Face masks. To feel that we have all been through enough....

[NiknicK]

And shouldn’t have to wear face masks if we don’t want to. I know it’s not officially been confirmed yet, but it’s expected to be today, and I don’t get it. If face masks truly help prevent the spreading of the virus, then why on earth wasn’t it made compulsory at the beginning of this pandemic, why now? I know you’ll all likely call me selfish but I can’t do it. I have to wear a mask for ten minutes once or twice month to collect mine and dh’s medication and I find it unbearable even for that small amount of time. They make my face itch and make me want to touch my face more, I can’t breathe properly and get panicky, they slide up as they’re too big for my face and hit my eye lids. My ds is autistic and I suspect I have some traits eg sensory issues, and the thought of having to wear these masks when I find shopping stressful enough as it is, fills me with dread. AIBU?

[lyralalala]

If face masks truly help prevent the spreading of the virus, then why on earth wasn’t it made compulsory at the beginning of this pandemic, why now?

Because the last thing that was needed when District Nurses, Care home staff and other essential workers who had to be out and about were struggling to get masks was panic buying from people who didn't need them.

There was less people out and about. Now there is more people out and about it is needed.

It's not like they've just decided to bring it in for shits and giggles. It's only in busy places where distancing is difficult

[NiknicK]

There might have been less people out and about but people still needed to get food, and apart from those shielding or shopping online, we were all at the supermarket at the peak so this virus and yet these masks weren’t mandatory.

[Frownette]

I thought it was 24 July? Maybe I got that wrong.

[3cats]

I think it’s because new research is being done all the time and they are finding that masks really do help. Can you experiment with different cloth masks and coverings to find one that you can use? It really is psychological, but try to take things more slowly when wearing a mask. Don’t exert yourself. Even just a silk scarf or cotton bandana are acceptable, I think.

[Mascotte]

YANBU

[RozHuntleysStump]

Hindsight is great isn’t it.

[022828MAN]

I agree, I had to wear one for around an hour recently and I thought I was going to faint with air thirst. I really struggled to take deep breaths (psychological, not physical) so don't really know how to overcome it.
I've also had a positive antibody test and although I know it's not 100% guarantee that gives immunity, I do feel like I'm probably safer without one than running the risk of fainting with one - currently pregnant.

[ComeOnGordon]

Other countries have been doing it for months already. Britain is as always in this pandemic just a bit behind the rest. Yes it feels weird at the beginning (I cried when I got back in the car after my first masked trip to the supermarket in APRIL - seemed like a dystopian world) but you just get over yourself and wear one.

If you want the number of cases to fall dramatically and life to get back to normal quicker then just wear a mask. Not that hard

[timeisnotaline]

They weren’t mandatory because: the science wasn’t clear early on, the science was irrelevant when there weren’t enough masks for hospitals and front line workers and a touch of many in govt do not like saying people must do something like that. On the science front we learn new things all the time, so we change what we do. Which is why you just don’t put babies to sleep on their front when all our parents did instead of getting outraged about being told not to.

This is a ridiculous post. If you’ve been through enough you understand it’s needed as an infection management technique. I’d start a new post saying you see why it’s needed but how hard you find it as a sensory thing and you should get much more support. My glasses fog up with a mask, it’s maddening.

[kazzer2867]

*Frownette

I thought it was 24 July? Maybe I got that wrong.

You are correct. It has been said that the government will make the announcement today that face coverings will be compulsory in shops from the 24th July.

[Autumn101]

We’ve just moved back home from a country where mask wearing anywhere outside the house was compulsory for the last few months - honestly you do get used to them after a while! The first weeks were horrid but DC and I flew 7.5 hours wearing them (plus a face shield) and it wasn’t that bad.

One tip I find makes them more comfy is to tie a knot in the elastic on each side to kind of gather the edges - stops them riding up and down so much and also a much better fit for the DC. We have cloth masks too which are much nicer so sometimes wore them underneath the surgical masks

[timeisnotaline]

@022828MAN don’t rely on antibodies. It’s very unclear if they last more than a few weeks. www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/studies-report-rapid-loss-of-covid-19-antibodies-67650

[VashtaNerada]

I wear a mask daily to commute to work (teacher) and I can honestly say it gets easier the more you wear it. I’ll be happy to wear it in shops as well. There are plenty of vulnerable people starting to make their way back into society now and we all have a duty of care to keep them safe.

[NiknicK]

I get what you’re saying but is no one else fed up of constantly being told what to do. I’m someone who has stuck to the rules 100% throughout and I only say that to demonstrate that I’m not simply chucking my toys out of the pram for being told what to do, I genuinely am dreading this. I go to the supermarket at least three times a week, which I know is a lot to some, but there are reasons for this, and i can’t bare the thought of wearing a mask.

[Gingernaut]

I have asthma, sensory issues and ADHD.

I wear a mask in a healthcare setting and in public.

My only issue is the state of my skin.

There are solid quality fabric masks now being made in silk and satin.

Wear something over your face - a scarf, a kerchief or a something like skiers or skaters wear.

www.ivrose.co.uk/product/Colourful-Print-Breathable-Face%C2%A0Bandana-Magic-Scarf-Headwrap-Balaclava/938447a7-5207-4140-9158-8faa642e427c.html?color=style1

[NiknicK]

I think I’ll have to turn to online shopping more, we’ll that’s if I can get a delivery slot, and my dh he’s happy to do more food shopping as masks don’t bother him. I won’t be taking my ds into shops as I’m not willing to stand there and be grilled about why he is not wearing a mask, and having to tell all and sundry that he’s autistic. I’m not ashamed of his autism but my ds is aware and able and doesn’t like me discussing him in front of strangers,

[022828MAN]

[quote timeisnotaline]@022828MAN don’t rely on antibodies. It’s very unclear if they last more than a few weeks. www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/studies-report-rapid-loss-of-covid-19-antibodies-67650[/quote]
Yes, I'm aware there is no guarantee that they will help necessarily. But if I weigh up the risks of contracting covid vs fainting whilst heavily pregnant, I think the risk of fainting outweighs the other.
I know wearing the mask isn't just about me though and it's to protect society as a whole. It's just tricky when they make me feel so lightheaded.

[3cats]

I do understand how you feel and your frustration. I live in a place where we had no new cases in our area for 2 months, but now numbers are creeping back up and we're so sick of it, but you really should wear a mask. Practice does help. Why not try out a few face coverings at home where you are less stressed and see which one feels more comfortable and just practice at home with it. My friend is from the US and she keeps posting viral videos of people having meltdowns in the US about wearing masks. Just try and like I said before, take things a little more slowly than usual when shopping.

[3cats]

Also, just try your son with some masks. My son is also autistic but he has been fine wearing a mask. We have some lightweight cotton ones.

[ExhaustedFlamingo]

You're told what to do by society in every aspect of your life - you're just so used to it, you don't recognise it. Paying taxes = being told what to do. Social etiquette = being told what to do. You're probably told what to do in your job to a greater or lesser extent. The laws of this country tell you what you can and can't do.

I understand it's inconvenient and uncomfortable and irritating. But really, if you're part of this country you're already told what to do in multiple ways every day.

It's your choice though isn't it? You choose whether you want to do what the law says. You choose whether to wear a mask. Yes, there may be consequences if you don't wear one but that's your choice. You won't find yourself pinned down and one forced on you. We always have a choice about what to do in this country, we just have to recognise there are consequences for every decision we make.

As for masks - I choose to wear one. They protect other people. They stop me transmitting the virus. If other people wear one too, they won't transmit the virus either. Gradually we can go back to some sense of normality without putting each other at risk. Why the hell wouldn't you wear one? It's an incredibly selfish person who puts their own inconvenience above the potential survival of another person.

As for discomfort, persist and you should get used to it. I'm deeply deeply claustrophobic to a ridiculous degree and also asthmatic. You can get past the psychological block if you just persist. Practice at home if you need to. Honestly, if you persist it gets much easier.

In certain other countries they always wear a mask to prevent contagion. It's also the law. We're really making ourselves look pretty pathetic with the whining about it.

[NiknicK]

I know we all have a duty of care and that’s why I wouldn’t dream of going out if I had symptoms. Now before anyone informs me that you can be a symptomatic, i feel really poorly when I have a simple cold, so I’m sure if I had coronavirus I’d know about it and I’d stay at home. I haven’t taken my dc anywhere except for walks, we haven’t been in anyone’s home yet even though we are allowed, I haven’t visited grandparents, I’ve had no one in my house including my own parents, even though they’re allowed, my dc haven’t been all to school even though tneu could go back, I don’t plan on eating out just yet, have no desire to go to a pub and I wash my hands regularly. So as far as I’m concerned I have been protecting other people. I just don’t want to wear a mask.

[Madvixen]

If you don't want to wear a mask you don't have to. The consequence will be that you can't go to the shops or access public transport.

[AlternativePerspective]

The reason why people are being told what to do is because of people like you who think they should be able to do what they want, be exempt from this and allowed to go there and so on.

People are very quick to jump to accuse the government when figures rise when in actual fact those same people are flocking to the beaches while still wining that the kids should be off school, having all and sundry round for parties, bbq’s, to stay at their houses, refusing to wear masks and wining like spoilt brats when they’re told they need to.

In the beginning of this I said that if people just had more common sense and did as advised, then it would be longer before more draconian measures had to be introduced. But no, people have no common sense and don’t give two shits about anyone and still feel the NHS should help them if they become infected through their own stupidity and selfish attitudes.

The reason why the UK have one of the highest figures in Europe is because of the selfishness of its citizens.

Anyone who feels they shouldn’t have to wear a mask should spend a day wearing an actual oxygen mask and see how you feel about that. Oh, and you will be conscious for the duration unlike a ventilator. The mask will be hot, will steam up, and you won’t be able to take it off because you’ll be reliant on it to breathe.

Stop being so fucking selfish and get over yourself. .

[Limpshade]

Masks have been compulsory where I live from March and while I doubt there is a single person who enjoys wearing one, they are now a fact of life. And one you do get used to very quickly.

If you don't like it, don't go out - that's basically the choice you have from now on.

[NiknicK]

People like me? Omg I’ve stuck to the “rules” 100% throughout all of this and even though now I’m allowed to do certain things eg go to the pub, have people in my home, have my hair cut, go on holiday or for days out, I haven’t!