Confused

[Eilyfoley]

Mask or no mask? Apparently wearing a mask will not prevent the spread but it will help protect the public from those infected. Also, people with lung disease (I have ipf) should not wear them. Has been easy for me so far as I have self isolated. But what happens when restrictions are lifted?

[sassy59]

It can be a problem as there is so much advice going around. Pete and I have various masks as I want to be sure Pete (COPD) can breathe easily whilst wearing one. I think if you’re outside and observing social distancing you should be fine without a mask. In more enclosed spaces I.e. shops etc. Pete and I will be wearing one. If you can tolerate something across your mouth and nose then why not? It’s really up to you though of course. As I’ve said before, I feel something is better than nothing. Others may disagree and you’ve got to feel comfortable.

Stay safe and well xxx😘

[Spacecat1 in reply to sassy59]

Yes we feel the same I have copd. So hubby wants to protect me best he can. So we will both wear masks. I just wonder why checkouts in supermarkets dont wear masks. Hubby says the smaller shops are great they have gloves and masks. So he dosent go to big supermarkets now. Stay safe. Enjoy the glorious weather. Struggling a bit.

[sassy59 in reply to Spacecat1]

Here for you Spacecat, don’t struggle alone. Xxx😘💕😘💕

[Spacecat1 in reply to sassy59]

I wont promise and Thank You.

[Hidden]

People that wear masks are helping to protect others they come into contact with, in case they are infected with the virus without knowing it.

Doctors and nurses wear masks and face shields to protect themselves against infection.

The mask I would recommend is the vog mask with vents, you can breath through it easily and is washable. Wash reusable masks regularly for hygiene purpuses, be aware of safe disposal and handling of resuable mask.

Use a mask in an enclosed public space (inside a building) when outside keep the safe distance of 2 metres (you wouldn't need a mask when outside if keeping a safe distance always)

Masks should not be worn, all day every day its not healthy to do so and generally for people with damaged lungs already, really not advisable to wear for hours on end.

Doctors and nurses have had to wear masks all day every day but they change their mask regularly, when the mask becomes damp it is not effective as a protection.

You could opt for a face shield if a mask is out of the question and for when you enter a public building. Even in public buildings it it advisable to keep safe distance from others. Public transport is not advisable if it can be avoided.

Not sure when vogmasks new batch manufacturing will become available, but when they do grab one because they are bound to sell out again really quickly. They are expensive, but they are quality and breathable masks.

Update although the vogmask with vent protects the wearer it doesn't protect others. The vogmask without vents protects both the wearer and others. But without vents I can't breath through the mask for very long myself so it looks like I shall be going for a face shield.

The manufacturing company is looking at tweaking the masks to suit pandemic situations.

I did mention on another post somewhere that I have found up to 4 layers of the buff or morf neck head covers I can breathe through as well. 2 layers quite easily, if you can't go to 3 or 4 but the more layers the more protection I'd say.

[Superzob]

olive2709 raised this 9 days ago. In your case, continued self-isolation might be an option, but my reply to Olive was as follows:

"There are really two issues which you need to think about - protection of others and protection of yourself. Surgical masks (and DIY masks - there is some useful research on the efficacy of these at smartairfilters.com/en/blog...) are designed to protect others from the wearer, whereas N95/FFP3 masks are designed to protect the wearer.

Surgical masks retail at about 50p, whereas N95 masks cost ten times more. The advantage of surgical and DIY masks is obviously cost, but the disadvantage is the limited protection for the wearer. The current encouragement to get people to wear any sort of mask is based on the fact that, if the vast majority are wearing, then you are catching the vast majority of virus particles, so spread of contagion is low; but you would be better off wearing an N95 mask in crowded places where few others are wearing masks. Also, all masks are liable to trap virus particles on the external surface, particularly after prolonged usage, so care needs to be taken on removal; this is particularly important with DIY masks, like scarves, which can easily be turned inside out, thereby exposing the wearer to viral contamination. In such cases, the advice is to place the used DIY mask in a "dirty" bag for later washing, and replace it with a clean one, rather than trying to reuse the dirty one; proprietary surgical and N95 masks don't have that problem, as the inside and outside are clearly distinguishable, so could be reused a few times as long as you don't touch the outside.

All mask types now seem to be more readily available, and there is plenty of advice online (including the BBC) on how to make your own. In the end, it's a judgement call on when, where and which mask to wear, but I hope the above is helpful."

[DaisyEric]

We should all wear something as best we can to protect EACH OTHER.

That's my opinion.

((()))