Before covid, I would be sick with a cold or flu for a total of about two weeks every year. That means I spent 4% of my time sick; one out of every 25 days. Since covid appeared, I’ve been wearing an N95 in crowded indoor areas whenever I reasonably can. (Obviously I can’t if I’m eating something.) My main goal initially was to protect my elderly relatives, but during the last four years I have not gotten sick even once, except from my elderly relatives who didn’t wear masks, got sick, and then infected me when I was caring for them.
Why isn’t everyone wearing N95s? Sure, it’s uncomfortable, but being sick is much more uncomfortable. And then there’s the fact that wearing an N95 protects other people and not just the wearer…
fyi: a mask is not a respirator.
And some masks are.
I rather like what the Japanese do, which is to mask up if you are sick, thereby preventing the spread to others. I would like to see statistics to know if it is effective. This could have the same net effect, but impact a smaller population.
Slightly tsngental, as a severe allergy sufferer, I appreciate how the pandemic somewhat normalized masking in public so I can just wear one without people asking me prying questions, assuming I’m a freak (I am, but don’t assume it until you get to know me), or moving to a different seat on the bus when I sit down.
N95 is not a respirator,
Was expecting a post about how people should be wearing sith masks everywhere and I am now sorely disappointed.
Yes they are. They are called N95 respirators https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/publicppe/use.html
Masks help with covid but respirators help more. https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/publicppe/community-ppe.html#:~:text=Respirators are more protective than,least effective at reducing exposures.
They’re frequently called “disposable respirators”. I do also own the non-disposable sort with rubber seals and screw-in filters, which is what I would wear if I worked in a hospital covid ward, but for everyday wear the disposable ones seem like a better compromise between efficacy and comfort.
I worked for a company that sold them and I’ve literally never heard them called that. That must be a regional thing.
“Disposable respirator” sounds like it was named by the same person who came up with “flushable wipes.”
If you’re keeping well thanks to a mask, you should keep wearing them. People getting used to the idea of wearing n95 masks is probably one of the few benefits of COVID.
I haven’t had that experience. I usually get sick once every few years. Elderly friends and relatives are similar. I haven’t found there to be many benefits to wearing a mask. I’d be fine with masking up the next time there are mask mandates.
Even if I would get sick for 2 weeks every year, that would be preferable to wearing a mask all the time.
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I’ve gotten sick less often since masks & WFH, but when I do get sick now, it feels much, much worse. These days, if I think I might be sick, I stay home as much as possible, and wear a good mask when I do have to be near other people, but if I’m feeling well, haven’t knowingly been around anyone sick, and am going somewhere that masks aren’t expected, I just don’t want to wear a steam room on my face.
Also, I live in an area where masking is still very acceptable. I know there’s many other areas where masking is either illegal or just very frowned upon, so I’d probably be pretty hesitant to mask up there, even if I was sick.
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I work in disability support. I leave the house, drive to my client, then don my mask and wear it until I leave the client and get back into my car. If I have a client all day I can just wear the mask all day, eating before and after my shift. I have not gotten a cold, flu, or other disease for the last 4 years and I have worked with people who actively have covid, influenza, RSV, and other illnesses.
My mask is a pm 1.0, so a little better than pm 2.5 which is what n95 is, and it works very well. Honestly I can’t see me changing my behaviour around masking ever. I don’t get sick, I don’t carry illness to vulnerable clients, and I don’t have to change my behaviour day to day so habit is solid and easy to maintain.
While it didn’t help my endocarditis last year it has definitely protected against covid and even now I have not gotten it once. I think it is a good deal overall.
If youre looking for a good looking, protrctive, and comfortable mask/respirator my daily use is the black kn100. It has nose foam, threaded headstrap, and it comes in multiple sizes https://ppeo.com/goods/black-kn100-mask/
I used to wear KN95s every day as a cashier during the height of the pandemic. It was noticeably more difficult to breathe through them, especially when I was working carts duty in the dead of winter. It also doesn’t help that masks like this would need to be replaced pretty frequently for maximum effect because the moisture of my breaths will make them wet after a period of time. I could feel the condensation building in my mask throughout my 4-6 hour shifts.
Oh yeah, and if you want your mask to work properly, don’t have a beard. Those will impair the filtration because air will get through your beard instead of your mask.
Im often the only person I see still masked in the supermarket or even doctors office. It’s so fucking dumb, you’re in there for like 20 minutes just be considerate of others. The hilarious part is its mostly dinosaurs coughing unmasked 😂. Like imma be fine but y’all need all the help you can get and you can’t even wear a mask in high risk places, suit yourself 🤷♂️
Well, even before the 'vid I got sick enough to miss work maybe once every few years. The past couple years I have been going to clubs and music festivals again and have not gotten sick. Despite not wearing a mask. For the record, I am up to date on flu and covid vaccines. I do think people should mask up if they’re feeling under the weather.
I still see a few people wearing masks in public. I know some local / state laws can be problematic. If you want to wear one, more power to you!
Get vaccinated and boosted.
I’ll rather deal with fever once a year than with a mask every day
Why is that, tho? Genuinely just curious, not hostile
Once a year is about how often I get sick. Even if wearing a face mask would bring that to zero it still wouldn’t be worth it because dealing with the mask every day is a bigger inconvenience that being sick for a few days a year.
I feel the same way. The cost of getting sick for a week (however one measures that) is considerably less than that of getting a new batch of N95s or even just surgical masks every so often and wearing a new one every day.
