To not understand why people have a problem with wearing a mask?

[Changednamesorry]

Where I live masks are mandatory for everyone over the age of 6 in any public indoor space (shop, train station, doctor's surgery etc) and where it is not possible to guarantee the 2m distance. 100 euro fine for non compliance.

Of course some people break this rule but the vast majority wear masks including a lot of kids younger than 6. My mum and dad in the UK also wear masks when out atm.... But they also said its ay best a 40% uptake and that in the supermarket the staff don't wear them!!!

Here on MumsNet i see lots of people saying that they "won't wear a mask".... Why? It's to protect others so surely its a good thing to do even if they are a bit uncomfortable?
In Asian countries (China, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea) mask wearing is and always has been done to protect others.

Why?

It's not compulsory in the UK to wear a mask in the supermarket - only on public transport. I took the train and the Tube today, everyone I saw was wearing a mask.

Because wearing a mask removes the ability for someone to fully see your pissed off expression as you jump into a hedge to avoid them?

I find them incredibly claustrophobic and panic when I’m wearing one , I feel like I can’t breath. That said I’m just avoiding all places where it’s better to wear one so as not to put myself or others at risk.

I guess those with sensory issues may not wear them? So some with ASD? Also masks make life incredibly difficult for people who are deaf.

I haven't worn a mask yet, I tried one on and it was so hot and claustrophobic I can see why some can't wear them.

I can wear a mask but if if anyone else does I can no longer communicate with them as I lip read.

I work in a hospital where they are now mandatory at all times, an asthmatic colleague has just been signed off sick as she can’t cope and can’t breathe.

Because everyone has a me me me complex. Thinks are are too special. And loves corona so much they don’t want to stop it spreading. Loads of people I know have developed ‘severe asthma’ so they don’t have to 🤷🏼‍♀️

I went to the supermarket yesterday and didn't see another person in a mask other than the person welcoming people at the door. It was depressing.

It's not that I refuse to wear a mask, it's just not really on my radar. If it was mandatory I wouldn't even question it. But it's not and I don't see anyone else wearing them so i don't wear one either. There are vanishingly few cases where I am anyway, I'm sure it would be different if I was in a densely populated area.

I dont have a problem with it myself but I hate wearing a scarf or tie because it makes me feel like I'm being strangled so I can sympathise with those who have sensory issues with wearing a mask.

I dont like anything over my nose and mouth as it reminds me of when my exh used to do that to me till I was almost unconscious

This will turn into a silly bunfight.

No reason I say will be accepted by OP.
You may as well reach the point of calling non-wearers selfish irresponsible cows now. Save us time & effort.

I wear them for work and also out to the supermarket. Yes they are not easy to breathe through but it helps to protects others so will continue to do so.

I wear one in the shops and will carry on until I decide not to.

The main reasons are:

• disability or illness that means they cannot wear one, would find it distressing to wear one, or cannot manage putting it/off

• they don't see a need as they don't come into close contact with other people outside of their household or bubble

• they don't see a need as they don't live in a densely populated area so it's easy to stay 2m away from others

• they don't want to, like it or not they aren't compulsory except on public transport and in hospitals

• cost, they're not free and see previous point about them not being compulsory

I don't wear one as im claustrophobic and cant breathe with one on I just avoid going on public transport, stay well away from people in the supermarket, work in an office on my own at work and take sandwiches and a flask of tea with me so I don't have to go in the very small staff room

claustrophobia, deafness/lip reading, anxiety, facial expression, respiratory conditions,

AND

They make very little difference anyway when the number of infected people out and about in the community is so low.

I don't like them because I find them claustrophobic and I find it harder to communicate with others (compounds the issue of me having a foreign accent to start with). Right now I am also heavily pregnant and therefore struggling to breath at the best of time, I just can't add that to the equation.
It's also extremely isolating for people who may be deaf or hard of hearing (and indeed some immigrants ie language barrier). It also and naturally clearly impedes normal social interaction.

All in all face masks are not great.
However I can understand why they are recommended in certain settings. Currently I am simply avoiding such settings for my own good so I don't have to worry about face masks.

Why is it hard to understand? They feel horrible. It affects your depth perception, everything. They make my glasses fog up which means I can choose between shoving my glasses down my nose (makes me feel a bit sick because the distance isn't right) or fuzzy vision if I take them off.

I'm getting horrible spots from trapping nasty warm air from my breath around my mouth all the time :/

I live in the same country as you and of course I wear one, but if it wasn't mandatory, I wouldn't. And I didn't until it was.

@flack seems a bit of an overreaction.... I know some can't for medical reasons (my friend is asthmatic and doesn't wear one) but surely this is a tiny minority? And much like vaccination..... If those who can, do.... In the long term its better for everyone? Medical conditions excepted.... They really aren't that uncomfortable IMO and there's not much resistance here and there was a lot of uptake before it was mandatory.

I have perennial rhinitis and a deviated septum, so breathe through my mouth a lot, as I have a constantly blocked nose.

I can wear one for bus journeys, but I haven't managed past 20 minutes yet.

There are always various things come up on these threads about not being able to wear masks due to health conditions or anxiety.

However, where I live 99.5% of people have not been wearing masks on the occasions I’ve been in public, even on places where it says on the door “please wear a mask” and I don’t think it’s anything to do with health or anxiety that they are not wearing masks with the vast vast majority of them. I think they are bloody selfish. They don’t care about passing on Covid. They assume everyone will get over it.

They can’t even social distance and look at you like you are mad when you move away from them. In the supermarket people have pushed me out of the way. Blocked me in to have a conversation with another person.

There are a lot of people who just totally lack any care for those at risk. This Covid19 situation has really made me loose faith in the British Public. Every time I’ve been out in public recently, I’ve worn a mask and every time I’ve been at the very least laughed at, at the worst spat on and had people, including a mother encourage her small child to join in, shout abuse at me. All for wearing a cloth mask.

I’m sick of the excuses. If you have a genuine health problem fine. But if you “just don’t like it” then try getting over it and actually doing something to stop spreading this virus which has already killed over 40000 people and counting.

I hate the feeling of them. Not sure if it's my asthma or something else but I feel like I'm struggling to breathe when I try wearing one. My 6 year old has a hospital appointment tomorrow so I will suck it up and wear one then. Thankfully I don't need to go anywhere else for the foreseeable future so tomorrow should hopefully be a one off.

I dislike them as I am hard of hearing and while I use an hearing aid, I also lipread to help me understand other people.

But rules are rules, so I bought some for my next hospital appointment.

inews.co.uk/news/uk/face-mask-exemptions-people-public-transport-rules-coverings-government-450550

welfareweekly.com/coronavirus-disabled-people-fear-becoming-victims-of-hate-crime-as-40-say-they-cannot-wear-face-masks/?fbclid=IwAR3yGqGvi_-GsDwOwf3eaSB85x9NY4X0A6bOEJAbwu7BkFBZx2pEJnxBd9c

Feeling too hot?

Well the Japanese take the threat of heat stroke seriously unlike the dystopian shithole that is the UK

english.kyodonews.net/news/2020/06/9126f89133e2-focus-japan-companies-developing-cool-face-masks-as-summer-approaches.html

I'm really physically fit but I have VERY bad hay fever which makes me breathless and struggle to breathe.I literally cannot breathe when wearing a mask on top of already being super out of breathe. I don't wear one and I won't wear one at the moment. Once I can breathe normally, I will wear one, but until then, I won't be.