To think snotty, coughing people should wear masks?

[RiderofRohan]

On the train or other forms of public transport. In waiting rooms etc. People coughing with half-hearted hands held up to their mouths. Blowing their noses with abandon. None of them wearing masks, just shedding their viruses into closed spaces.

Isn't it just common decency, after we went through a global pandemic, to try to protect those around you? It's super normal to wear a mask in parts of Asia if you are unwell to reduce the risk of your germs spreading to your fellow humans.

How did you feel about this before the pandemic?

If it is hayfever/allergies I don't see they should, if people can't engage their brain to no realise and you have sneeze etc. and not be contagious that is their issue

And no anyone using 'illness anxiety' is not going to make a difference

And no I am not speaking of myself with the above, I just don't assume I will catch something

Personally as an asthmatic, whenever I get any cold/cough thing I tend to cough endlessly for weeks after, it's so draining, I cough until I'm sick/wet myself/can't sleep. The coughing goes on for weeks after the main cold. When I wear a mask it affects my asthma more and makes me dizzy and really light headed, I have almost fainted wearing one. It wouldn't be practical for me! If I had Covid I would stay home until clear but otherwise I cannot mask up any longer, it would be months out of my year!

Don’t be ridiculous.

Masks are awful for your health, will only make you iller for longer.

Yes I agree but the vast majority of people are not asthmatic, nor do they have hayfever in December.

Source?

Agreed, there has been a sign up requesting it at my GP since mask wearing stopped being mandatory. If I am unwell I wear a mask inside public spaces. If I am better but still coughing I don’t.

Op, your source for a mask stopping the spread of germs?

YABU. Masks aren't all that effective and also bad for the environment. Your immunity should be fine with the odd virus.

Counselling can help with health anxiety if you have it.

YABU. They are very ineffective unless they are the heavy duty ones, and they are very uncomfortable to boot. I was afraid that they would never go away after the pandemic, but I am grateful to say that they are practically unseen where I live, even during flu season. If anything, I think I saw more people wearing them in winter BEFORE the pandemic!

I do. I always wanted to before the plague but it's more acceptable now

Yes it's revolting

And no-one wants someone else's germs, whatever pathogen it is.

You wouldn't spit in to a water supply - we all benefit from clean water. And we all benefit from clean air.

What @Dotcheck says, what's your source?

Should they wear the masks like they did during the pandemic with their noses hanging out, or not properly fitting. Cause you know, that stopped the spread of COVID so well ...

Totally agree. I am on the fifth day of awful covid after somebody coughed and spat into a tissue non stop next to me in a restaurant for two hours. First time I have had it and didn't realise how much it knocks you for six.

I think we all should have learned from the pandemic and changed attitudes.

Hayfever should be less this time of year ( l am a major tree blossom sufferer, so non mid-winter) and even if you are sneezing and coughing over people due to this, it may not be infectious per se, but it is still spreading germs.

Lots of evidence that masks stop droplets getting into the air and spreading COVID as well as other viruses. Also, just common sense if you know a little science.

coronavirus.delaware.gov/covid-19-myth-or-fact/myth-or-fact-masks-are-effective-against-covid-19/

If you’re concerned then maybe you should wear a mask when out in public?

Hi OP. I'm torn on this. Partly because I am very much against the dictates from government during the covid pandemic, and masks have yet to be proven effective in controlling viral spread in public settings.

However, I cringe and when I see people on a bus/train etc. sniffing, sneezing and coughing, particularly when they seem to ignore the old school etiquette of covering your mouth when coughing, sneezing into a tissue etc. and maybe they should just rest up at home, particularly if their jobs enable them to work from home. It's just good manners to behave in a way that reduces the chance of spreading your cold.

I feel sympathy with your thought process and some peoples habits are just rank. YANBU. But science seems to say that in public settings, skanky old bits of cloth over your face don't have any real affect beyond being a comfort blanket.

They do this in Japan. It's just polite.

Blowing their noses with abandon

How is someone supposed to blow their nose with a mask on?

They also consider slurping food polite, and pouring yourself a drink is considered impolite. Just because Japanese people think or do something, it doesn't make it right.

In theory, yes. In practice, no.

I think it's a good idea, but the reality is that the only people who would wear one are the ones who try to keep their germs to themselves anyway. The ones who cough and sneeze with gay abandon on public transport will be the ones wearing a mask with their nose out, or leave it lying around, drop it on the floor etc.

And as another poster pointed out, we don't need more one-time-usage disposable items clogging up landfill.

Thing is you'd need a proper N95 style mask to be effective, rather than just a gappy piece of fabric. Also most people with colds / coughs are contagious before showing symptoms rather than at the stage of the illness when they're able to walk around coughing.

I always admired the decency of people in Asia wearing masks, long before Covid. Now I think sick people should stay at home. No one needs your cold, keep it to yourself.

I think most people can tell the difference between a lingering cough and a fresh streaming cold. There are people on trains and coming to work that are actively infectious and not thinking about people who will be hit hard by catching their lurgy.