Thoughts on using facemasks again....as numbers rise

[Kcc73]

So....numbers of covid (along side other cold/flu viruses) and rising quickly.
I have had cold/sore throat/feeling fatigue - but not covid - after 7 days still can't shake it off. I am not that 'ill' and just getting on with what I have to do BUT my health generally not great and a) the thought of getting covid /or/and flu , plus all these more minor colds , and b) probably worse - the thought of my hubby or teens getting covid/flu (and they probably less careful/mindful re washing hands etc) and the impact of that alone! is beginning to get me in a spin (I suffer with chronic condition that doesn't make me cev but I have high fatigue and pains at best of times).

Yes, I do suffer with anxiety (but have reasons to justify) but as it becoming more evident that we heading into another wave, what is reasonable to do , looking at the measures we used in past - when it was kind of mandatory - that can do now?? I want , and have started wearing face mask in supermarkets . I want to ask my teens to wear facemask on public transport but because no one else, well few, are doing this, feel I can't impose this and don't want to pass on anxieties to them.

BUT I know as 'mum', that if (when) family get sick, it will fall to me to a lot more , which don't get me wrong, I do want and feel should do, - but my stance is let's try and do whatever we can to reduce likelihood or getting sick - or preparing for the worst. I am NOT going to be stopping life; but as we head into winter again I am getting worried. Hubby away for weekend with friends and now it's back to thinking 'oh expect he will bring back covid '.

So wish really there were some more mandatory mitigations tbh. I know a lot will shout me down about this. I don't think we should lockdown before anyone thinks then. Just we are a culture of 'followers' and when fold started wearing masks, it made others accept wearing ok, and when it no longer mandatory, if still wearing one you felt odd! Wondered if others starting to wear masks again or doing anything else? (apart from get vaccinated which for most won't be for a while; my appointment is late Oct as I have another health condition).

Long woffly message. Sorry!

Kc

Wow. How everyone has changed their tune. Rewind to a thread a year or so ago and the op would have been screamed at to wear a mask 😂

I donated 3 packs of masks to the doctos surgery the other day. I won’t be wearing them anymore.

Even if it was mandatory it can't be enforced so what's the point ,wear one if you want
Number ,s of infection are always going to rise and fall

I've seen a fair few people wearing masks, some of them the FFP-2 ones (city metro system) recently. You do you. I wore these in 2020 before vaccinations were available, to protect me and vulnerable people in my family, as best we could. We've decided since not to, but we all have free will to review this against our own criteria at any time, as do you. I recommend you wear decent ones if you want to, especially on packed transport where in the winter or rain the windows may be closed. These are a transmission hot-spot.

Do continue to get help for her with the OCD and you with the health anxiety, so you can be clear with yourselves what your actual criteria are for wearing them so you can do it effectively without being over the top/illogical.

I think it's more that, in previous years, people were bullied off threads for daring to say they wouldn't or couldn't wear a mask.

Some of the comments towards non-mask wearers were horrendous.

Never intend on wearing one again. Actually, my heart sinks when I see others wear them. They represent such a shit time for everyone when we all fell for the scaremongering. But people can do as they want as long as others don't feel peer pressured into copying.

I don’t understand how OCD links with Covid, unless you are saying that seeing peoples faces upsets the sufferer.

Still wearing 3M FFP3 grade in hospitals (masks are still mandatory in our local hospitals), GP surgery (masks are still mandatory in ours), pharmacy (no longer required in ours), shops etc and when we have tradesmen working in the house. Many of these venues are poorly ventilated. I have a medically vulnerable husband in his late 70s and an adult child with a long term condition to protect. None of us has had C-19 yet. Don't feel odd.

People who wear masks with the intention of not infecting others are great human beings, its very common in some Asian countries to wear a mask on public transport if you're coughing /sneezing and I wish people here did the same.

Wearing one to avoid catching it would be of limited use unless you and family wore one all the time when not at home.

I've just had my first ever bout of covid, it was more impactful than I expected but no worse than a very bad cold and better than flu. DH had a bad cold, DS got minorly snotty.

If it helps your anxiety to wear a mask then do so, I would think you were one of the aforementioned great human beings taking care of others.

Make sure everyone gets their flu jab, to both avoid them getting ill and to help stop/slow the spread of the disease therefore helping to protect vulnerable people.

I've never stopped wearing a mask on buses. They're generally full of people coughing and sneezing and I've had noticeably fewer bugs since I started wearing one. I've got a chronic health condition too and try avoid catching anything so I don't get any worse (my life is already tough and if it it got any worse it would be utterly pointless). I wouldn't ask my kids to though. What would be the point if they're in school anyway?

My husband currently has covid and I've banished him to the attic 😁 which he's happy to comply with because if I get sicker I won't be able to cook, clean etc

You should be more worried about your children catching your anxiety than catching Covid. I have an anxious parent and suffer from anxiety myself (although not health anxiety) so have experience in this area.

Oh and I am much less anxious not wearing a mask so would hate for mandates to return.

They have plenty of negatives as well as having dubious effectiveness against Covid.

Is there data available yet to confirm that rates are rising sharply again? Could anybody link me to it? Thanks

I can't link but I think I read figures were up 13% ,but tbh this isn't a surprise, kids have been back to school a few weeks now and the weather's getting colder ,the numbers will go up and down its how it affects hospital admissions that's important. @

I will continue to wear a mask in enclosed public spaces. I’m fully Vaxxed. I will stop wearing a mask inside public places when they produce an even better vaccine that prevents transmission. A mask is such a simple thing to wear and although not fully effective as we know, it’s still doing some good.

You can feel free to wear a mask.
You can ask your children to if you like.
You can’t expect the whole of society to do so to help with your anxiety sorry.

I have been wearing FFP3 masks since they were first available. I wear them on the bus, cinema, meetings etc. I have not had covid or any other illness. No one has ever said anything negative about my wearing them - I think they assume that I need to, as i do.

Masks don't work well enough

The anxious like them as they THINK they work. Other peoples anxiety is there problem so I won't wear a mask for that I'm afraid

I don't even see masks for sale anymore

Thanks. All i have to go on personally are the people coughing and spluttering on public transport plus the anecdotes I read on MN. The back to school data makes sense though. We haven't managed to wish it away and we are coming close to the three year mark 🙄 I remember when they announced it would be over in two years and people were aghast because even that seemed impossibly long...

If your daughter had such severe mental health issues that she spent all that time in hospital I think you'd be better placed doing absolutely everything in your power to stop being so anxious yourself . You cannot avoid catching a virus. Please stop it OP and i say this as someone with healthy anxiety, you will do MUCH more harm than good.

Long covid is life changing and it’s completely random who gets it. I’ve been wearing a mask as I have an underlying condition. They do work, not the cloth ones but proper surgical masks , FFP2 are better, my husband is a Paramedic he’s seeing increases in Covid cases. It annoys me that people couldn’t be arsed to wear a mask for 30 minutes in the supermarket etc when my husband and his colleagues are wearing them all day for 12 hour plus shifts.

Do what makes you feel better-- just keep an eye on it in case you start spiraling. Maybe you can have a chat with your family and see what they would be willing to do? From what you have posted, it seems you are well aware of your anxiety and want to feel safer but make sure you don't go OTT. I think you have got this OP. The worry about becoming ill is a real bugger which can eat away at you. I find that distracting myself and keeping busy is the only thing which keeps it in check.

Absolutely no way will I be wearing masks and participating in covid theatre again. If you have health anxiety then please feel free to wear a mask that protects you.

Yep! This!