body but also inside and all over the surface of your body. The idea that mattresses gain weight from debris over time is positively horrifying and makes me happy for my use of a hammock. The idea that you can contaminate your hands by touching laundry out of the wash before it goes into the dryer was fascinating. The whole kit for airports (what to bring, how to have it, how to minimize contact probability, etc) was gold. I also appreciated the fact that the author exploited the desire-paths idea in recommending that people throw paper towel on the floor outside of the bathroom door if there isn't a trash can there because eventually there will be if they do it often enough.

[April Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okay look at germs and germ protection. It mentioned COVID-19 in the description, but this book isn’t really about that. In fact, the 1-2 hour read only refers to COVID for maybe 15-20 minutes, if that. It’s also odd how we’re going through all the information about germs to suddenly spending a chapter on TSS. Don’t get me wrong, this was useful info to have. But that chapter felt out of place in this book.

Overall, this book is going to leave you afraid to go anywhere and to touch anything. But it’s not going to give you much more than that. There are far better books to read, but they’ll also take far longer.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

[Cari]

This slim volume has a lot of important information about staying safe from germs - not just COVID-19, but all germs. This information is important, and it's also written in plain language - my guess is to reach as many readers as possible. While it's practical and helpful, I'm not sure how it will affect library patrons - some will probably get a lot out of it, while others will lament that it doesn't have enough current information on COVID-19. Hard to do that when everything is changing so fast, and I think the author is focusing on the "and beyond" part a lot. After the pandemic (I hope there is an "after the pandemic!") it may not last on the shelves, but I do think the information is valuable.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thorough, commonsense advice on staying healthy at home and at work, on planes, and in hotels. It gives the reader more possibilities to worry about, but more actions to take, so I think in the end it's empowering. It shouldn't be a political statement to say: The author is "a microbiologist with more than 40 years of experience in the field of Clinical and Medical Microbiology...published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases...author of several books aside from this one, including Protect Yourself Against Bioterrorism..." so if he says wear a mask and wash your hands frequently, and bring hand sanitizer and wipes with you everywhere, I think we should believe him.

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

A concise and easy to understand explanation about infectious diseases like COVID-19. The last chapter is kind of a "how to be an OCD germaphobe", but it points out all the situations that we come across in daily life and how they can be potential vectors of disease. But the emphasis is on the big three: masks, distance and hygiene.

[trijnewijn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gek hoe snel sommige informatie gedateerd kan raken. Zelfs eind juni '21, niet lang na de UK versie Ierland maandenlang lam legde, leken sommige voorzorgsmaatregelen te groots. Maar nu weet ik wel hoe ik een badkamer in een hotel zo goed als vrij kan maken van bacteriën (en zit gewoon genieten van een bad ergens anders dan thuis er niet meer in).

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half is somewhat technical, describing different viruses, when and how they spread and the impact they had on world population. The second half is easily and quickly read with lots of good basic information that everyone should already know, but for those who don't is a good primer.

[Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whilst there's no new information here, Tierno has combined all the important do's and don'ts around reducing the risk of infections.

Its brief but coherently explains the science all whilst serving as a good present you could give to a relative or friend that has gone down a Q hole.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

seems like it was rushed to be put out

[Kim Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would recommend it to anyone who wants to know more about how to keep safe or works with the general public.