To ask people to show a little more understanding to those not wearing masks

[Fuckinellitsme]

Apologies for another mask thread.

First of all, I'm not an 'anti masker', I absolutely see the need and the importance of wearing them. I'm unable to wear one myself - I have trigeminal neuralgia and when I've tried to wear one, the resulting attack has left me bedbound for days. I want to wear one, but I can't. I also have rheumatoid arthritis so I'm incredibly grateful to all the people who do wear masks, therefore protecting others and especially those in higher risk groups (though not vulnerable enough to be shielding) like me.

However. I've seen some truly awful comments on here in the last few days directed at those who don't wear masks. We should be treated like lepers if we enter a shop without one, for example, or should be banned from them outright. And we ought to stay at home if we are exempt, not use public transport or go shopping or go to work. We have 'made up' health issues and disabilities and are 'woe is me' 'snowflakes'. I've also encountered bus passengers passing comment and tutting about my lack of mask.

Those of us who can't wear a mask (and are acting within the law/guidelines, being exempt) still need to go about our business. It would be lovely if we could do so without fear of comment or judgement. I understand that there will be those who don't wear a mask because they just don't want to - however, please, if you see someone without a mask (particularly if they're wearing a sunflower/exempt lanyard) try to be understanding and give them the benefit of the doubt.

The nastiness and ableist comments on here (and elsewhere) in the past few days have been genuinely upsetting for those of us unable to wear masks. Please don't assume we're all stupid/selfish/conspiracy theorists/don't care about your health, or that it's a choice. For many, choice doesn't come into it.

A bit of empathy goes a long way, especially in these weird times.

That was meant to quote hooves

My employer will have to make reasonable adjustments for me.

I don’t know the answer and whether it goes against other requirements but you’re better off asking them. At least you’ll know

Do you know what it's like to have multiple joints dislocate daily? Do you know what it's like to have to call your husband to put your shoulder back in place because you can't do it yourself? Or be out walking and dislocate your knee and hope you can put it back in? Do you know how it is living with a bowel condition that means you'll have uncontrollable diarrhoea multiple times a day, without warning, that means you can't leave the toilet for hours on end, even if you are at work, or out shopping? Or to not be able to eat normal food because your gut can't absorb it?

I actually do, because I have both those things. So I know what all of those things are like (minus the husband part as I am single).

@Fuckinellitsme

Incidentally I've just ordered this if anyone needs something a little more 'obvious' than a sunflower lanyard. They also sell the N95 filtration masks for those who can wear them and require a bit of extra protection for themselves.

@Fuckinellitsme

Have you got a link to the N95 masks please? Cannot seem to access that site on my phone. thanks!

@Haenow here you go

[quote Fuckinellitsme]@Haenow here you go [/quote]
That did open for me. Thank you!

@blurpityblurp. I wouldn’t bother. She will Top Trump you at anything. She is the self-appointed illest and most vulnerable to covid person ever. I’m surprised her hot shot team of doctors haven’t airlifted a special bubble suit to her house so that she can live in her own special atmosphere.

@ContentiousOne

I hear you. For those of us with no choice to work, take public transport etc, and are at high risk of severe illness if we contract COVID, it's just shit. It really is. I think only other people in the same situation really get how awful it is.

I do think this is much like vaccination - if everyone who can mask does (and especially on public transport!), and that's most people, the odd unmasked person here and there won't matter.

The people who are really doing us harm are those who can mask, but won't.

Anyway, it's absolutely horrible, I get it, that so many people who can make life safer for others simply, refuse to do so. It makes you feel like you are just so devalued.

It seems to me the OP is like the person who can't vaccinate - OP isn't a problem if people who don't need an exemption don't exempt themselves.

Hope that makes sense. But I do get how you feel.

Thank you.

I'm sorry that you are in the same boat. That's exactly how it's feels, devalued. Coupled with repeated posts on MN about how we're going to die soon anyway so our lives don't matter.

blurpityblurp

I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

A perspex screen would seem to be the obvious solution Hooves, has your employer not installed them?

And some of the linked N95s for the bus.

I can’t imagine how one works in supermarket or any shop with an inflammatory bowel condition. Believe me, I know full well that a serious case does not go well with a lack of the complete freedom to sprint to a lavatory!

Anyway, the way this thread has gone is head spinning. Noone is as ill/disabled/vulnerable and generally wronged as HearHooves. I feel rather vindicated after having a run-in on a thread of a while ago when I was trying to point out that there were other lives to consider besides hers.

I understand the current situation has driven people to distraction (I am hardly over the moon) but this is the most extreme case of self-centred ness I have witnessed.

@LangClegsInSpace

A perspex screen would seem to be the obvious solution Hooves, has your employer not installed them?

And some of the linked N95s for the bus.

Those N95 equivalents are only FFP2. They don't filter what you breathe in. You need ffp3 masks.

I haven't had contact with work. From people that I know who have been in the are only small and don't screen very well, the customer leans around them to.pay. I don't know until I go.in.

Whatever they do at work doesn't protect me on the bus anyway. Apparently the answer to that, according to this thread, is for me to keep changing buses every ten minutes, which at £3 a go I can't do, let alone the time it takes.

It's funny because I've just been for a blood test. You have to ring the doorbell to be let in. One patient at a time only. You have to wear a mask. You have to sanitise your hands. You have to provide contact details. Phlebotomist in full PPE. Yet its ok to get on a bus with 20 other people, none of whom need to wear masks, no record of who they are. Same as in a shop. I can be up close to a few hundred people, none of whom will be made to wear a mask or sanitise their hands. No contact details. No way to know if the following day one of them comes down with it. Strange isn't it? If there's no threat why all the precautions in a clinic? If there is a threat why do precautions not apply on buses or shops?

@IrmaFayLear

I can’t imagine how one works in supermarket or any shop with an inflammatory bowel condition. Believe me, I know full well that a serious case does not go well with a lack of the complete freedom to sprint to a lavatory!

Anyway, the way this thread has gone is head spinning. Noone is as ill/disabled/vulnerable and generally wronged as HearHooves. I feel rather vindicated after having a run-in on a thread of a while ago when I was trying to point out that there were other lives to consider besides hers.

I understand the current situation has driven people to distraction (I am hardly over the moon) but this is the most extreme case of self-centred ness I have witnessed.

I manage by not eating, taking four imodium before work, every day and more at work as necessary and basically praying.

What choice is there? Seriously, what choice is there? How do people live who don't work?

I get you all think I'm self centered but I'm sick of being attacked. Sorry said I was lying about oxygen sats, op repeatedly told me I have a condition I don't have, I've been told to stop working, I've just been told I have autism, multiple threads on MN have told me my life has no value - I get it, ok? It doesn't matter if I get Covid and die because my life is worth less than all of yours. I get it.

Those N95 equivalents are only FFP2. They don't filter what you breathe in. You need ffp3 masks.

I think you're confusing the common surgical masks with FFP2.

"FFP1 refers to the least filtering of the three masks with an aerosol filtration of at least 80% and leakage to the inside of maximum 22%. This mask is mainly used as a dust mask (home renovations and various types of work).
FFP2 masks have a minimum of 94% filtration percentage and maximum 8% leakage to the inside. They are mainly used in construction, agriculture, and by healthcare professionals against influenza viruses. They are currently used for protection against the coronavirus.
FFP3 masks are the most filtering mask of the FFPs. With a minimum filtration percentage of 99% and maximum 2% leakage to the inside, they protect against very fine particles such as asbestos."

emag.medicalexpo.com/which-masks-actually-protect-against-coronavirus/

Your life is not worth less than anyone’s, but neither is it worth more .

What choice is there? Seriously, what choice is there? How do people live who don't work?

Well, upthread you did say that you’ve voluntarily chosen not to apply for the benefits you are legally entitled to. So that is a choice you’ve made.

[quote Lweji]Those N95 equivalents are only FFP2. They don't filter what you breathe in. You need ffp3 masks.

I think you're confusing the common surgical masks with FFP2.

"FFP1 refers to the least filtering of the three masks with an aerosol filtration of at least 80% and leakage to the inside of maximum 22%. This mask is mainly used as a dust mask (home renovations and various types of work).
FFP2 masks have a minimum of 94% filtration percentage and maximum 8% leakage to the inside. They are mainly used in construction, agriculture, and by healthcare professionals against influenza viruses. They are currently used for protection against the coronavirus.
FFP3 masks are the most filtering mask of the FFPs. With a minimum filtration percentage of 99% and maximum 2% leakage to the inside, they protect against very fine particles such as asbestos."

emag.medicalexpo.com/which-masks-actually-protect-against-coronavirus/[/quote]
I'm just going by what the site said about those masks. They are made to the Chinese standard, roughly equivalent to FFP2. Says it offers limited protection to the wearer.

@Hearhoovesthinkzebras please may I ask you two questions? The government rules are below. Clearly they list exemptions (and ask others to be mindful and respectful).

A. I have explained my reasons why I don't wear a mask (related trauma from rape and suffocation). I am on the list of government exemptions. I am entitled to go about my daily business without staying 2m away from you if it isn't possible. This is the legal position. Please read the full guidelines if you are unsure.

Do you think you personally have the right to override the government mandates and the legal position and if so why? Or is it that you think there should not be any exemptions at all? I'm really interested to know your thinking on this.

B. Do you think you have been mindful and respectful of others in this thread? (Please don't just repeat me me me, actually think about others not just yourself for once. I've asked if you can write a post not mentioning yourself and I genuinely don't think you.

*In settings where face coverings are mandated in England, there are some circumstances, for health, age or equality reasons, whereby people are not expected to wear face coverings in these settings. Please be mindful and respectful of such circumstances noting that some people are less able to wear face coverings.

You do not need to wear a face covering if you have a legitimate reason not to. This includes:
• young children under the age of 11
• not being able to put on, wear or remove a face covering because of a physical or mental illness or impairment, or disability
• if putting on, wearing or removing a face covering will cause you severe distress
• if you are travelling with or providing assistance to someone who relies on lip reading to communicate
• to avoid harm or injury, or the risk of harm or injury, to yourself or others
• to avoid injury, or to escape a risk of harm, and you do not have a face covering with you
• to eat or drink, but only if you need to
• to take medication
• if a police officer or other official requests you remove your face covering*

I think people need to be careful not to turn themselves into a martyr. Support is out there, disability benefits are out there, help us out there.

Everyone is struggling at the moment, especially those who are disabled or otherwise vulnerable. But it’s not a race to the bottom.

@blurpityblurp

What choice is there? Seriously, what choice is there? How do people live who don't work?

Well, upthread you did say that you’ve voluntarily chosen not to apply for the benefits you are legally entitled to. So that is a choice you’ve made.

I'm not entitled to benefits.

I looked at PIP but I don't qualify. I can walk the required distances, can dress myself etc. Yes, in pain, but it doesn't say that. It clearly says you need to be unable to do it or to require assistance to do it. But I can do it. It's just very painful.

Your life is not worth less than anyone’s, but neither is it worth more

It clearly is worth less though. People who can't wear a mask are being given the right to risk my life so my life clearly is worth less than theirs.

Health workers use FFP2 masks and face shields to work with sick people who are not wearing masks.

Out and about you can use higher grade masks, as they will be more easily found now, I'm sure, and a face shield to protect you from direct droplets from those not wearing masks.
As well as choosing the best ventilated positions.
You can focus on how best to protect you, or rant at people.

From what you have said on this thread I think you need to seek proper advice because they way you have described things doesn’t suggest you wouldn’t qualify for PIP.

@Sirzy

I think people need to be careful not to turn themselves into a martyr. Support is out there, disability benefits are out there, help us out there.

Everyone is struggling at the moment, especially those who are disabled or otherwise vulnerable. But it’s not a race to the bottom.

You told me that I was exaggerating about my oxygen levels. I provided you a photo of them that you ignored.

Benefits are not out there for people who can manage to get about, and to wash and dress themselves. That's where I've been told to hype up the bad days, don't walk up the stairs at the interview etc. I'm not doing that. I can walk up stairs, only one at a time, but I can do it. I'm not going to pretend that I can't and use the lift or pretend that I can't walk. It isn't true. I can do those things, slowly and with pain but I can do them.

It clearly is worth less though. People who can't wear a mask are being given the right to risk my life so my life clearly is worth less than theirs.

But, like nearly everything in life it isn't binary like that. Risk is on a scale. The majority of people wearing masks reduces the risk to you. Some people being given exemptions from a general rule slightly changes the risk for you but reduces a risk for them of a painful or terrifying reaction. Your responses all read like you see your risk of catching covid and dying as a simple on or off depending on whether everyone is wearing a mask or not.

People who can't wear a mask are being given the right to risk my life so my life clearly is worth less than theirs.

How?

Even if you work at a supermarket, there are measures that can be taken to ensure people without masks stay away from you or are a less risk.
Either you use better protective gear, ask for your cashier line to be mask only, or ask for a role that is less public facing.

And in public transport too. Just standing close to a door reduces the particles in the air around you.

But you will never be 100% safe (in fact, like the OP), and neither were you before covid-19.

@Sirzy

From what you have said on this thread I think you need to seek proper advice because they way you have described things doesn’t suggest you wouldn’t qualify for PIP.

Where can you get help for PIP?

I've looked at the qualifications on line and it's things like can walk over a certain distance, able to wash and dress, able to plan a journey. There's nothing in it about having bowel disease or having pain.