quick poll - have you experienced mask wearing for periods of 4+ hours a day?

[peridito]

I'm just interested to know how many people actually do this and how they find it .

In the summer I wore one continuously for several hours while travelling and it was pretty grim . How public facing workers and secondary school staff/pupils would, and do ,cope I don't know .

Work in retail, wear masks all day. Don't even notice it any more. So much so I have tried to drink with it still on, on more than one occasion....

Yes for up to 13 hours at work (nurse). The other day I wore one while having reflexology and massage which was a bit strange at first but soon go used to it.

Yes, up to 14 hours a day sometimes working in healthcare.
I often forget it's on and then remember when I am driving home! Surgical style masks these are.
I do get pressure sores around my ears so I have taken to wearing the tie up ones instead which help.
My skin is awful all the time as standard so masks just cover it up for me!

The only time struggled was in summer coming out the supermarket with a 3 layer fabric one on I felt quite short of breath but I do have a heart condition so thick mask plus heat and lots of walking might have aggravated it.

Yep, I’m a vet and we’ve been wearing masks since about April/May, and since September mask, visor, apron and gloves for about a 10 hour day, except for lunch break. Which includes time operating etc as well. We are doing consults outside still so the constant in and out from warm to cold is awful for glasses wearers as glasses steam up, visor gets covered in rain etc.

Have pretty much got used to the mask wearing, but not the glasses steaming up!!

Yes, it’s not pleasant for the reasons others have mentioned. Does anyone else find they affect their balance too? However, I am pleased I am ‘allowed’ to wear them (teacher) and would agree with @AllDoneIn’s comments about children wearing masks. Should have happened in September as it won’t be forever and they seem to help.

@ginsparkles Yep, I’ve done that too!

I think id really struggle having to wear a cotton mask for hours, though the medical masks I’m much better in so id just have to buy loads of them

I used to at work. You get used to it.

A N95 on my way to work, at work (ordinary office) and on my way home. I have several.

My glasses-wearing DD, age 12, wears them all day at school apart from to eat lunch. Out of curiosity I asked her if anyone in her year of around 200 students was exempt and she laughed at me and said "don't be silly, it's a rule".

Any child seen at any time without a mask without permission gets detention. The pupils have adapted because it's enforced rigidly. The school has had 30 separate cases (it's in a very badly hit area) but no case in which any spread at all has happened at school, so no year group bubbles have been shut since the very first case (they closed in an abundance of caution then reopened a few days later). Really grateful for all the efforts of the pupils and teachers. It can't be pleasant but I think that after the first couple of weeks it just became normal and part of the usual routine.

I do at work for 6 hours a day.

I work in a secondary school in a team in a small room

It's pretty grim and my skin has really improved from not wearing it all the time since I broke up.

I work 12.5hour shifts on a hospital ward. Each shift we have two half hour breaks during which we may remove our masks if eating and drinking and are socially distanced. It's crap. They, along with the other PPE, make me really sweaty, and obviously aren't very effective because I caught Covid at work in November.

Agree with my fellow clinicians - there's nothing like wearing an FFP3 and visor for extended periods to make you realise just how comfortable a surgical mask is.

Some days I do. I forget I am wearing it until I take it off, and remember what 'normal' feels like - colder but much fresher!

12.5hour shifts with one half hour break if we're lucky.
We wear a surgical mask plus eye protection which, on top of my regular glasses, gives me headache at the end of the day as they all sort of dig in at the same point on my head. I also have the usual spots, dry lips and feeling dehydrated all the time. You get used to it though. It just feels normal now.

If we have positive cases we have to wear a full visor instead of the safety glasses. These are vile. They are too tight for my head so I end up with a pounding headache within 30 minutes. Add to that they make communicating incredibly difficult which makes my job almost impossible (mental health nurse, communicating is basically my entire job).

Haven't had the pleasure of an ffp3 apart from the fit test in case we have to give CPR (considered an aerosol generating procedure, a known positive case coughing directly in our faces though is not apparently). I imagine they're unpleasant to say the least.

8 hours a day at work and then more on public transport, got used to it with the aid of anti fog cloths for my specs. Still getting dehydrated as forget to drink.
Been told that we will also have to wear visors and ppe as apparently being 6 feet away behind a screen in a non healthcare role just isn't enough, not looking forward to that.

Yes, I was taking my dc to indoor venues like museums (before we moved to Tier 3/4) and we'd stay there for hours, we also went on long train (5+ hours) journeys and I'd use one during toddler classes when I'd be singing a lot for 45 mins. I use a good cyling pollution mask which sits away from my face, so it doesn't get damp and leaves air to circulate around the edges. It's a thin single layer fabric so doesn't obstruct my breathing much, I can wear it comfortably for hours. I do notice it if I have to do something energetic, like carry my toddler plus buggy up flights of stairs. I don't mind wearing it, but I'd never choose to wear it anywhere unless it was legally required.

Nope and really feel for those who have to do this . For me it would be awful and I wouldn't be able to do it due to skin issues

Yes, I wore one for my whole shift at local supermarket (6.5 hours). You get used to it.

Yes, up to 12.5 hour shifts in theatres (anaesthetist) After full level 2 PPE, a surgical mask feels like a breeze! I find level 2 hard - too many things around my head behind my ears (mask straps/glasses/theatre hat/visor) and I get a headache within half an hour or so. I don't find my glasses steam up too badly if I position my mask carefully, but can't wear goggles/safety specs as I get two layers of steam in them!

Yes at work I'm a nurse

Yes and it’s absolutely fine. First world problem

DH is a physician so is in full PPE at work for hours.
I am a University professor and we live in a US state with an indoor and outdoor mask mandate so I have been wearing a mask for hours from April 2020.
Both my kids go to school full time (elementary and pre school) masked. They get dedicated mask break times. Again they have been masked since April 2020.
They can play for hours in the playground masked and not notice.
I need to drink a bit more but otherwise it’s fine.
DH has some pressure sores on his nose but that’s because he has also had a giant nose!

No, and I think I would actively seek to leave a job which required it. Secondary school pupils don't have that choice of course.

Yes - surgical type mask all day at work. Took a while to get used to it (I'm asthmatic and was having breathing difficulties at the time), but it doesn't bother me any more. I find they impede communication, though: not just the hearing but also the non-verbal stuff - it's hard to tell if someone is happy/sad/serious/sarcastic etc if they are masked - so I think you have to concentrate harder than normal which is tiring.

I hate other forms of PPE and think they have no place outside a clinical setting, but I can't understand why some people are so resistant to mask wearing. If it helps - why wouldn't you do it? There are some hidden advantages too, such as not being recognised outside of work. They are no fun in the rain, as they catch the water and then it runs down your neck!