Are masks causing an increase in sore throats?

[YellowWave]

I am not a big fan of masks. I find them hard to breathe in. I think it might get worse in the winter time going into shops with heating on.

I usually minimises the situations in how often I wear a mask. For example I do an online grocery shop once a week or once every 2 weeks. I might go to my local shop once a week. That would only be for a quick visit in and out. I wear a mask then. I eat out maybe twice a week with my par3and we wear masks from the door to our tables and going to the toilet. I haven't used public transport since January. I do a lot of my shopping online.

How I treat my masks:
They are fabric masks. I boil a kettle of water. I use a salad spinner and hand-wash them with a scent less detergent. I soak the masks. Rinse, rinse, rinse. Spin in the salad spinner and hang to dry. When they are dry, each mask gets a new and clean ziplock bag.

I found I came down with a sore throat on Sunday. I wore some masks on Saturday. I'm one establishment, the heatomg was on amd it was very, very warm. I nearly fainted.

My doctor said there's loads of people presenting with sore throats and it's from the masks she was saying.

I find there's a smell from the disposal masks. They smell of a roll of bin bags or babies nappies. There's a real chemical/or manufacturing smell from them.
(this was one of the reasons I moved from using disposal pads. The smell didn't bother me as such but there was definitely irritation from the disposal pads).

This is nonsense. I’m a doctor. I’ve worn masks daily since March and not one of my colleagues has had this issue. What we have had is more spots!

I have extended periods of time when I need to wear a mask (4hrs +) and I always have a sore throat afterwards.

It sucks

I've been wearing masks daily for hours at a time since covid started kicking off often in hot humid rooms (shower room and wet rooms) and my throat is fine. I suspect it is one of the many bugs going around.

Breathing in washing powder can’t be good for us

Rubbish! I was in Spain for two months over the summer where temperatures ranged between 30 and 40 degrees. Obviously we wore them constantly and the only danger we faced was to think twice about eating a garlic heavy dish when out for lunch.
Honestly we really do make such a big deal of masks here. Elsewhere everyone seem to manage just fine!

I've been wearing masks on and off for work since 1998, never known them to cause a sore throat in myself or colleagues in all that time. None of ours were washed in a salad spinner though 🤷🏻‍♀️

@Medstudent12 has a very good point. Doctors wear masks all the time, always have. They don't get more sore throats (or maybe they do but just drag on with work?) The people at my late mum's care home all wear masks (and did prior to Covid for various interventions with the residents, like toilet accidents etc) and they've never reported sore throats.

DS had a sore throat a few weeks ago for 24 hours but then went down with a cold so that answered that one.

I always wear a mask and am at the post office most days because I run an on line business. In 6 months I've never had a sore throat - I made our masks out of bedsheets! Each one is washed after each use (in the washing machine with whatever is being washed that day or they sit in the machine until the next wash so we don't touch them - I use non bio washing liquid as I get slight eczema, 60 degree wash plus.

My doctor is doing tests because I've been getting sore throats on and off for months now. He never mentioned masks though

The only thing I've noticed is my throat gets quite dry but I realised that's because when I wear a mask I am breathing more through my mouth, as a part of me thinks this will stop my glasses from steaming up.

It doesn't of course.

@lasangoles

You had a sore throat with no other symptoms and you called your GP? What a waste of their time!

Beggars belief!

And OP a video consultation is as much a waste of the doctors time as face to face.

What next? Perhaps you'd better speak to them about your hypochondria too?

I find that talking a lot in a mask gives me a sore throat and I start to lose my voice a bit. I think it’s the way the mask causes me to project and it’s not like normal people like me have had training in how to protect your vocal chords and stop yourself overdoing it. I have a toddler so if in a shop with him I will be talking and responding to him quite a bit as he is chatty. It’s not the end of the world but it is one of those additional irritations around wearing a mask that mean i don’t go anywhere for enjoyment if I have to wear one

Here’s a pre-Covid article reporting problems with cloth masks ans one of the reasons I switched to one use surgical. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150422121724.htm

For those saying that doctors are not getting this problem, I presume those doctors are not using cloth masks. I really do think that masks can cause problems if you don’t use them properly.

How many people are wearing a cloth mask, shoving it in their bag and then re-wearing?! I was and I’m sure that’s why I can’t get rid of this bloody tonsillitis!!!

Another issue is taking them on and off all the time. For example, sitting in a cafe. Put on to go to loo, take off when get back to table to eat/drink. They can easily become contaminated. That’s why I have resigned my self not to go anywhere for the next six months. Bloody depressing but I feel like I have no choice as I can’t be constantly ill with tonsillitis. My big problem will be if we are ordered to wear them in my office.

I find I tend to mouth breathe more wearing a mask, not sure why but the more I try not to, the more I do! This combined with not being able to drink in a mask and I find I have a dry mouth and throat.

I want to kill my partner so bad for his treatment of masks. Its horrific. It's this stuff. He stores his masks from one of the driving wheels levers like the indicator levers. Unwashed. He puts them into his pocket or on top of tables in coffee shops restaurants. I have a dedicated section in my handbag with zip lock bags of masks and empty ones. Labelled and coloured coded. I'm always offering to wash his masks but he won't let me.

Saturday was the first time I wore a mask for a prolonged time and also talked. Before now, it was all very quick and straight forward.

I have a dedicated section in my handbag with zip lock bags of masks and empty ones. Labelled and coloured coded.

I have colour coded zip lock bags with labels. Each mask gets a zip lock bag. I have empty zip lock bags too and that would be for spares or for using as a dirty mask/wash bag. I'm super paranoid about the masks.

I get a sore throat if I wear a mask for a couple of hours - it's usually for medical appointments so I'm talking a lot, or physio, when I'm exercising so breathing harder. I don't think they're viral sore throats though, just a reaction to finding it harder to breathe. It took me a while to work out the cause - I was worried about them at first and then I realised! My BP hit 192/116 at a GP appointment in the summer when there was no air con and a long wait in a mask. I have a few underlying conditions and take a lot of meds so I never feel great, and I think the mask just makes it a bit worse. Is it possible the sore throat is because it's getting dry and wearing a mask makes you feel generally unwell?

I missed a few comments while writing. Some people have no problems with masks and others find them difficult, usually for medical reasons. It's hotter and drier here in summer too (and colder in winter) - I'm finding it easier now the temperature has dropped.

I wear the disposable masks as I have asthma and have yet to find a reusable mask I can breathe through but many of my colleagues wear the cloth ones and seem to prefer them to the disposable ones. None have mentioned sore throats.

My throat has been really sore since we've started having to wear a mask in work. But it's mainly because I suffer with my sinus' and the mask amplifies that. I've always got a sinus headache after work but I'm hoping I get used to it soon as it's driving me mad! I can handle them fine for short periods but 8 hours a day is a bit much for me!

@BunsyGirl - that article is five years old and about cloth masks in a healthcare setting in Vietnam. What it's saying is that medical masks are better at protecting healthcare workers from respiratory infections than cloth ones are.

It's relevance to the use of cloth masks for limited periods of time by members of the public in social settings is probably nil.