Why Can't People Wear Masks Properly

[Training Wheels]

Originally Posted by sanibel sailor

I am a surgeon so wear a mask frequently. I had to correct one of the techs in my room today about proper mask wear. He knows the right way but just wasn't doing it.
I had to remind him of the standard. I hope it won't be repeated or he will be invited to find someone else to fulfill his duties. In the real world, no one has authority. Some poor security guard got shot to death over it by one of our well regulated militia members.

There are dozens of hospital mask styles. The standard ones have a small aluminum strip over the nose that holds the shape.
My preferred is the Precept model which has a tacky strip on the nose band so it sticks to your skin and seals, preventing glasses fogging.
The N95's are the gold standard. They are supposed to be fit to you. I was issued one at the peak, but no one ever fitted it to me. They are more oppressive than the regular style. If you are around someone with the virus, this is what you need to be safe.
Most homemade cloth ones are much less effective. Cloth is porous and not nearly as good a filter. Catches drops but not the fine aerosol that stays suspended in air for long durations. Nose out, why bother?
I also do not understand wearing a mask while driving in the car alone or outside engaged in solo activity.

And don't get me started on proper use of gloves. It is clear to me that none of these people have ever been taken to task by a battle weary scrub tech for inappropriate touching, and I don't mean #MeToo. It is memorable.

In Mexico, where we are, you have to wear a mask while driving, and there are checkpoints. Don’t get it, but we do what we must.

[akopac]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

You just did get political but since you brought it up, masks don’t protect the wearer and in this case, he is probably the most tested person in the world so no need for him to wear one.
More importantly, surgical masks are intended for sterile environments such as the OR and are only minimally effective at limiting virus transmission so it’s essentially nothing more than a bandaid.

I have had 2 styles of n95 mask. One with a exhaust valve that only protects the wearer, and one that has no exhaust valve that protects both the wearer and people around them. The primary mask purpose was supposed to be to keep others from being exposed to your spit/vapor when you exhale, but the first mask with an exhaust valve protects only the user. The second with no valve protects both user and others around him/her. Why would you use a mask when working with hazardous materials if it didn’t filter out the stuff your working with. His choice.

[NorthernMac]

I never really was onboard with all this, never wore a mask because I find it silly.

[NorthernMac]

Originally Posted by slug

That is a political statement

I don’t take health advice from politicians ... only from health professionals

As someone who worked in that industry, and evaced Pt.s away from docs who get themselves in way over their heads, well there is a reason medical blunders kill 250,000 people a year in the US.

When it comes to your health, remember you are ultimately your first and last line of defense, use your own common sense and reasoning, just because someone has a MD after their name doesn’t really mean nearly as much as many think

[CarlF]

The US has had 355 deaths per million population. Japan has had 7 deaths per million.

The Japanese tested less than the US. They have high population density so social distancing is difficult. The only apparent reason for this huge difference in deaths is that everyone wore masks. Largely because people were culturally used to wearing masks.

Most masks don’t protect the wearer but even a cheap surgical mask will reduce the virus you transmit to others when coughing, speaking or just breathing to almost undetectable levels.

Not wearing a mask in crowded spaces says to me that you don’t give a crap about anyone else.

Like someone who runs through a mooring field dragging a big wake.

[CaptTom]

Originally Posted by CarlF

Not wearing a mask in crowded spaces says to me that you don’t give a crap about anyone else.

Like someone who runs through a mooring field dragging a big wake.

And this, I think, is the answer to the OP's question: Why?

Even when it's not an overtly political statement, it's a statement about one's opinions. Someone who doesn't believe masks are helpful, or doesn't believe the virus is a serious health issue, can easily demonstrate that opinion by simply not wearing one, or grudgingly putting it half-on just to meet the requirement.

As to whether that opinion is correct or not, I'm not qualified to answer. I hear reasonable (and unreasonable) arguments on both sides of the issue. I wear a mask (properly) where requested out of respect for others I come in contact with.

I don't need to make a statement, and I don't want to cause an argument.

But some people do.

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

I’ve got a theory that they are wearing a mask because they were told it was a good idea. They don’t know why they’re wearing it...

I agree. They've watched just enough TV to be frightened into wearing a mask, but did not pay enough attention to what they were watching to understand how a mask can help, or how to wear it. As a result, many of them actually make things WORSE, both for themselves and for others.

Originally Posted by sanibel sailor

And don't get me started on proper use of gloves.

Yes, another one. So many people out there wearing gloves, with obviously no clue at all why or how. Saw a woman the other day riding a bicycle along the side of the road, wearing surgical gloves. Was she protecting herself from her OWN HANDLEBARS!?! Okay, maybe she was going somewhere that gloves would be appropriate, but then she should have waited and put them on when she got there. Again, knows just enough to be frightened, without knowing enough to actually protect herself or others.

Originally Posted by Training Wheels

In Mexico, where we are, you have to wear a mask while driving, and there are checkpoints. Don’t get it, but we do what we must.

One of the dumber things I see people doing. Riding in your own car, by yourself, there is practically NO possibility that you are going to catch the virus by inhaling it. Even if other people frequently use the car, it is virtually impossible for anything to still be in the air by the time you get out and they get in (or vice versa).

Rational thought has completely gone out the window in the last few months. The run on toilet paper is pretty much prima facie evidence of that! It is idiotic that I can go to Walmart, where there are hundreds of people handling everything on the shelves, but I cannot go to my tailor, who sees one client at a time, and washes everything before he hands it over to me.

Too many people have let their fear overcome their reason. Yes, this is a very serious health threat, and precautions are more than justified. But the level of fear out there is way out of proportion. Take a lesson from Douglas Adams, "DON'T PANIC!"

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by thinwater

Some people don't want to wear them for what ever reason. I get that and I don't want to start that argument. Many people wear them where and when they are not needed. Not all circumstances have risk, but no harm done. But if you are going to wear a mask at all, wouldn't you feel stupid doing it WRONG?

Having taken in all the arguments over the past couple of months, I've come around to the utility of mask use by the public in some situations. The usage that makes the most sense to me is that followed by many European countries:

• the main point of the mask is to prevent viral spread from those infected, not to protect the uninfected wearer
• cloth or basic surgical masks are adequate for this; specialized masks are still in short supply and needed most by front-line medical workers (and the general public isn't often using them correctly anyways, as you note)
• mask wear is for when people are in close contact or in enclosed shared spaces: public transit, stores etc. Masks are about useless outdoors, as long as people remain at least 2m apart.

So, personally, I'm not that bugged if someone's no wearing the mask perfectly, as long as it catches that sneeze or cough of a possible spreader. I get more angry to see N95's on the general public, while there are still shortages of PPE for medical workers.

About mask use in general; I'm regarding it as the right thing to do when in stores:

• 70% - protecting others in the off chance that I'm a carrier
• 30% - providing a good example, showing some consideration for other shoppers and the store staff and other "essential" workers who have to wear that stuff for their whole shift. If they can do that, the least I can do is to flip on my mask as I enter the store.

If outbreaks continue to be a risk, a mask protocol will probably be with us for a while. It's not horrible, if it permits more social and economic activity.

[CatNewBee]

I don't know, in the good old days they knew how to wear a mask.

[Pegu Club]

Lots of folk are just too lazy to try, so they increase their and others odds of exposure, like was said up post many folk just don’t care about themselves or others enough to participate. Being that the first wave of the virus is yet to end, the second wave could be scary for many people, Sad...

Fair winds,

[Dsanduril]

I'll bite, I might be one of those people you see with the mask on in the car. I'm out and about, I got the mask on and adjusted properly. My glasses aren't fogging and it's comfortable (as it gets). The nose piece feels snug and secure. In a few minutes I'm going to be stopping my car, getting out, and entering another situation where a mask is a required. It is far faster and more efficient to leave my mask on in the car while driving from mask situation A to mask situation B.

Another reason, if you have been out an about and don't have hand sanitizer and/or a hand washing station in your car then it is the right thing to do to leave your mask on until you can get home (or wherever) and wash your hands before, and then after taking off your mask. It helps to keep you from touching your face with the dirty hands that have just been at the grocery.

Or just sit back and ridicule people who could have a reasonable explanation for having their mask on in the car.

[dave777]

Originally Posted by akopac

I don’t want to get political, but,... In the US our fearless leader doesn’t even wear one. Taking “Leading by Example” to a whole other level.

Do you mean Andrew Cuomo? Because you're right, he doesn't wear a mask.


But he did order nursing homes to re-admit Covid19+ elderly once their hospitalization coverage ran out. Otherwise NY State would have had to pick up the tab. The many decades old rule which allowed nursing homes to turn away any person with a condition they didn't believe they could handle was reversed at the height of the Pandemic by Cuomo in his March 2020 by his special order. In fact, nursing homes were even forbidden from testing during admission for Covid19.


Lets remember that all citizens, healthy, young old white black etc were forbidden from visiting parents & grandparents, perhaps in their final days - "to protect the elderly". Yet to protect Cuomo's slush funding, sick carriers of the pandemic virus were forced into homes across the state. Still wondering why NY State is a hot spot?


It's such a tickle to hear people nit picking over how to wear a mask, which Lord Fauci originally said on national TV would have NO EFFECT in protecting people. To be sure, Fauci reversed his medical expertise to get in line with the mindset: "Wear a mask, be afraid, obey"


We know that every hospital admission gets reimbursed an extra $13K if they check the Covid box.


Just wondering: does anybody know if a Covid COD nets the reporting institution any extra funds?

[akopac]

https://thehill.com/changing-america...-to-wear-masks

[slug]

Originally Posted by denverd0n

I agree. They've watched just enough TV to be frightened into wearing a mask, but did not pay enough attention to what they were watching to understand how a mask can help, or how to wear it. As a result, many of them actually make things WORSE, both for themselves and for others.


Yes, another one. So many people out there wearing gloves, with obviously no clue at all why or how. Saw a woman the other day riding a bicycle along the side of the road, wearing surgical gloves. Was she protecting herself from her OWN HANDLEBARS!?! Okay, maybe she was going somewhere that gloves would be appropriate, but then she should have waited and put them on when she got there. Again, knows just enough to be frightened, without knowing enough to actually protect herself or others.


One of the dumber things I see people doing. Riding in your own car, by yourself, there is practically NO possibility that you are going to catch the virus by inhaling it. Even if other people frequently use the car, it is virtually impossible for anything to still be in the air by the time you get out and they get in (or vice versa).

Rational thought has completely gone out the window in the last few months. The run on toilet paper is pretty much prima facie evidence of that! It is idiotic that I can go to Walmart, where there are hundreds of people handling everything on the shelves, but I cannot go to my tailor, who sees one client at a time, and washes everything before he hands it over to me.

Too many people have let their fear overcome their reason. Yes, this is a very serious health threat, and precautions are more than justified. But the level of fear out there is way out of proportion. Take a lesson from Douglas Adams, "DON'T PANIC!"

If you are infected , driving singlehanded and cough or sneeze in a car all the interior car surfaces get carpeted with corona ....

Next person using or sitting in the car gets sick

Gloves discourage you from touching your face or rubbing your eyes

People say gloves are useless because when you remove them you contaminate your hands

This is easy to solve ... hand sanitizer . Wash your hands after removing your gloves

Older people or folks with health issues would be wise to strictly follow guidelines

[thinwater]

This is the plainest explanation of the purpose of simple face coverings. Please share!