Do you really trust that mask?
 

During a golf cart ride, something occurred that prompted me to do a little research. We were passing through a section of the multi-modal path where we were alone....no one was visible in front of us and no one had passed us going the opposite direction for some time. We both detected the strong smell of aftershave. I recognized the scent because I have a friend who uses too much of it daily. We had our masks around our necks and pulled them up to cover our faces. We could still smell the aftershave for some time as we drove along.

When I got home I did some research. The particle size of the airborne perfumes is between 30 and 150 micrometers. The particle size of the COVID-19 virus is 70-90 nanometers...a nanometer is 1000 times smaller than a micrometer.

I draw two conclusions:
1. Airborne particles can hang around for a decent amount of time
2. If I can smell perfumes through my mask, I can also inhale
COVID-19 particles through it.

Note: I have never assumed that the mask is protecting me, but might be protecting others, but there are many who feel bulletproof while wearing homemade masks.

There were days I didn’t trust my 95, even though you do a fit test to ensure the correct 95.

So if you have not been properly tested with a fit test, does your mask really fit

Evidence so far shows is a strong linkage to viral load/exposure time that seems unlikely to be plausable to induce infection from the open air if social distance is maintained.

The mask is as much to protect me from you as it is to protect you from me.

The use of masks in a hospital setting is to protect the health care worker from inhaling infectious organisms from known sick persons.

The suggestion to use masks in the public is mostly to reduce the number of particles breathed out by mildly ill or asymptomatic spreaders. COVID is very unusual in the number of not obviously ill people it infects, and they seem to be contagious to others. The details on this are preliminary, very preliminary.

The size of the virus itself is not what determines if it is trapped in the mask. Rather it is the size of the particle containing the virus. With respiratory viruses, there is a particle of water/mucus/saliva/viruses which is much larger than the virus itself. As many of the particles are large enough to be caught in a mask, there may be a reduction in virus that becomes airborne. It certainly won't be zero.

Nobody knows how much this will help or if it will actually help at all. That is why there is controversy on the use of masks. The advise to use them is in the school of it can't hurt and might help.

Another intelligent, professional (and never snarky) response. Thank you, Blueash, for sharing your knowledge.

They're requiring us to wear them at work now, effective 2 days ago. Inside the store it's not -too- bad, but wiping down carts in a hot front foyer and bringing carts in under the hot sun is VERY difficult to breathe, when your mouth and nose are both covered. The sweat soaks the mask, and that makes it even harder than just wearing a mask in a comfortably air-conditioned atmosphere.

What's worse - they have limited masks, so we only get one. We have to re-use it, or provide our own.

I hate these masks. But I wear them because a) I'm required to if I want to continuing working for them and b) some of our customers have zero respect for social distancing - so if this will even *reduce* my odds of getting sick, among so much exposure to the virus, I'll begrudgingly comply.

Even the best masks, shield, gowns and gloves haven't protected all of the healthcare workers. That's why we have to stay at home until it is safe to go out. Any governor rushing to re-open their state because the numbers are decreasing are putting us all at risk. The numbers may be decreasing, however, their are hundred of new cases that are entering the hospital, except maybe a few less than the day before. And those that are entering the hospital are the sickest ones. More people are suffering at home, so don't even get counted or even tested.

I have problems breathing through a mask also.

Downfall of the healthcare workers was no PPEs available, or reuse for weeks. Nothing to do with the PPEs.

Rapscallion, I’m really sorry I read your post. I felt fairly comfortable taking a quick trip into Walgreens when needed (wearing a mask, of course). Now, I don’t know. Guess it’s “doing the best I can with what I’ve got.”

And it's a shame that your store doesn't enforce. It seems they are appeasing the issuers of the guidelines rather than care for their employees and their customers. Your store isn't alone but Walmart and Sam's are better at enforcement.

Then.....they are not listening or didn't get the memo! Do these people live in a cave? Wearing a mask has never been touted to protect the wearer. Wearing a mask protects others.

What a mask does or does not do can get repeated everyday and the next day......repeat.

As long as wearing a mask is recommended, there will always be a question.

If they were a mandated/law, rule, requirement with enforcement (at least in the beginning)....there would not be the questioning.

Complaining would continue, but with a mask on.

This video demonstrates how a home made mask does trap droplets. I've posted this same video in another thread but for those of you who have not seen it, this may explain how a cloth mask does block droplets from becoming airborne......

How a mask blocks droplets - YouTube

Best prevention stay home

Need groceries order home delivery

We play golf with 2 groups..We all know each others habits

That may be very true but you still do not know who each of your buddies has been in contact with unless you are with them every time they step out of their homes. You just don't.

EDIT: Do you realize your post was posted 3 times?

Masks are not respirators. Gas Scent molecules are smaller than water droplets molecules.

Read the numerous threads on this forum, there have been many claims made that a mask helped prevent the wearer from being infected. I remember numerous media news stories saying the same thing. I remember posts where a few posters pointed out that the mask did not prevent infection and they were ridiculed for their statements. Maybe you are the one who has been living in a cave.

The conclusions are based on faulty "research." What you're smelling isn't perfume. It's the FUMES left behind after the perfume has already been sprayed and the alcohol carrier liquid has evaporated. The particle size for fumes of perfume is less than .3 micrometers.

In addition, many men put aftershave on their necks in addition to their faces.
In addition, many masks don't cover the entire lower face all the way to the sideburns, but aftershave is typically applied all the way to the sideburns.
In addition, some men might put their masks on immediately after applying the aftershave, which means it's on their fingers when they put the mask on - and the scent is therefore transferred to the outside surface of the mask.

Summary: it's a nothingburger.

I've been listening physicians who have told the American people that masks protect others and not the wearer of the mask. No, I have not been living in a cave. I've been informed by the experts that I have seen on TV news programs and the Coronvirus updates that were televised.

Masks are all about reducing risks not eliminating them. Same as social distancing, if you can reduce your chance of getting sick by 75% the you should do it. If you want to eliminate your risk all together your only option is to stay home.

This is the best explanation of why to wear a mask:
Imagine a naked man coming up to you and ****ing on you, you get wet even if you are wearing pants. Now if the man wears pants and he comes up to you and ****es, he wets his own pants not yours.

I wear a mask at work because the boss requires it. I sometimes wear a mask to other places as a matter of trying to be sensitive to the sensibilities of others. I don't wear one outside in open air (except at work, because we're required to).

It's not a matter of trusting the mask. I don't trust my black pants to keep my skin any more or less covered than my blue pants. But I wear them because I'm supposed to.

Bandanas reduce the likelihood of infecting others and are much easier to breath with. I even wear mine while cycling without problems and I push myself really hard when I ride. I think N95 masks are a waste. They are hard to breathe through and if someone coughs or sneezes on you it is all over your body. If you want to protect yourself from others, wear a hazmat suit, stay at home, or social distance only with people who wear masks.

And, remember, that’s what hospital masks were invented for—to protect the patient from the medical staff—not the other way around.

Oh my goodness. That is even better than the video I posted about how a mask blocks droplets. Too funny!

Covid-19 : LaVision imaging technique shows how masks restrict the spread of exhaled air.

Wearing mask vs not wearing mask
Apr 8, 2020



Wearing mask vs not wearing mask - YouTube

A couple of interesting studies have recently been reported about masks:

FIRST STUDY:
Coronavirus infections would plunge if 80 percent of people wore masks, study says | Fox News

"Universal masking at 80 [percent] adoption flattens the curve significantly more than maintaining a strict lockdown," researchers wrote in the study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed.

And

SECOND STUDY:
Men less likely to wear face masks because they see them as '''sign of weakness,''' study suggests | Fox News

“A new study suggested that men are less likely to wear face masks, despite the risk of COVID-19. According to the research, it appears that some people see wearing a face covering as a "sign of weakness." Many of the men also reported they didn’t believe they would become infected.

TWO QUESTIONS:
1) Why weren’t masks thoroughly studied before? Several Asian countries adopted mass mask-wearing long ago so why didn’t anyone study their effectiveness? The talking heads have made it seem as if we are flying-by-the-seat-of-our-pants because this virus’ transmission is so new and novel. Really? Masks haven’t changed very much and other coronaviruses had been around for a long time. SARS and MERS should have caused some expert to study the probable outcome of masks versus shutdowns long before COVID-19. Does that study (^) make anyone else angry?

2) How did our government know almost immediately that there would be an inevitable shortage of N95 and surgical masks? (That is why we were told very early that we should not buy them—to protect the limited supply) If they knew a shortage was certain, why weren’t there contingency plans and adequate stockpiles to mitigate that risk? PPE might not last forever but they probably have a pretty long shelf life. The Swamp Rats should have had PPE covered, especially after several other recent problems like SARS, MERS, Ebola, and H1N1. Why is no one ever held accountable?

Thoughts?

This is funny but very true. I have actually read that the mask wearer is protected to a small degree, depending on what type of material, but is usually a very small percentage.

The real benefit of wearing a mask is to block the droplets which carry the virus into the air. As we all have been made aware, there are people who carry the virus and shed virus but are asymptomatic. These people have no idea they can infect people around them. Wearing a mask which blocks droplets from a person's nose or mouth most certainly can prevent the spread of the virus.

I've posted this video a few times on this forum but not one person has made a comment about the demonstration. The demo is using one layer of T-shirt material. I have tried this demonstration on my own bathroom mirror and used a single layer of a Bounty paper towel. I got the same result as this video..........

How a mask blocks droplets - YouTube

How do you protect the eyes?

FINALLY !!!!! Someone with some common sense. Of course a virus can be inhaled through a mask. The only thing IMHO that a mask can do, is help block the spittle in close quarters with others. For me, wearing a mask is useless as far as protection is concerned.

For you, a mask is not useless. And yes a virus can get through a mask. But it is a LOT more difficult for a virus to pass through a mask than it is to pass through the air with no barrier at all.

It is MUCH more likely that a virus will get to the mask, and just stop and get stuck on the outside of the mask, and not get through, than it is to pass through.

Masks are not useless. They are useful. They might not be as useful as staying home in a sterile, isolated room, but they are absolutely useful.

Kind of like using chicken wire to keep out mosquitoes.

More like using an old metal collander to drain angel hair pasta. Some of them are gonna end up in the sink no matter how gently you dump the pasta in the bowl. But most of them will not.

Funny you ask that question. When this pandemic first emerged here in America, I was trying on my cloth mask that my neighbor was giving out. I put on the mask then put on my gardening goggles which protect not only my eyes but the sides of my face too. My husband took one look at me and told me people would laugh at me if I wore that get up in public. Of course, I have never worn the goggles in public but I always have that option.

I wear eye glasses so I would hope that anyone who wears eye glasses is protected somewhat from direct flying droplets into the eyes.

As an aside..........I saw a photo on on a Humor thread on a website of someone shopping in a grocery store with a completely covering the head gas mask and a HAZMAT suit. I have a feeling the photo was staged but it was hilarious to see this guy pushing a shopping cart in the grocery store.

~~~

Are you wearing a mask to protect others when you can not be guaranteed to keep your distance from people? I have a feeling most people out and about who are wearing masks believe the masks are protecting them. They have no clue they are not really protected but they are protecting people around them. I also have a sinking feeling that if these same people were aware that the mask they wear is not protecting them, they would not wear a mask at all. That is the sad part.

Complaining continues.
 

Sadly, there will always be those that flaunt laws and rules. As was mentioned the other day, someone was in an urgent care facility and the worker escorting them had her mask dangling from one ear. When asked why she was not wearing a mask, her reply was, "I am wearing a mask". I would love to know if she was trying to be cute, snarky or just being a smart a$$. And in a medical facility.

Masks provide SOME protection from other people, when you are wearing it, compared to wearing no mask at all.

How much? The jury's still out. If I was just getting over a cold, or was feeling a little fatigued or stressed from life - then I'd feel a lot more comfortable wearing a mask in public than not wearing one, for my own safety. I'd know that I'm not "at risk" enough to have to isolate myself away from the world, but not "tip top" enough to not have any concerns.

You can be cautiously optimistic with a mask on.

And just FYI: I don't wear my mask outside in open air, unless I'm where there are a lot of other people also not wearing masks. I carry one in my pocketbook all the time now so if I feel uncomfortable, I can put it on. I also wear it at work, even outside, because it's required when I'm on the clock.

Glasses. Sunglasses outside and clear glasses inside. There are driving glasses for no glare etc for all kinds of conditions. There are clear work glasses to keep out dust, sawdust etc I use them in the kitchen and swim googles keep the strongest garlic or onion from making me weep.