To require a friend to wear a mask in house when she has a cold?

[Saboblue]

I found out from another friend that she’d been slagging me off for making her wear a mask when she had a cold in my house. When she came round I simply said I’d rather not get a cold and asked her to put on the mask and opened the windows. She was very understanding and put the mask on. I thought nothing of it until I found out she was slagging me off about it when she seemed fine to put it on at the time. I’m pissed off about it because what have I said wrong? Why would I want your virus? Put a mask on when you’re ill and in someone’s house!!

It seems a bit extreme. How did this come about? Did you know she had a cold before she came? Did she mention it when she came over or was she violently coughing and sneezing?

PS I am a germaphobe but prior to covid masks were not even a thing most people had in their homes.

Some people's immune systems aren't that great, really - some have no immune system at all. Covid was a novel virus so no-one was immune to that at all.

I prefer to take my advice on masks from respect-worthy sources. A random rogue general practitioner or unspecified 'scientist' isn't a respect-worthy source.

According to every single John's Hopkins University publication I ve ever come across (JHU being one of America's leading medical and public health research centres) masks do in fact work.

Before 2020, my contamination OCD (fear of viruses that cause vomiting) was considered a mental illness which required medication and therapy. Post 2020, people are wearing masks because they’re scared of a virus and it’s suddenly acceptable?! It’s not. It’s useless and unhealthy to be scared of a cold.

Is this a joke? Why is it only Covid you’re scared of? Norovirus or regular old flu is just as awful. You testing against those too? I wouldn’t want to come in your house if you’re treating like an operating theatre.

@Everanewbie - That choice isn't binary though, is it? Normal decent human beings sneeze into their hands, and tissue, their elbow etc.

Normal decent people don't share their illnesses when they don't need to and turn up snotty nosed at a friends house and expect to come in and spread it around!

Yes but not every body's immune system does. Hence millions died of Covid 🙄

My doctor, as I’m heavily pregnant, is actually recommending me to wear a mask now so I don’t catch a cold/covid etc.
But I guess he didn’t get a memo from his colleagues that masks don’t work 🙄
I guess we’re also much smarter here than people in Asia that routinely wear masks during flu season, and they managed to contain SARS 🤷‍♀️

I wouldn't of minded being asked to wear a mask, as it is your home so your prefrances.

But I generally tell friends/family when being invited out/to someone's home if I have a cold so that they can make the decision to rearrange or cancel.

I would confront your so called friend about the slagging off tho, as this should of been said at the time and to your face.
No good telling every one else just causes unnecessary drama.

Rude behaviour op

Please google how many people are dead and in the ground due to their immune systems failing to 'deal with' viruses.

Quite straightforward really.

I'd have just told them not to come over. I can't have anyone sick at my home due to an immune compromised child who someone with a cold might put in hospital. My friends are aware of this issue and, if they came around sick and knew it, they wouldn't be a friend anymore.

I can’t abide masks as I have asthma and get a bit panicky . I hate them. I will wear one in a hospital if asked snd I wore one during the pandemic but really struggled.

I would have warned you I was unwell and asked if you wanted to rearrange. If you’d asked me on the doorstep to put a mask on I would have said no thanks and rearranged the meet up.

My son and BIL are doctors and both say otherwise.

N95 masks worn correctly are efficacious in reducing the spread of viruses but even ordinary surgical or multi layered cloth masks that fit well can help reduce the spread of viruses via droplets. This isn't up for serious debate. Your H should do some research.

There clearly is still a debate to be had if medics are disagreeing. It’s a bit idealistic to discredit doctors and scientists you don’t even know and treat everyone else like they are stupid.

And literally not a single one of my friends or myself that has been pregnant since last year has been advised to wear a mask last year or this.

Most people will not wear masks now, or probably ever again.

They aren't "doctors or scientists". They're secondhand anecdotes about doctors or scientists that may or may not exist. Like pp, I prefer to use actual data for my medical advice.

You cannot possibly comments on what "most people" might do.

You do realise a mask will not prevent a virus getting through the material at all. Understand how small a virus is, compared to the holes in a mask under a microscope.

Good gosh. This is getting tiresome. No, virus particles are tinier than mask material.

And they don't get hit in like tennis balls through a net. (To use a common analogy.)

I’m referring to doctors I have spoken to first hand thank you. I may also choose to believe doctors I speak to personally rather than some crap on the internet. We all clearly have different opinions on masks and that’s fine. Some will continue to wear them, given that hardly anyone did before covid, many will not wear them again. The pandemic did a lot of damage to people.

I don’t know if you remember life pre 2020, I do, I had 50 years of life up to that point. And I recall when people generally carried on as they are when they had a cold, you went to school with a cold, you went to work with a cold and yes, you might even see a friend despite having a cold. We all lived.

I would also be commenting on OPs very weird and downright rude behaviour to other people if she had told me to put a mask on. Although I would have walked out the moment she said it.

If I was your friend I would have probably slagged you off as well. It’s weird. Equally if I was your friend I would have left as I wouldn’t want to sit with a mask on in the cold windows open if I was under the weather. She should have cancelled if you were that worried.

before covid it’s extremely doubtful you would have asked her to.

if you don’t want to catch her cold then don’t see her. Just cancel until the cold has passed. Especially given it’s arguable how much masks work anyway, with her touching your surfaces you might end up with the cold anyway!