Masks are coming back and I feel like an idiot!

[Rainbowheart1]

As the title, I can’t wear one as I can’t breath, they are really coming back into force where I live and I do tend to overthink things and I feel like a prat!

I had to go hospital recently and everyone, I mean everyone had a mask apart from me and I just look stupid! To look at me and not know me, I look young, fit and healthy, which makes it worst!

Am I doing overthinking this? Do you think people think I’m some sort of Covid rebel?

I couldn’t breathe properly in the first couple of masks I tried. So I tried others. Amazon has a billion kinds. My fave now is pure silk and I actually prefer having it on to not, it keeps my nose warm and doesn’t interfere with breathing at all.

Unless you have some psychological issue like it triggers trauma memory then please consider trying it again. Even a snood pulled up kver your nose works.

And yes if I see someone without a mask in a setting where a mask is appropriate I do judge them yep, same as I’d judge them if they weren’t dressed.

You’re not stupid, you’re not an idiot and you’re not a prat. This is why we have exemptions. Anyone who suggests otherwise are the stupid ones.

why was someone i am close to told to remove his reusable mask at his hospital appointment and given a disposable one.

For hygiene. Reusable masks are only effective time if they're clean, well fitted, have enough layers to them, etc. Our local hospitals have a policy that you need to use one of their masks while on the premises for hygiene reasons (exempt people aside) and they have boxes of them at the door next to the hand sinks.

All the people saying that their relative has xxx condition and manages to wear a mask are missing the point. It is down to the individual and how they are affected, conditions can vary therefore it doesn't matter what other people with that condition are doing.

@AlanisMorningShed DH is a 71 year old pensioner and social housing tenant. So in two groups which are looked down on on here.

But along came Covid and now suddenly he owes it to those same ppl who looked down on him to protect them. ................oh hang on i take it you meant his own protection. I thought we were wearing masks to protect others. Did your own mask slip just then?

I think you’re over thinking this. Lots of people are exempt. I wouldn’t look twice or think anything about someone not wearing one.

Wear a face shield. At least then people know you’re trying your best to comply

@TinySaltLick

Wear a t-shirt with the url of this thread printed on it

Amazing 😂

I’ll be back in the UK very soon and I’ve no intention of not wearing one.

It’s still compulsory where I live but even if it wasn’t I’d still wear one.

@travelost.

But I did have an issue, I was recovering from a severe asthma attack.

I couldn't talk or walk very well with a mask, I was weak. But I did feel so vunerable in recovery that wearing a mask indoors was even more essential to prevent any further infection.

I think taking a mask on/off to catch a breath is fine, but it's worth trying at least rather than totally ruling it out.

@GrannyWeatherwaxsHatpin

You are overthinking this. I can’t see anything on news sites about masks being reintroduced. Not only that but mask use is dropping, socialising is increasing and rates are plateauing despite both of those factors, so there really isn’t the pressure for them.

I have long since stopped wearing one, they’ve caused me so many panic attacks that it’s adversely affecting my general mental health. I couldn’t give a flying fuck what anyone else, least of all The Self Appointed Mask Police, thinks. If they were made mandatory I will say I’m exempt to anyone who asks, but I’m not wearing a lanyard either.

Actually the advice is wear one nowadays….

Latest advice from Van Tam

Of course people in hospital are wearing masks.

At least 50% of the parents at the schools I pick the grandchildren up from are wearing masks. Pick up is outside.

@Clocktopus EXACTLY for hygiene. So why the fuck do so many keep comparing paisley print masks from Boden to surgeons masks

"well surgeons have to wear them" etc.

@SpookyPumpkinPants

I spent a good 8’hours in a&e during the lockdown and 50% of patients were wearing masks and all being treated

People in hospital have other worries rather than what you are doing
Wear a lanyard, v cheap online

@Clocktopus

why was someone i am close to told to remove his reusable mask at his hospital appointment and given a disposable one.

For hygiene. Reusable masks are only effective time if they're clean, well fitted, have enough layers to them, etc. Our local hospitals have a policy that you need to use one of their masks while on the premises for hygiene reasons (exempt people aside) and they have boxes of them at the door next to the hand sinks.

All the people saying that their relative has xxx condition and manages to wear a mask are missing the point. It is down to the individual and how they are affected, conditions can vary therefore it doesn't matter what other people with that condition are doing.

I wear the disposable over my reusable - it's an FFP2 mask and I refuse to take that off and have less protection I feel awkward but I'm very vulnerable and the disposable ones have big gaps and don't protect me like my own mask

Masks never went away in hospitals, but most other places are at your own discretion, get yourself a lanyard, nothing to feel like an idiot about.

Only those who judge are the idiots

[quote MyDcAreMarvel]@Gingerkittykat
People who are genuinely exempt deserve to go about their lives like anyone else. You are asking a large group of people, a lot of them disabled, to simply stay at home which is unfair.
Agreed but there is a distinction between those that genuinely struggle to breath a tiny tiny number and those that think they can’t breathe because they hate mask.
The second group keep a large group of people ie the immunocompromised at home.
Mask exemption should have been very strictly enforced not self assessed. Other countries have very few expert people.[/quote]
This 🙌🏼 Couldn’t have put that any better. I always think what a coincidence it is that I can be in a shop with multiple people who all seem to fall into this tiny, minute sized group of people who are genuinely unable to wear one 🤔 I often think if I did have some of these conditions that people use as a reason not to wear one (eg. asthma), I feel like I’d be trying even harder to wear one since I’m one of the people who would be worse off if I caught it

My dad is exempt. He has had lung failure, he has copd, amongst many other things, and wouldn't go without a mask anywhere. He gets really stressed when other people around him in queues / shop etc dont wear one, as a chest infection, let alone covid, is very dangerous for him. The outcome is he barely leaves the house.

@TravelLost

That’s his personal opinion and he’s entitled to it. It’s not the law or even government advice, so my position remains unchanged and even if masks were remade mandatory there is an exemption for those to whom it causes physical or mental distress. Except on MN, where no exemption is allowed, ever.

I always think what a coincidence it is that I can be in a shop with multiple people who all seem to fall into this tiny, minute sized group of people who are genuinely unable to wear one

And on TFL coincidentally most of the exempt were young white men. Women, older people and PoC seem less exempt for some reason.

I often think if I did have some of these conditions that people use as a reason not to wear one (eg. asthma), I feel like I’d be trying even harder to wear one since I’m one of the people who would be worse off if I caught it

How could you possibly know. Ive never been pregnant but i bet i would get short shrift on here if i tried to say i know better than someone who has been.

All the people saying that their relative has xxx condition and manages to wear a mask are missing the point. It is down to the individual and how they are affected, conditions can vary therefore it doesn't matter what other people with that condition are doing

Come on. you dont actually believe all the people who say they cannot wear a mask, actually cant. You cannot possibly look around you at and believe that. And then look to other countries with no exemptions and think wow we in the uk are a very, very poorly nation of serious ill health.

Whats more likely?

You can breathe, you just maybe don’t feel comfortable breathing in a mask. I don’t think anyone loves wearing a mask, but we all do it when we need to.

In a hospital setting, I’d think you were a bit of an arse personally. I don’t think I’ve heard many decent reasons for exemptions. But if you’re exempt, don’t wear one.

Try lots of different masks.
You can breathe in them. If you get an oximeter (which is a good idea anyway as it measures your oxygen levels and heart rate, so if you do get Covid, you know when to get medical help if you need to - I know from a friend's experience that it's easy not to realise because lack of oxygen can make you a bit high and unaware) - if you measure your oxygen levels wearing a mask and not wearing one, there's no difference. Even with more than one.

It can feel harder to breathe, though. The paper ones are pretty good for that, and weirdly I find the FFP2 ones easier to breathe through than cloth ones (that are less effective). Try a few to find one that suits you.

If you're vaccinated you'll probably be fine, but it's a way of protecting others and showing that you care - and also if it's psychological, while it might sound a bit harsh, not wearing a mask makes you more likely to catch Covid, and then you really may have to deal with actual breathing problems.
I know it's not easy, but I think something this serious is worth getting medical/psychological help for.