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?

@hamstersarse

This is from the WHO latest update on masks

People can potentially infect themselves if they use contaminated hands to adjust a mask, or to repeatedly take it off and put it on, without cleaning hands in between.

Not great!

Masks can also create a false sense of security, leading people to neglect measures such as hand hygiene and physical distancing.

Can see that happening already. Washing hands has been dropped from messages for months.

I cannot say this clearly enough: masks alone will not protect you from COVID-19.

Yet many here seem to think they are some magical way to eliminate the virus

Masks are not a replacement for physical distancing, hand hygiene and other public health measures.

I just get the vibe that people think they are! The whole “you selfish bastard if you don’t force yourself to wear one even though you have autism” stinks of latching onto masks as being the thing to beat people with

Masks are only of benefit as part of a comprehensive approach in the fight against COVID-19.

Their contribution is minor so no need for all the vitriol against people who can’t wear them.

The cornerstone of the response in every country must be to find, isolate, test and care for every case, and to trace and quarantine every contact

This is what works, not some shitty mask you’ve bought on eBay and had your hands on all day.

That is what we know works. That is every country’s best defense against COVID-19.

Not masks.

Thank you. Says it beautifully

I think your point about how we’ve all been through enough/ surely we’re all fed up now is a bit irrelevant, OP. Being ‘fed up’ doesn’t magically make the virus go away, unfortunately.

I’d recommend watching the below video- face masks do not affect the oxygen content of your blood. For the vast majority of people, they are perfectly fine- www.facebook.com/vibemanc/videos/2945058712269671/?vh=e&d=n

Can your son be left with your husband whilst you shop? I’ll be honest, I wouldn’t take a child into a shop at the moment anyway (because I have the option to leave DS at home with his Dad). Appreciate this is impossible for single parents, and lots of others with partners who work odd hours though. If your DS is a young child, he won’t have to wear a mask anyway.

Delivery slots are much easier to get now- I’ve had no issues whatsoever for at least a month. Have you tried to get one recently?

I'm happy being told what to do if it saves lives.

Yes it’s awfully late in the game - the government should have locked down earlier and made masks compulsory much earlier - but they’re crap
^ This.

I've been wearing one since end March/beginning April. Because I have friends in other parts of Europe who wear one and my DH was very ill last year.

No - it is not pleasant to wear masks. I have been wearing them in Portugal (35 degrees heat) and Seville (43 degrees heat) and I have survived. Funny how in Portugal, there are clearly no autistic people. But it is up to you. Millions of people have adapted their lives to wearing masks. But of course English people living in England are different. The ones living here (generally retired) have been managing just fine with mask wearing. No one moaning, just getting on with it.

hamstersarse

Agree with some of what you say in terms of masks only being a small part of the solution - I AM persuaded they are part of the solution though - but hand washing has definitely not been dropped from messaging. It's been in DHSC Twitter feed in last 24 hours.

hamstersarse, none of that is a reason not to wear a mask though.

Wear the mask and learn not to touch it and fiddle with it - thats perfectly possible. I have eczema with bad flare ups in the last 2 years on my face.I've taught myself not to touch as it makes things worse.
So masks are irritating,you want to fiddle with them,but you need to learn not to.For most adults thats perfectly possible .
You still need to physically distance,wash hands,it needs to me part of a comprehensive approach,we need track and trace.

And then maybe we can avoid the 120000 second wave deaths mentioned this morning (BBC news)
Maybe if we do everything possible to reduce transmission we can actually get back to normal life at some point.
The NHS is just reopening,the economy is just reopening.If incidence goes up all that'll stop again .
Just as well this generation didn't have to live through the war,all that VE day fervour and nostalgia was fluff.

Ever considered that YOU wearing a mask for 20 minutes in Tesco might save a nurse having to wear one for 12 hours in ICU?

I find that one of the most judgemental people on social media that I knows is banging on about facemasks.

This person was out and about during the very early days of lock down posting pictures of her at various walking places and beaches in our area, meaning her driving everywhere for her daily walk at the peak of infection rate.

Yesterday she was banging on about how 2/3rds of the population is not wearing masks. I don't go to shops and where I go walking people don't wear masks and neither do I - I keep plenty of distance, so feel no need for a mask.

I totally support wearing them in close proximity to others but I keep my distance anyway.

The cornerstone of the response in every country must be to find, isolate, test and care for every case, and to trace and quarantine every contact

In all the Eastern countries affected by Covid and some of the Western countries - they have been tracking, testing and isolating every case and wearing masks from the get go.

China, Korea, Hong Kong discovered what worked in the SARS outbreak and it’s really just Western arrogance that stopped us following their MO.

Anyone referring to a mask as a Muzzle should be whipped with a rotten haddock.

They make a significant difference.
We know that because a) research and b) this government would rather pull its own teeth than introduce this measure but they've been unable to argue the evidence away. And I can't believe people are still saying 'with covid not of covid'. I work with the palliative care team in the hospitals I'm at. There were a lot of people who died of covid who were fine beforehand. Sorry.

I dont like the thought of wearing a mask either! However sent off for a couple of pretty ones at the weekend ,and hope to get used to it by wearing round the house .Apart from anything else shops/High Street will hardly be awash with shoppers now! Went To Salisbury at the W/E and hardly any shops open ,some closed permenatley and very few people out .

OP, I hate masks too. I had to wear one for a hospital appointment, and it made my glasses steam up so much that I couldn't see. I'm tiny as well, so masks fit really badly.

In any case, they're just horrible, filthy, disgusting things. I keep seeing people pulling them down so they can eat their takeaways, then fiddling with them with greasy hands, shoving them on their heads, rubbing them in their hair, then putting them back on their faces.

I think your way out is to go with the 'covering', rather than a mask. I'm going to use a thin scarf as a makeshift mask.

We've been wearing masks for quite a while in our area and it's no problem. We're wearing cotton, patterned ones which are lighter and quite cheerful and putting them on has become a habit. I feel safer and am less likely to touch my face, which is great - research shows that masks are effective in protecting others (not really yourself). I also love the anonymity of going out with my face covered when I don't feel like meeting anyone I know :)

I think people just see the mask wearing as a way to ‘do something themselves about the spread of the virus’

It’s a powerlessness thing. And then a way to beat others up and signal they are better because ‘they are doing something’

There isn’t even any evidence lockdown worked, the virus has just followed the usual path...lockdown or not, it’s the same

This virus kills very elderly frail people. People seem to love the science but ignore it at the same time. We need to protect our elderly. If the government spent their time enforcing effective strategies to protect the elderly and frail, that would be fabulous. Wearing a mask down Asda ain’t really a priority.

Only just found this thread so may have missed....can anyone tell me at what age children need to start wearing them in shops ? [have Googled but can only find info dated May] .

Who will police this though?
The supermarket workers haven't been wearing them ; they will have to wear them now ( or from the 24) in order to enforce the rules to others : I hope they are given danger money or insist on the people on the door turning others away if they can't prove they have one to wear!

YABVU and selfish. Masks save lives. And we all have to do our part. Don't go out if it's such a hardship.

@NiknicK I’m sorry to hear this has all been so tough for you and can imagine it must be extra difficult looking after your son too.

Would it help you to know the reasons why it is so important to wear masks?

The UK made a mistake in not recommending and/or enforcing their use much sooner. There were some people, doctors in particular, crying out that they should be being used much easier (see for instance this webinar www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1yY3WBVbNWAUNRjD5SUeC9R-G9vT8Gvq) but there wasn’t yet hard evidence.

It is now known that countries which adopted mask wearing early on, when incidence was low, have had substantially fewer Covid deaths. globalnews.ca/news/7075024/mask-wearing-fewer-coronavirus-deaths/

Now, at a time of lower numbers, is exactly when wearing masks in public can reduce the chances of a second wave. www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590097820300124

This article reinforces this and also explains cloth masks are effective: www.ox.ac.uk/news/2020-07-08-oxford-covid-19-study-face-masks-and-coverings-work-act-now

Have you tried wearing a cloth mask? I find them so much more comfortable. I make cotton triple layer ones with an filter slot, washable at 100 degrees (either with ties instead of elastic, or replaceable elastic) and would be happy to post you one for free if you PM me your address.

@NiknicK

You may have not been through enough and struggled throughout this pandemic but lots of other people have including myself. Won’t bore you with the details, no one would care anyway, but it’s been tough.

It's been tough for everyone. It's been tough for people that have had to juggle homeschooling and work, it's been tough for people juggling preschoolers and work, it's been tough for those that have lost jobs, or had big life events changed, it's been tough for key workers who had no choice but to go out and face this everyday and it's been tough for people who have been ill or had loved ones pass away.

I'm getting so tired of the competitive 'I've had it worse than everyone' else on these threads. At the very minimum we have ALL had our lives disrupted because of this bloody virus.

Do I want to wear a mask? No. But will I wear one without handwringing and whining at every opportunity, and crying 'why me'? Yes because me wearing one protects others and I'm not selfish.

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 current government decides policy by headline. The Government response is like a pendulum… Nothing to see followed by LOCKDOWN! Hopefully the swings are becoming less dramatic and we can find a pragmatic way of getting on with our daily lives while protecting each other. Mask wearing in crowded places is used as part of that response in other countries where the infection rates are falling.

Instead of a panacea it should be viewed as part of a response that will make us safer when going about our daily lives. Alongside hand washing, trying not to touch our faces, avoiding crowded places if possible, staying in if in doubt. Those messages have not been superseded by wearing of a mask. It is a case of as well. If you can't wear one for medical reasons then make sure you do all the other things twice as hard.

I was really anti masks at first but now I think “I’m an adult, just get over yourself and get on with it”. Makes life much easier to just stop worrying about every single little thing.

I am asthmatic, my eldest child is autistic and asthmatic. We have been wearing masks from the start, you get used to it. (I appreciate some truly can't (my youngest(5) is one - she is also autistic) but the vast majority of cases it is just a case of getting used to it. Practise at home and build up.

It's not just that some people have the virus with no symptoms at all. It's also that symptoms don't show for a few days after you catch the virus so for this period you will indeed be passing the virus asymptomatically.

I'm not too keen on wearing a mask myself. I've worn one a few times, when at hospital for tests (I've had COVID-19 symptoms for weeks but I'm getting better now), and I found it hard to breathe. But quite seriously, we're making ourselves look ridiculous by whining about this so much. We already have the third highest death toll in the world!