Masks

[Dementedswan]

How long do you think people will have to wear face masks? Has any guidance been issued on this or will they be scrapped in June?

I take mine off as soon as its not needed. I'd be surprised if there are that many people who wear it for fun - even healthcare workers and shop staff 😉

@Clarice99 same here, I'm now on medication for depression and anxiety. The longer this goes on the harder it is going to be to get back to anything resembling life.

I'm fed up of hearing people saying they can't wait to do this that and the other. Until masks are gone, I'll have to be satisfied with a walk

@Bordois why would I need to sit down. I wear one all day for work myself. No ripping though I just take it off.

[quote Sparklingbrook]@Bordois why would I need to sit down. I wear one all day for work myself. No ripping though I just take it off.[/quote]
So you're not one of those that "would love to be ripping it off your face" as you said in your original post then?

'So you don't support those of us with neurological conditions which are triggered by touch to the face (which in my case translates as attacks so painful I lose consciousness and wet myself)'

This is awful lucillethevampirebat, I must admit I've never heard of anyone losing consciousness and wetting themselves by having their faces touched it must make getting your hair done and brushing your teeth incredibly difficult .

But no, in answer to your question if people can't tolerate thin hanky like face covers then shields would do and are no worse than wearing a pair of specs.

It is a nightmare for those who rely on lip reading though. Let's hope the more that get vaccinated and try to adhere to guidance the faster we'll be out of this.

@PinkSparklyPussyCat

I'm the person who is ripping it off my face the very second I emerge from the shops

I do the same. Unless two shops are next door to each other my mask comes off between shops, I can't bear it for any longer than necessary

I do it too. I like to think I do it in the style of a Grey’s anatomy character tearing off a surgical mask after a disappointing surgery. It amuses me, anyway...

@JaniieJones I can't believe you are so intolerant to people's disabilities. There are so many legitimate reasons why people can't wear masks, and no they are not the same as a pair of glasses. Just because you haven't experienced any issues doesn't mean that everyone is the same.

@JaniieJones

'So you don't support those of us with neurological conditions which are triggered by touch to the face (which in my case translates as attacks so painful I lose consciousness and wet myself)'

This is awful lucillethevampirebat, I must admit I've never heard of anyone losing consciousness and wetting themselves by having their faces touched it must make getting your hair done and brushing your teeth incredibly difficult .

But no, in answer to your question if people can't tolerate thin hanky like face covers then shields would do and are no worse than wearing a pair of specs.

It is a nightmare for those who rely on lip reading though. Let's hope the more that get vaccinated and try to adhere to guidance the faster we'll be out of this.

People with trigeminal neuralgia (which is what I have - do look it up given you've not heard of it) often cannot tolerate any touch to their face/head/temple, so cannot wear a visor or a mask. My glasses are measured specially so they do not touch my face/temples. I don't get my hair done (not been to a hairdresser in 15 years) and you're right, things like putting on makeup, brushing hair, eating, laughing, cleaning my teeth, talking, bending over etc can all trigger attacks. I'm sure you'll agree that I don't want to be in a position where I'm unconscious in a shop/on a bus or whatever. Anything I can do to reduce that risk, I do. My neurologist and GP agree that wearing a mask/visor isn't advisable for me.

There are lots of people who cannot wear a mask or a visor, and they all still need to go to work/medical appointments/use public transport etc. We're all adhering to the guidance, in that exemptions exist in law and we're exempt.

Maybe mentally @Bordois but generally I just take it off.

Everyone hates wearing them there’s no doubt about that.

'can't believe you are so intolerant to people's disabilities'

What an offensive thing to say. I'm of course very tolerant of genuine disabilities and know many people with significant chronic conditions. I see the challenges they face evefy day and help as needed. I totally understand the problems face covers and visors cause with those reliant on lip reading. As I've said I know Deaf people who manage this situation every single day.

Lots of sympathy to those with invisible disabilities. I wouldn't dream of questioning why an individual wasn't wearing a mask but unfortunately the 'anti-mask', 'I don't need to bother with this stupid thing' brigade have been selfish idiots and made things more difficult for the genuinely mask-exempt.

@JaniieJones

'can't believe you are so intolerant to people's disabilities'

What an offensive thing to say. I'm of course very tolerant of genuine disabilities and know many people with significant chronic conditions. I see the challenges they face evefy day and help as needed. I totally understand the problems face covers and visors cause with those reliant on lip reading. As I've said I know Deaf people who manage this situation every single day.

Telling people who live with disability or chronic health conditions that they can wear visors/thin masks even after you've been told they can't is not tolerant.

Singling out one health condition and bestowing your support upon those who live with it - at the exclusion of others - does not make you tolerant, either.

@JaniieJones

'can't believe you are so intolerant to people's disabilities'

What an offensive thing to say. I'm of course very tolerant of genuine disabilities and know many people with significant chronic conditions. I see the challenges they face evefy day and help as needed. I totally understand the problems face covers and visors cause with those reliant on lip reading. As I've said I know Deaf people who manage this situation every single day.

So generous of you to bestow your tolerance on the disabilities you deem genuine. What a saint you are.

I’m not working another summer wearing one 40 hours a week at work

I’ll have to declare myself ‘exempt’ I’m afraid

In Home Bargains they sell a set of 3 badges that say 'Mask Exempt' on.

@JaniieJones

'can't believe you are so intolerant to people's disabilities'

What an offensive thing to say. I'm of course very tolerant of genuine disabilities and know many people with significant chronic conditions. I see the challenges they face evefy day and help as needed. I totally understand the problems face covers and visors cause with those reliant on lip reading. As I've said I know Deaf people who manage this situation every single day.

You just said being deaf, or helping a deaf person, is the only mask exemption you support. That is not being tolerant of all the many other disabilities that make mask wearing impossible.

I can't see it until this time next year at the earliest. In our office I think we will still be wearing them at our desks for another year. I am NHS admin though. Might be different in other offices.

@Dementedswan

I can see why they may stay. However as a deaf person who relies on lip reading, I need them gone so I can join in with society.

I cant be the only one struggling with them. I don't mind wearing them, I just cannot communicate. With things opening up I simply won't be able to join in.

I can imagine that's difficult, my son has a stammer which when wearing a mask nobody can see he's having difficulties, just that he's not speaking. It's so hard. I hate them because they make my face so hot and I find them irritating to my skin. I do have to wear them all far though but even ten minutes in a shop and I've had enough. They can't be gone soon enough for me.

The problem with exemption, even when wearing the so called 'official' sunflower lanyard and badge, is the mask police think they have a right to question people who are not wearing masks.

Mask police in my experience are always male, usually middle aged, who seem to think it's their duty to approach a non-mask wearing/medically exempt woman. What these self appointed mask police, in my experience, haven't realised is that I am accompanied to shops by DH and as we do not walk around the shop hand in hand, these idiots mask police presume I am alone, yet none of the mask police have berated me when it's abundantly clear that I'm not alone, i.e. my DH is providing physical assistance.

Not only am I sick of zero recognition of the barriers deaf people encounter with mask wearing, I am also sick of being berated by the mask police and I am thoroughly pissed off at being expected to label myself with a lanyard and large badge, which is often ignored.

Not all disabilities are visible. And no one has the right to judge who can cope with wearing a mask and/or a visor.

@JaniieJones

'So you don't support those of us with neurological conditions which are triggered by touch to the face (which in my case translates as attacks so painful I lose consciousness and wet myself)'

This is awful lucillethevampirebat, I must admit I've never heard of anyone losing consciousness and wetting themselves by having their faces touched it must make getting your hair done and brushing your teeth incredibly difficult .

But no, in answer to your question if people can't tolerate thin hanky like face covers then shields would do and are no worse than wearing a pair of specs.

It is a nightmare for those who rely on lip reading though. Let's hope the more that get vaccinated and try to adhere to guidance the faster we'll be out of this.

I'm supposed to wear glasses, but I can't because they hurt my ears and face, there's no reason for that other than they add to the sensory overload. Cant wear a hat either, for same reason, or a visor. I certainly can't wear a mask, I'm already pretty close to overload just venturing in to a shop, within seconds of putting a mask on I'm massively stimming and edging in to meltdown (believe me no one wants me to have a meltdown). Looking at me you would think that I'm totally "normal", talking to me you would possibly realise its all an act, and I'm struggling with any social interaction. A struggle that's even harder now I can't see peoples mouths, even when I can see them I struggle to work out the meaning behind what they're saying, now I don't have a chance. Just the sight of so many people wearing them adds to the feeling of being overwhelmed, wearing one is impossible.

Seems like there are a lot of people who can't wait to see masks gone for one reason or another.

For me, selfishly it you want to call it that, I'd like to be able to take my dc to school, go to the shops, take them to children's indoor things etc. Until masks are gone, I cant do any of that. Dh works a lot so he can't be there to help much.

@Dementedswan

Seems like there are a lot of people who can't wait to see masks gone for one reason or another.

For me, selfishly it you want to call it that, I'd like to be able to take my dc to school, go to the shops, take them to children's indoor things etc. Until masks are gone, I cant do any of that. Dh works a lot so he can't be there to help much.

I don't think it's selfish to want to regain some of your independence @Dementedswan

The little things we take for granted have disappeared for some of us and this has (for some) had a major negative impact on our emotional well-being.

"But no, in answer to your question if people can't tolerate thin hanky like face covers then shields would do and are no worse than wearing a pair of specs."

Some people cannot tolerate wearing glasses because they cannot cope with them touching their face.

I hate them and they have had the biggest impact on me in regards to the restrictions. I haven't found any that don't make my glasses steam up and I am too badly sighted to take them off and I don't get on with contact lenses.

If everyone is about to get access to lateral flow tests then surely masks will no longer be necessary, especially with the vulnerable having their vaccines? I've never thought of them as being particularly useful. I've worked the whole year without masks and without social distancing and nobody has caught covid. My daughter worked a couple of weeks in a hospital with masks and full PPE and caught it.

Once they are no longer mandatory I will be ditching mine. Also hate them for secondary school lesson times. My children are finding it hard and getting frequent headaches.

I’ll be stopping wearing them in the summer for good. A year is long enough for me especially as I’ll be fully vaccinated.