The Crazies Are Out - Covid 19

I’ve seen the same in Costco, Walmart (employees too) and other stores. In one case a Dad with 2 kids - kids wearing masks correctly, but not Dad. But why would you bring kids in anyway?

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I saw a PSA likening wearing your mask under your nose to wearing your underwear incorrectly. However, I will refrain from sharing as it is perhaps not horribly appropriate.

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Or your eye tissue…

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@TiaG

Like this?image

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Sorry to disappoint some folks. I’ve only worn a mask in Costco. New research is showing how unhealthy wearing one is. I’m not trying to stir the pot, only , only why I don’t wear one

Share the research you’ve seen!

I am always interested in reading stuff like that. Some research makes sense, and some of it they just do for the sake of making a headline. I’d like to hear it.

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I’ve seen some of this stuff going around but don’t think there’s actually true “research” showing that prolonged use of cotton, cloth or surgical masks has any negative impact on someone’s health.

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@Honda I’m a dentist (now retired) and wore a mask every day for about 8-10 hours for about 35 of my 42 years in practice. Almost all of my maladies predate the wearing of a mask.

I’d really like to see that research. I want to see what I should watch out for before I get old…oops, too late :mask:

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Oops, sorry for stating my thoughts on the matter. I’ll keep quiet.

No, I think the research is actually mixed on this topic. I have witnessed people doing all kinds of stupid things with masks on. The woman in front of us in line to get food at a takeout restaurant actually touched her face 42 times in 5 minutes (we counted) and is much more prone to getting a disease wearing the mask than if she wasn’t. But I haven’t seen any studies effectively arguing either way to be honest.

I think there’s a difference between saying that a mask doesn’t effectively prevent disease transmission (jury still out, lots of caveats, etc.) and saying that masks harm your health. I’ve seen people claiming it cause “carbon dioxide poisoning” and all sorts of other maladies – separate from the germ factor. That’s what I’m particularly skeptical of.

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Nobody is suggesting you keep quiet. You mentioned research. I think it would be good to share it!

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Your right. I don’t research much. Just a different car I’m starting to build. I just see random news interviews and some Facebook stuff… Ha, Ha, so much for quiet.

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Here is one study on influenza that shows the masks might prevent transmission but most subjects were unable to effectively use the mask for an extended period of time.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=2ahUKEwj-z_6_8L3pAhUCnZ4KHTW7AyEQFjADegQIBBAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwwwnc.cdc.gov%2Feid%2Farticle%2F15%2F2%2Fpdfs%2F08-1167.pdf&usg=AOvVaw1AS8GZpC4nEJJaU4gGjt30

@Chris, I think that’s a local link other people won’t be able to access.

Masks, unless they are N95s or such, have little to do with protecting yourself anyway. The washable cloth masks are primarily to protect other people from the possibility you may be an asymptomatic carrier. They offer a slight amount of protection the wearer, but minimal, and if someone is touching their face more while wearing it, it’s easy to believe that self-protective effect could be negated. But that’s not really the point. The potentially great thing re: masks is that if everyone wears them, transmission drops to very low levels, because we are all protected thanks to the actions of others. The unfortunate thing is many people aren’t wearing them or wearing them properly, and many people in US culture at least don’t seem to see a reason to wear them unless misled into believing they are highly self-protective.

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Fixed it, thanks

Oh, I understand what you are trying to say, but even those that are doing these types of studies say something along these lines in the quote below. Which is a far cry from the transmission drops to very low levels statement you are making.

Quote:
Milton, who runs the Public Health Aerobiology, Virology, and Exhaled Biomarker Laboratory in the School of Public Health, demonstrated in a 2013 study that surgical masks could help limit flu transmission. However, he cautions that the effect may not be as great outside of controlled settings.

Nevertheless, he said, the chance they could help justifies taking a new look at whether all people should be encouraged to wear them when they venture out of their houses to stores or other populated locations during the current COVID-19 lockdown.

“In normal times we’d say that if it wasn’t shown statistically significant or the effective in real-world studies, we don’t recommend it,” he said. “But in the middle of a pandemic, we’re desperate. The thinking is that even if it cuts down transmission a little bit, it’s worth trying.”

Edit - So while I do wear a mask when out shopping, I am also realistic that it is probably not doing anything miraculous.

Edit 2 - Source of quote: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/04/200403132345.htm

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This PDF contains a good summary of recent studies of mask-wearing and virus transmission. It’s from my province’s public health agency. Even though the evidence isn’t hands-down in favour of mask-wearing by the general public in non-medical settings, Canadian public health agencies at the federal, provincial and municipal levels generally recommend wearing a mask when physical distancing isn’t possible, as protection for others if you are asymptomatic or presymptomatic.

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There are some new studies specifically in SARS-CoV-2 that show dramatic reduction in the viral load making it out of a mask, as well as the distance those droplets travel. Again, no doing much for me, but for the people around me it could be significant.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-020-0843-2

I also think we can look at places that mandate universal masking vs. not (like Czech republic) to see some observational effects. Of course, those are confounded by a bunch of stuff. But still, I do think it’s illustrative.

In any case, I think it’s worth it to ask people to do this relatively easy thing in public if it has even a modest effect on transmission. Going from an R0 of 1.1 to an R0 of 0.98 is the difference between an outbreak being contained and growing… To me, asking people to wear a mask in public spaces isn’t much different from, say, a public requirement for wearing a shirt, or a private store requiring shirt/shoes/or even no “open-toed shoes” etc…

I don’t make my 2-year-old wear a mask because it seems totally fruitless (he literally chews on it), but I do ask the older boys to because they are bad at social distancing and would cough on a person without realizing it…

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Like I mentioned previously, I wear a mask, but don’t believe it is all that effective. That being said, we are moving into summer. The only masks I am able to source are the cloth ones which are incredibly hot after 30 minutes of wearing. There is little chance that I will be able to wear one of those correctly during the summer months without being uncomfortable and sweating through them which probably defeats the purpose, and hope that the medical OR masks become available soon otherwise myself and many others will not be taking this precaution, or will be making adjustments that make this ineffective.

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