To say if they mandate mask wearing they need to ensure some way for the exempt from masks to prove it?

[BuffaloCauliflower]

I am not anti-masks at all, I can see they are often very useful tools in infection control when used correctly (though it doesn’t seem they are by many people) but as someone ‘officially exempt’ from wearing them - in my case due to asthma - I’m increasingly panicked at the thought they’ll be made mandatory in shops and other places.

I have been able to avoid public transport thankfully due to furlough/wfh but I’ve wanted to shop, help the economy etc. and I fear I’ll have to stay away completely if masks are mandatory because I don’t think my exemption would be believed, or that I wouldn’t have people having a go at me for being out without a mask. I’ve tried many times to wear them and they make my symptoms (already far worse than usual due to pregnancy) ramp up even more. It’s very distressing, especially as it causes coughing, and I’m then removing the mask (touching the mask and my face, definitely not mask best practice) repeatedly to try and regulate my breathing. I’m following all other guidance sensibly, lots of hand washing, keeping my distance from others when out, but all things considered I think I’m more risk to others in a mask than without one should I be carrying CV.

I am very worried that despite being exempt I have no way to prove it to shops or other businesses. I carry my inhalers but that relies on others understanding, the government have previously said there won’t be anything official to prove exemption, though public transport companies have come up with different options (I’ve printed the TfL card just in case, but technically anyone could do this as it’s not verified) I’ve already been told once that someone ‘didn’t agree’ with exemptions to mask wearing and I should basically suck it up. People who want to be mean won’t check for exemption before having a go I’m sure of it.

But at the very least shouldn’t they ensure there’s some official way I could prove my exemption, a letter or card I could apply for from my doctor perhaps, that’s recognisable to others so I’m not at risk of not being believed or being yelled at? There are many people who will be in the some position.

Face coverings, not masks FGS! - big difference

some way of enforcing the requirement would be a better start! the proportion of people wearing face coverings since it became 'mandatory' on transport for London seems to have fallen since the requirement was introduced.
If there's no enforcement in place, no one bothers asking, so who needs any kind of exemption certificate?

@CaffiSaliMali thanks for the link.

So they already have a printable or something you can download onto your phone to exempt you from wearing one.

@BuffaloCauliflower there is your something to prove your Asthma prevents you from wearing a mask. A fee to all downloadable sign.

@tigger001

My physical experience of not being able to breathe properly causing severe coughing and shortness of breath is the evidence.

So that's not necessarily an "asthmatic" problem, it's just a reaction you have when wearing a mask.

It quite specifically ramps up my asthma symptoms which are much worse at the present time. The Asthma Society quote above says the rest. Asthmatics aren’t all affected the same way, there are certainly some who I’m sure could wear them. I am not.

This is why the government have an exemption list, whilst I generally have little faith in our government if they’re happy to make an exemption list I think that should be enough for everyone else.

No there isn’t - but still my point stands that as long as there isn’t anything official and people can just download things, they won’t be taken seriously

@diddl the surgical type hospitals give out and a cotton home made one. I don’t think it’s anything in masks, it’s having my nose and mouth covered at all. I’m sure there’s an anxiety element to it too, and then it becomes a vicious circle. It sucks that this asthma is so bad at the moment, this time last year when not pregnant I probably would have been fine wearing one.

[quote tigger001]@CaffiSaliMali thanks for the link.

So they already have a printable or something you can download onto your phone to exempt you from wearing one.

@BuffaloCauliflower there is your something to prove your Asthma prevents you from wearing a mask. A fee to all downloadable sign.[/quote]
Literally the entire point of the thread is that there’s nothing official that anyone exempt from a mask can carry to prove it

tigger001 with attitudes like yours around no wonder people with very real issues are anxious.
I'm not, it doesn't bother me to wear one if necessary, but I'm not ignorant so I realise that other people do have actual problems.

@countrygirl99 if you read my post you will clearly see in my post I have stated all should wear masks unless medically prevented from doing so. I am far from ignorant. Which part of my attitude did you find particularly offensive?

I then asked for someone to provide me with the link so I could read it, as I hadn't previously and someone very kindly did.

@ SockYarn

Noted as relatively easy to understand so let’s keep this polite as no offence intended.

What about a scenario where there a a number of people unmasked who all have medical exemptions for some of the healthy looking invisible diseases but are actually unknown to them one of them is asymptomatic and therefore transmit to the others who are in close proximity briefly but close enough to catch a few contaminated droplets?

The government have already said people are exempt if they have certain conditions - including asthma, COPD, autism, anxiety and PTSD, amongst others.

I can see that being misinterpreted as meaning that all people with any of those conditions should not wear a mask. I'd guess that some people with anxiety or autism (and perhaps PTSD if it was brought on by the experience of watching people die from breathing related illness or injury) would be much happier wearing one, so I hope this rule doesn't cause them any confusion or further anxiety.

Is it no longer that case that the rules refer to "face coverings" rather than specifically masks? I haven't travelled by bus since before lockdown, but would they let you on with something like a Buff over your face?

@BuffaloCauliflower yes on the link that was provided there is a printable sign or you can download it onto your phone to show you are exempt or are you looking for the government to send you something out?

and perhaps PTSD if it was brought on by the experience of watching people die from breathing related illness or injury

Or from being suffocated by an abuser, or being raped, or gagged, or being stuck in a confined space with little air... PTSD isn’t just caused by watching someone die.

You refuse to be a prisoner in your own home? You should wear a mask then. I’m also pregnant and have asthma and I as an adult can weigh up if it’s worth it to me to still go into shops. I can also breathe through a mask. Yes it’s harder, but I’d rather be safe. You can’t attend hospital appts without them so clearly you have been managing for those. Posters have given you ways around going into shops and you’ve made it clear you will carry on doing what you want regardless. Just be aware that people will of course be wondering why you should be allowed to carry on doing as you please whilst the rest of us wear a mask to protect you. Especially as if you get ill you will be bringing it on to an antenatal ward.

Sunflower lanyards are not ASD specific, they're for hidden disabilities. I understand your concern though, I know somebody who went and bought one and has been using it on the busses when he doesn't need it. I feel they should be asking for proof of disability before dishing them out. I'd prefer to have to initially send medical evidence to redeem a card than to have to justify myself to a member of the public because they're accessible to everybody.

[quote tigger001]@BuffaloCauliflower yes on the link that was provided there is a printable sign or you can download it onto your phone to show you are exempt or are you looking for the government to send you something out?[/quote]
As stated in my original post I think there needs to be something official and recognisable. Something anyone can just print online won’t be taken seriously.

@Pregnantandstressed24

You refuse to be a prisoner in your own home? You should wear a mask then. I’m also pregnant and have asthma and I as an adult can weigh up if it’s worth it to me to still go into shops. I can also breathe through a mask. Yes it’s harder, but I’d rather be safe. You can’t attend hospital appts without them so clearly you have been managing for those. Posters have given you ways around going into shops and you’ve made it clear you will carry on doing what you want regardless. Just be aware that people will of course be wondering why you should be allowed to carry on doing as you please whilst the rest of us wear a mask to protect you. Especially as if you get ill you will be bringing it on to an antenatal ward.

And here lies the issue. This is why I won’t be going into shops/public places until masks are no longer required. Because people like this will expect me to explain myself to them.

Agree with PP that it's not difficult to imagine that someone who has a condition which affects their breathing might find it harder to breathe with a covering over their mouth and nose.

Every asthmatic person will have different triggers. Cigarette smoke is a massive one for me, but another person may find dust more of a trigger, and another person may find pollen to be more of a trigger.

Just because person A with asthma can manage a mask that doesn't mean that person B with asthma can.

What about a scenario where there a a number of people unmasked who all have medical exemptions for some of the healthy looking invisible diseases but are actually unknown to them one of them is asymptomatic and therefore transmit to the others who are in close proximity briefly but close enough to catch a few contaminated droplets?

Well obviously the answer you are looking for is that the unmasked people may develop Covid.

But it's about risk. The risk for some people of having an asthma attack from restricted breathing is much larger than getting Covid. The risk of picking it up in a shop where you're just walking past people is miniscule. People who have asthma or other conditions are not daft. They can do their own risk assessments as to whether the potential harm from wearing a mask is less than the potential risk from the situation.

For example - someone making a visit to a very ill relative in hospital or a care home may decide that on balance the damage to breathing is less than the potential risk of passing on covid, or catching it.

But for a 10 minute scoot round Asda to get your shopping, the risk of wearing the mask/covering far outweighs the benefits.

You cannot develop a one size fits all policy covering every situation which is what the government has tried to do. Wear masks in shops is a clear message. It gets muddy when you start adding in clauses like "if you are able to do so".

@BuffaloCauliflower

Have you actually checked that there are no exemptions in those places or are you just assuming? Why would you necessarily hear about the smaller rules attached to things like that here? It’s a misconception that masks are always worn culturally in places like Japan, it’s usually only when someone has cold symptoms.

Masks are currently mandatory on public transport in Hong Kong. As far as I’m aware there are no exceptions. No mask, no entry.

@BuffaloCauliflower Totally not the point of your post, but are you sure the coughing is related to your asthma? I ask because with both my pregnancies I had awful coughing- so bad it would make me sick. My GP would just shrug at me and say, yeah, pregnancy lowers your immune system. But then at about 6 months pregnant with my second I happened to read that acid reflux- which I also had - causes coughing, and I asked him if it could be related. Oh yes, it could, he said 🙄 Within a day of him giving me decent acid reflux meds that actually worked, the cough vanished. The cough was so bad, and I'm still so annoyed at being basically left to suffer for 1 and 3/4 pregnancies, because yeah, pregnant people suffer, just suck it up....that the minute a pregnant woman tells me they have a cough I ask them if they also have acid reflux :)

Nope, don’t actually expect anyone to explain themselves. Just think it’s interesting OP said she can wear a mask for medical appts but doesn’t want to wear one to go into shops. As a pregnant person with asthma I definitely don’t want to catch coronavirus or risk passing it on to other vulnerable people.

And here lies the issue. This is why I won’t be going into shops/public places until masks are no longer required. Because people like this will expect me to explain myself to them.

Quite.

And start threads about you, using words like "should" and "selfish".

[quote BuffaloCauliflower]@diddl the surgical type hospitals give out and a cotton home made one. I don’t think it’s anything in masks, it’s having my nose and mouth covered at all. I’m sure there’s an anxiety element to it too, and then it becomes a vicious circle. It sucks that this asthma is so bad at the moment, this time last year when not pregnant I probably would have been fine wearing one.[/quote]
Just thought I'd ask.

I have asthma & am OK with masks, but I have noticed a smell with the surgical type ones.

@Pregnantandstressed24

You refuse to be a prisoner in your own home? You should wear a mask then. I’m also pregnant and have asthma and I as an adult can weigh up if it’s worth it to me to still go into shops. I can also breathe through a mask. Yes it’s harder, but I’d rather be safe. You can’t attend hospital appts without them so clearly you have been managing for those. Posters have given you ways around going into shops and you’ve made it clear you will carry on doing what you want regardless. Just be aware that people will of course be wondering why you should be allowed to carry on doing as you please whilst the rest of us wear a mask to protect you. Especially as if you get ill you will be bringing it on to an antenatal ward.

I’m glad you can breathe wearing them, I cannot. I’ve had to wear them to a couple of appointments yes, it was horrible, I couldn’t breathe and felt sick and dizzy and I was coughing heavily the entire time, which I’m sure was worse for those around me than if I’d just not worn one. During one waiting period I had to go round a corner and take it off to have a big coughing fit. When meeting with just one midwife privately they’ve said I can take them off, as actually they also know some people can’t wear them. My 20 week scan was extremely difficult and I took very little in because I was trying to control my breathing, I had to apologise to the sonographer for coughing.

I’m staying home most of the time, but I have gone to a few shops. I’ve stayed away from people, as has always been the guidance for keeping safe. They said for months masks were actually pointless! Covid cases have been low where I am for ages.

Is it no longer that case that the rules refer to "face coverings" rather than specifically masks? I haven't travelled by bus since before lockdown, but would they let you on with something like a Buff over your face?*

Buffs are fine, in my experience. I’ve seen people with bandanas tied over their faces too.

Luckily my child with an invisible disability can tolerate wearing a mask, but it’s utterly depressing to be reminded over and over how pig-ignorant most people are about invisible disabilities.

As stated in my original post I think there needs to be something official and recognisable. Something anyone can just print online won’t be taken seriously.

I agree , So it would then need to be provided from your GP or work on the same basis as a blue badge type system.

Every person who felt they medically couldn't wear one would need to go to their GP and be reviewed and given a lanyard/badge as they wouldn't be able to send them out based on medical records as some with the same conditions are affected very differently.

Sadly I doubt the government would put anything like that it place and just leave it people's common sense as has been so far.