just weird thoughts on wearing masks

[Kestryl]

Which SHOULD let in even LESS air then the homemade cloth masks.

Sure, at least N95 respirators should be form fit. Our surgical masks are not, and our work-site approval does not allow us to simply swap them out for cloth because handmade cloth masks are not regulated in any way.

I think it’s fair to wonder how the long-term wearing of a mask- especially those that are not regulated in any way- can affect a user. Especially a new user who has zero formal training. Again, there’s a big difference between a trained nurse changing out their medical mask regularly and some random person off the the street wearing a handmade covering of varying quality.

Anecdotally, my employer has stated that they have had “several” cases of employees fainting while wearing cloth masks around office areas in the past month. The last time someone fainted on our site while wearing a mask was supposedly six years ago. They still recommend wearing face coverings, but they are concerned that there seems to be an increase in medical calls on fainting and dizziness with increased cloth mask use.

I’m wearing a cloth mask when I have to be around people, but I’m also trained with our standard PPE and recognize that I’m struggling more in a cotton cloth mask and I have to step away and take a mask-free breather regularly to prevent becoming another number in our safety tally at work.

 

[maxiesmom]

Deleting so it is not quoted again. It was a bad post.

 

[Searc]

Sure, at least N95 respirators should be form fit. Our surgical masks are not, and our work-site approval does not allow us to simply swap them out for cloth because handmade cloth masks are not regulated in any way.

I think it’s fair to wonder how the long-term wearing of a mask- especially those that are not regulated in any way- can affect a user. Especially a new user who has zero formal training. Again, there’s a big difference between a trained nurse changing out their medical mask regularly and some random person off the the street wearing a handmade covering of varying quality.

Anecdotally, my employer has stated that they have had “several” cases of employees fainting while wearing cloth masks around office areas in the past month. The last time someone fainted on our site while wearing a mask was supposedly six years ago. They still recommend wearing face coverings, but they are concerned that there seems to be an increase in medical calls on fainting and dizziness with increased cloth mask use.

I’m wearing a cloth mask when I have to be around people, but I’m also trained with our standard PPE and recognize that I’m struggling more in a cotton cloth mask and I have to step away and take a mask-free breather regularly to prevent becoming another number in our safety tally at work.

The random average person is not wearing a mask for 10-12 hours at a time and won't be.

 

[tzolkin]

They absolutely do. N95s are what I am referring to.

I think what the other poster was saying is that N95s are not worn routinely in the OR. So the masks usually worn do not “seal”

Someone could work in an OR for years/decades and never wear an N95 depending on their specislty. So assuming that just because someone is a surgeon s/he must wear one “all day every day” is not accurate

 

[Primeval Princess]

The random average person is not wearing a mask for 10-12 hours at a time and won't be.

As society reopens, a lot more people are going to be required to wear non-medical grade masks throughout a full work day. In some areas, even children and teens might end up being required to wear them all day at school. So the health effects of daily, long-term non-medical grade mask-wearing are a legitimate issue.

Think about it: If in 2019 you were to tell your doctor, "I feel like wearing a cloth mask over my nose and mouth all day at work, every day, and having my child do the same at school", your doctor would probably advise you against it for various reasons (less than optimal oxygen, excessive carbon dioxide, possible rash)...But because we live in CoronaWorld 24/7 now, that kind of concern for wellness is being left at the wayside.

 

[Primeval Princess]

So assuming that just because someone is a surgeon s/he must wear one “all day every day” is not accurate

This. Surgeons are not in the operating room all day, every day. My orthopedic specialist is a practicing surgeon, but he also regularly sees patients for non-surgical care. I've seen him twice since lockdown for non-surgical treatment, and I noticed that he didn't wear a mask either time. I did, btw.

 

[rotlex]

I guess I look towards the society of Japan, very common for them always to wear masks (not just since start of Covid) and they have a healthy society.

Actually one of the biggest reasons they wear masks is air pollution. Not so much illness.

 

[vitani88]

They absolutely do. N95s are what I am referring to.

Surgeons don't wear N95s in surgery.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I think what the other poster was saying is that N95s are not worn routinely in the OR. So the masks usually worn do not “seal”

Someone could work in an OR for years/decades and never wear an N95 depending on their specislty. So assuming that just because someone is a surgeon s/he must wear one “all day every day” is not accurate

My daughter-in-law is an ER nurse at a large suburban Chicago hospital. She wears a 95 mask most of her shift, along with a surgical one over it. My son is a firefighter/paramedic, he wears a 95 mask on many calls.

 

[orangetree]

face masks for general population are suggested so you don't unknowingly infect others, not the other way around. This is very important to keep in mind. If you adjust your mask and touch it, thus not making it 100% sterile itself, it still helps block droplets from sneezing / coughing / even talking, so you don't infect others as easily, very important especially because we know a lot of people are asymptomatic and thus wouldn't even know they could transmit it. Even with the best intentions, there's no way to know unless you take a test.

 

[tzolkin]

My daughter-in-law is an ER nurse at a large suburban Chicago hospital. She wears a 95 mask most of her shift, along with a surgical one over it. My son is a firefighter/paramedic, he wears a 95 mask on many calls.

Yes, some may wear them regularly for their job. We were specifically discussing surgeons/nurses who work in the operating room. They do not routinely wear N95s "all day".

Prior to COVID, N95s were worn on less than 1% of surgical cases in most places. (Usually only for TB patients or in specific instances where something was lasered/bovied that would aerosolize, like genital warts.) My husband has 25 years of experience in the OR and is in charge of PPE for a large hospital system and has never once worn an N95 mask (other than for doing a fit test).

 

[Dan Murphy]

Yes, some may wear them regularly for their job. We were specifically discussing surgeons/nurses who work in the operating room. They do not routinely wear N95s "all day".

Prior to COVID, N95s were worn on less than 1% of surgical cases in most places. (Usually only for TB patients or in specific instances where something was lasered/bovied that would aerosolize, like genital warts.) My husband has 25 years of experience in the OR and is in charge of PPE for a large hospital system and has never once worn an N95 mask (other than for doing a fit test).

true

 

[maxiesmom]

Surgeons don't wear N95s in surgery.

I get that. I misplaced that comment.

The masks we all are wearing do not seal, and won't in essence suffocate the wearer. They are meant to contain most of what comes out of the wearer, but are not air tight.

 

[mnrose]

face masks for general population are suggested so you don't unknowingly infect others, not the other way around. This is very important to keep in mind. If you adjust your mask and touch it, thus not making it 100% sterile itself, it still helps block droplets from sneezing / coughing / even talking, so you don't infect others as easily, very important especially because we know a lot of people are asymptomatic and thus wouldn't even know they could transmit it. Even with the best intentions, there's no way to know unless you take a test.

And sometimes, you don't know even if you DO take a test. The tests sadly are not 100% accurate. I was on a call with a friend via Zoom last night. She's in the Boston area (relatively hard hit). Her 21 year old daughter is an occupational therapist as a nursing home. A month ago, she tested positive for Covid, and had the symptoms. She isolated for two weeks, felt fine, tested negative, returned to work. On Friday, the nursing home tested EVERYONE who works in the home again, including my friend's daughter. Heard yesterday that she tested +++ again! She has zero symptoms. Feels fine. Either one or more of her tests are WRONG, or we have one seriously scary virus on our hand if it's already re-infecting someone who had the disease last month. Another friend of mine, on the same call, is a nurse practitioner in Dallas. They had one patient with all the symptoms. They gave that patient 4 tests....all negative. Patient is in the hospital needing help with breathing They finally extracted a sample directly from the lungs, and bam, they finally get a +++ test. It's an elusive virus. Both because you can't get a +++ test from a clearly symptomatic patient, and yet you can get +++ tests from a one with no symptoms at all. Very odd indeed. The nurse practitioner also said that they went back and antibody tested 5 patients from the January/Feb time period, all of whom had Covid like symptoms but tested negative for seasonal flu just to see if maybe the virus was "around" earlier than thought. 100% negative on the anti-body test. I offer her experience for all the people who say "I think I had it." She doesn't think it was in her patient population earlier than March.

 

[Christine]

And sometimes, you don't know even if you DO take a test. The tests sadly are not 100% accurate. I was on a call with a friend via Zoom last night. She's in the Boston area (relatively hard hit). Her 21 year old daughter is an occupational therapist as a nursing home. A month ago, she tested positive for Covid, and had the symptoms. She isolated for two weeks, felt fine, tested negative, returned to work. On Friday, the nursing home tested EVERYONE who works in the home again, including my friend's daughter. Heard yesterday that she tested +++ again! She has zero symptoms. Feels fine. Either one or more of her tests are WRONG, or we have one seriously scary virus on our hand if it's already re-infecting someone who had the disease last month. Another friend of mine, on the same call, is a nurse practitioner in Dallas. They had one patient with all the symptoms. They gave that patient 4 tests....all negative. Patient is in the hospital needing help with breathing They finally extracted a sample directly from the lungs, and bam, they finally get a +++ test. It's an elusive virus. Both because you can't get a +++ test from a clearly symptomatic patient, and yet you can get +++ tests from a one with no symptoms at all. Very odd indeed. The nurse practitioner also said that they went back and antibody tested 5 patients from the January/Feb time period, all of whom had Covid like symptoms but tested negative for seasonal flu just to see if maybe the virus was "around" earlier than thought. 100% negative on the anti-body test. I offer her experience for all the people who say "I think I had it." She doesn't think it was in her patient population earlier than March.

They are finding that fragments of virus can remain the nasal and throat area for much longer than the active infection lasts. They also believe it could be in the lungs much longer. What they haven't figured out is if it's just a DNA fragment or it's actually infective. Much like the dogs that had it in their nose. They lived with owners who had it. Dogs had some DNA in their respiratory tract. Somehow they determined that it wasn't contagious.

My husband had an antibody test this past Friday because he had a strange COVID-like illness that lasted most of January and February and he just wanted to know. He tested negative as I suspected he would. I don't think the virus was rampant in my area (DC area) in early January.

 

[DisneyOma]

I was just thinking how safe, healthy, sanitary, it is to be forced to wear a mask for 8 to 12 hrs a day--

first your breathing in all the little fibers of the mask--

to which your breathing the same air in and our all day

this alone cant be healthy or sanitary

people talk about the airplane air thats been recycled this from a mask isnt even recycled--its just the same old stale air

Im thinking in a few years from now it will come out how many people have breathing problems by wearing masks

also I still cant see in this day and time with all the brillant minds ,science medicine, technically how this whole thing got so messed

up--would would have ever thought the whole world would be shut down!!!!

Sanitary - it's (hopefully) keeping the virus from spreading as quickly as it could.
Healthy - it's better than getting COVID-19
Safe - better than getting COVID-19

What fibers are you talking about? If you're talking about the homemade filters using HEPA ones, etc, yeah, people shouldn't be putting those in masks.

PP have talked about how the air is filtered on a plane. Not that I want to go up in one on a good day, but it's not the same air over and over.

Brilliant minds, etc, don't have much control over how governments all over the world handled this. There was a lot of denial everywhere, and politics, and just plain old stupidity.

Which SHOULD let in even LESS air then the homemade cloth masks.

Any masks should let in plenty of air - even the N95s. The air is just better filtered.

 

[cabanafrau]

People have been wearing scarves and balaclavas for winter weather and activities for years without fear of suffocating or breathing in any fibers, bits or unsanitary matter.
It's much more uncomfortable in warm conditions, but they're not airtight.

 

[OrangeBirdGirl]

Actually one of the biggest reasons they wear masks is air pollution. Not so much illness.

Yep, aware of that. But still the basis that they could wear a mask all day and have been doing so for years and they are one of the healthiest nations in the world.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

Lord knows how all the Doctors and nurses have survived all these years having to deal with those deadly masks that surely have caused them all breathing issues after decades of this kind of abuse.

 

[Kae]

There is just so much wrong with this post I’m not even sure where to begin.

Sorry I don't see it. the Poster put out a thought nothing mean just some random thoughts they had and wanted to bounce off some people and maybe learn something.