To think mask wearing is going to wear thin before long ?

[Boogiewoogiebugleboy]

I’ve already noticed people starting to flag in Scotland. In Tesco today I was bored shitless doing the weekly shop and counting 20 people with masks on Chins and under noses. Kids using them as hankies 🤢. I heard also the government might be advising glove wearing. I imagine this is going to start to become very impractical for some people and they’ll just not bother / or bother going out. My DH is exempt from mask wearing and he went out without today expecting some comments but not a peep from anyone! Also the one way aisles have been removed too meaning more folk all crammed in to a small space not socially distant. I overheard a couple saying “ what’s the point wearing masks when we are so close anyway?”

Surgeons also signed up to wear them for their own protection. The rest of us didn't and wearing them for 7 or 8 hrs straight is no fun believe me. Headaches, lightheadedness, dry mouth and lips and itchy skin does not a happy worker make. 😞
Surgeons do not wear masks to protect themselves, they wear them to protect their patients just as we wear masks to protect others

@MrsGrindah yes, I went into a shop late afternoon today, so day 2 of them being compulsory, the first person I saw was not wearing one. Several others also weren't, some had their noses out, one person was using their hand to cover their mouth and nose and someone else was holding a cloth hanky over their mouth and nose

I won’t wear a mask as I can’t breathe properly in them.

The first one I tried was horrible, I felt like I couldn’t breathe and felt panicky and breathless but I’ve found a different style that works a bit better so I can nip in a shop if I absolutely have to. I will be generally be avoiding shops though now, it’s not a pleasurable experience not being able to breathe comfortably and not being able to see people’s faces properly. It’s like being in some kind of apocalypse. I get that it’s necessary but I can’t really get used to it if I’m honest. I’m not a wimp particularly, I generally get on with things but this has just felt like too much. Thank God for Amazon and grocery deliveries.

You get used to them - I mean the full, restrictive masks that I and my colleagues (not just surgeons or doctors in general....nurses, allied health staff, hospital wards people and cleaners are also coping with this) wear for shifts of more than twelve hours.

I assume even those who are exhausted, gasping for breath, and covered in facial sores when they wear a vastly more comfortable mask to pop to the shops for ten minutes will get used to them also.

We've been wearing masks in Germany since April, with high compliance

However, gloves are not recommended here - thorough handwashing is instead

Filthy things those cloth ones, not everyone wears a fresh one and doesn’t touch it, some could be festering for ages and then people touch stuff, yuk

@TomBradysLeftKneecap

We’ve been mandated to wear them since March. Of course you get used to it. Mumsnet really is full of big ol babies today boo hooing.

Us too and guess what? The streets were not full of people fainting and suffocating. Shops and restaurants are full, people have not stopped going out because they need to cover their face. I have a couple of friends who suffer from hay fever and one who has asthma. All fine with masks. In fact for the hay fever sufferers the masks helped with the pollen.

We had to wear them and just got in with it. Maybe at the time the risk of a hefty fine sharpened the mind. We also get our temp checked when we go into a shop, bar and restaurant, you’re not allowed in maskless and all employees are masked up. It’s hot here too but we manage it without swooning all over the place.

No exemptions either, if your respiratory distress from wearing a mask was so great you were strongly advised to stay home, seeing as Covid is, y’know, a respiratory illness, so for those seriously suffocating from mask wearing you shouldn’t be out. For those “suffocating” because it’s a bit warm give your heads a wobble.

Also, if you can blow out a match with the mask on it is useless, so for the bandana around the mouth brigade you need to triple layer the fabric at the very least.

It's stupid because they are only effective if you change or awash them every time and continuously wash hands.

Yes, you are supposed to wash them, I have 3 or 4 on rotation, or else use the disposables. That’s for your protection. For other people it means them not breathing in your droplets, which is the right thing to do to protect the collective as a whole.

Sorry but wearing a mask is the least you can do. Seriously they aren’t pleasant but grow up, you can breath with them on stop being a baby and saying it’s suffocating you. Ffs I despair of the general public

@nothingcanhurtmewithmyeyesshut If you were that unwell, surely someone could have filled your scripts for you and saved you a trip?

Or drop the scripts off and pick them up in about half an hour. That way you wouldn't have had to stand in there, waiting, doing nothing.

[quote Catmads]@GilderoyLockdown I fear that many people are already staying away from the high street rather than wear a mask.

I work in a small independent dry cleaner and laundry where historically Saturday has always been the busiest day by far.
Trade has been slow in dry cleaning but steady in laundry since reopening after lockdown.

Yesterday we had 3 customers all day and took no money at all.
Today, Saturday we had 8 customers and took a grand total of £77.
These are the worst days we have ever had in over 25 years trading and they happen to coincide with masks becoming compulsory in shops.

I really hope it was just a glitch rather than another new normal because we will not survive.[/quote]
For me today was horrible . I will do my weekly shop at Aldi and probably B&m next door but anything will come online - however I don’t use a dry cleaner so am not your target audience.

I also was thinking big a day bout at a theme park over the summer . I’m not now .

And before anyone starts screeching “BUT WHAT ABOUT HCPs THEY MANAGE IT” well yes, they do but it’s their job, they have risk of actual bodily fluids splattering them and the medical masks aren’t quite as uncomfortable as the cloth ones to me.

We do manage it. But the medical masks are more uncomfortable than the cloth ones. I have to wear mine for 11 hours of a 12.5 hour shift (not when on meal/drinks breaks). The average temperature on our ward is about 25 degrees C in winter. Hotter at this time of year.

It's not pleasant. But wearing a cloth mask for a few minutes in a shop is absolutely fine compared to 11 hours wearing a surgical mask on a hot ward.

@Newsorrynewagain

Sorry but wearing a mask is the least you can do. Seriously they aren’t pleasant but grow up, you can breath with them on stop being a baby and saying it’s suffocating you. Ffs I despair of the general public

^^this

Why don’t the Norwegians, Swedes and Dutch wear them? They are going to have a huge second wave in winter.

It's only been two days and I'm sick to death of the whiners! Same! I work in a care home so obviously have been wearing them for ages. We don't magically find them more comfortable! Somehow we've managed to cope and communicate with our residents!

Even my 5yo can manage to wear one without whinging and moaning.

It already has. Not for me, I wear one when I have to but a lot of people talk about masks like they're one of those explosive collars from Battle Royale or something. Calling them face nappies and shit like that.

(And no, I'm not talking about people who genuinely can't wear one due to trauma, sensory issues etc.)

I'm finding it really hard to communicate normally with my toddler when wearing it. I know that sounds strange, but it just feels wrong not to be able to smile at her etc. My 10 month old is able to tell when I'm smiling whilst wearing a mask as people smile with their eyes too.

Honestly all those people complaining about wearing a thin piece of fabric on their face. Get over yourselves. Wash your hands. Wear a mask. Protect others. It's only a big deal if you make it a big deal.

WaterOffADucksCrack, thank you.

The thought of all those grubby cloth masks is making me feel a bit sick.

Wore mine for first time today to take DD to Lush, as promised. She's only 8 so exempt. We queued outside for five mins or so (Brighton store) which we didn't mind a bit. Staff lovely and friendly. But I was really surprised at how unpleasant I found mask wearing, probably for less the ten mins in the shop. It really put me off going to any shops more than necessary. It sounds dramatic but I felt quite light headed and had a mild headache when I came out. The mask is from white stuff, cotton and v light. I will continue to comply with rules but will be massively reducing my visits to shops.

Also - glasses - yes, very foggy.

Grubby cloth masks, right. They are washable you know. Washing machine? Soap? Hand gel? Hand wash? or maybe that has passed you by.

"I find the shaped ones both easier to make and more effective and comfortable to wear than the rectangular pleated ones."

@SchadenfreudePersonified Yes, I find the shaped ones more comfortable, because the extra room around the nose literally gives more breathing space. I don't find the masks hard to make, but get a bit frustrated by my machine jamming up when I am trying to sew through several (4) layers (like when I turn the sides in to create a casing to slip ties/elastic through - it can't seem to handle 4 layers at once even if I coax it by hand turning the side wheel). So, there are bits I end up hand stitching, which means I take over an hour to make each mask. I have tried adjusting the foot pressure and tension, etc, but keep getting that horrid tangled mess of cotton beneath the feeding plate. If anyone has any tips to sort this I'd be very grateful.

Sorry to hijack thread, but just mentioning this jamming issue as maybe others have struggled with this too. I was thinking of making some masks for charity/careworkers but don't want to commit to doing it if each one is going to take over an hour to make.