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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThis is the biggest mistake people make while wearing a face mask
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-is-the-biggest-mistake-people-make-while-wearing-a-face-mask-2020-07-24Perhaps the biggest mistake that many folks are making with face masks besides not wearing them in public at all is pulling the facial coverings down so that the nose is exposed.
Amid the ongoing debate over when and where people should wear masks, and the mixed messaging behind that, whats perhaps been lost in the din is the correct way to put on a mask to actually help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the first place.
The CDC guidelines call for wearing a mask that covers both your nose and your mouth, with the mask secured under your chin. It should fit snugly against your face. There should not be large openings or gaps around your nose, mouth and the sides of your face.
But as summer temperatures have scorched the U.S. and, lets face it, some social distancing fatigue has set in as the pandemic continues health officials have had to remind people that pulling their masks down below their noses or their chins renders the mask basically useless.
*snip*
pandr32
(11,447 posts)It is an obvious violation whether intentional or not.
Nevilledog
(50,687 posts)pandr32
(11,447 posts)I take a wide arc around them. Staff has enough on their plate without having to confront this kind of violation, but they should.
Mariana
(14,849 posts)Everyone knows how to wear a mask. The kids might forget, but the adults are wearing it that way on purpose.
Ms. Toad
(33,915 posts)and they fall down. People get tired of pulling them back up.
Others are too small, so when worn over the nose they flatten it and make it hard to breathe.
Most don't have nose wires - which have two purposes - to hold the mask in place on the nose, and to create a seal to prevent leakage out of the top of the mask.
(I'm a mask maker, so I've played with a lot of patterns - and I people watch when I go out to see how people wear them to figure out how to make masks that will be worn properly.)
Some are doing it deliberately - but quite a few suffer from the three problems I've noted.
(Side gap is another major design flaw - but it doesn't result in people not wearing the masks properly, just in making them less effective.)
lame54
(35,141 posts)You find the one that works for you
Terrible excuse for not participating in this fight
There are different designs - masks are easy to come by now
Ms. Toad
(33,915 posts)are grocery store workers. They typically make $8-$10/hour (with no tips). You can't try masks without buying them (because of the contamination risk). Although you can find masks cheaper - they are frequently the ones that don't fit well. Each reasonably well designed mask costs $10-$20 (1-2 hours of their labor). How many masks should they be expected to buy (how many hours of their work should they be expected to spend to get a good fit - since each mask costs 1-2 hours of a day's work)?
In principle I agree with you, but that is coming from the perspective of someone with a lot of resources - who wasn't forced to work in a high contact setting every day during the shut-down, and who is just exhausted. (My daughter works in Starbucks - so I've got some connection to how she feels, and she has her mom to make as many masks as she needs until they fit. She also has 2 autoimmune disorders and understands the importance. She's been advocating for masks since before Starbucks would allow her to wear one.)
And, frankly, a lot of the mask makers who are making masks available for free distribution (and for sale) are making crap that doesn't fit well and doesn't stay up. There was a great need - people jumped in to help. Many had never sewn before. Most had never made (or altered) a pattern. They all meant well, but the early reports were that the construction was shoddy, masks didn't fit well, and the masks used materials that weren't suitable for wearing long term or washing.
I know some of the folks out there are intentionally wearing them improperly - but there are a number of people who are just wearing what they have (or what they bought when their employer told them they had to wear masks without much advance warning - I stayed up all night making masks for my daughter's co-workers, then again the next night when more of her co-workers wanted masks that fit well and didn't hurt.) That doesn't mean they shouldn't still find something better, but inertia is different from intentionally pulling them down below the nose (which was the point I was making).
lame54
(35,141 posts)We have several different varieties
Ms. Toad
(33,915 posts)Dollar General is supplying them - but, unfortunately, they are not enforcing the state-wide mask order (so I'm boycotting them - they are the only store I've been in where customers have obviously been trained that it is OK to enter without a mask). Starbucks isn't supplying them - but they did provide all associates with a BLM T-shirt for free. My school will be providing them to us for free.
Those are the only three I know I know one way or the other about.
Do any of the varieties your store is supplying have nose wires? That's the single most important item to make the mask wearable for anyone with glasses, and to keep it from falling off the nose. Secondary (for falling down purposes) is ties rather than ear loops - since that allows for people with different sized heads to wear them and have them fit.
pandr32
(11,447 posts)It doesn't pinch properly.
I agree with what you've said. Lots of homemade masks don't fit well.
Ms. Toad
(33,915 posts)sometimes it's a paper clip (too stiff to conform to the nose), sometimes its twist-ties (wire is too thin and the paper shreds away from the wire), sometimes it's a binder clip (too stiff to conform to the nose), pipe cleaners (a bit too thin; the fuzz deteriorates with washing)
Things that work: coffee closers (plastic so they hold up; about the right gauge), 22 gauge wire, flat aluminum wire (I think - I haven't put my hands on it yet - the gauge may be too low (making it too stiff)
The poor fit is mostly from a desire to make lots quickly (one person in a mask-making group opined that they were just going to be worn once then tossed, so why put any effort into it), and lack of experience as a seamstress (I can't tell you how many posts I've seen from people sewing masks who don't have any clue about such basic skills as tension adjustment) - or with alterations of patterns (Fit matters).
I've tried three patterns (after rejecting lots of others without even trying them) One was way too large for most faces. Most focus on ear loops - which either have to be adjusable by the user, or custom made - whereas ties fit everyone. I've altered each of hte three patterns I've used. The first was a good idea, but too much bother. The second was described by my sister-in-law (who used it to keep her safe as a prison nurse) as the Cadillac of masks. I'm now moving into mass production, and have landed on a new pattern that takes about half the time to make and fits just as well. If they don't fit - people won't wear them.
pandr32
(11,447 posts)My daughter is crafty (and lives with us). I'll see if she is willing to try some mask making. I think some craft wire sewn into the seam ought to work.
Ms. Toad
(33,915 posts)The main mask I've been making is relatively complex.
The one I'm starting to make is pretty simple (but it takes a bit to read between the lines in the directions):
https://www.facebook.com/sharon.w.cone/posts/10158555647515715 (a public post from someone in the facebook mask making group.)
If she wants to try it, and can't sort out the directions, let me know and I can help. I make the version with the horizontal seams in the 8th picture. I also use ties, but the pattern maker created a nice ear loop/ties compromise. Most people like this mask because it holds the fabric off of the mouth which makes talking easier. (It is also easier for people with autism to tolerate, since there is less contact with the face. The seams help that. (The other versions - look for 3D or origami masks - don't have a filter, a channel for the nose wire, and are two full layers, rather than the filter holder making the second layer - with the opportunity to add a 3rd filter later.)
The first two are the masks I've been making (with a box pleat)
Same mask with the pleats spread out (like they would be when you wear it)
This is the one made from the facebook pattern
pandr32
(11,447 posts)I will certainly pass this along to my daughter. Thank you so much.
Igel
(35,197 posts)Very often they don't know how to wear a mask, and if they see one person they assume knows more than they do wearing it wrong, then it's just okay.
Fundamental attribution error.
It's part of seeking the bad in others instead of the good.
Mariana
(14,849 posts)that many people don't know how to wear a mask. Even though almost all of them have seen countless movies and teevee shows that have portrayed people wearing masks over the nose, maybe they just never paid any attention to that. Sure. Lots of people are oblivious.
Now? No way. I can believe Ms. Toad's idea that some of them just can't be bothered to get masks that fit decently. I don't believe any great number of them genuinely have no idea that the nose is supposed to be covered. Not now, not after all these months. There certainly aren't enough to account for the very large number of dick noses being seen in public places.
pandr32
(11,447 posts)Mariana
(14,849 posts)IggleDuer
(964 posts)N/T
KentuckyWoman
(6,666 posts)HotTeaBag
(1,206 posts)But, people.
not_the_one
(2,227 posts)Fine. Let them get sick. Too bad they will infect others. My fuck bucket is empty,.
Mariana
(14,849 posts)MoonlitKnight
(1,584 posts)Just because you have a mask doesnt mean you can get close.
Most effective when combined with distancing.
flamin lib
(14,559 posts)Like a man putting on underwear and leaving his penis hanging over the waist band.
Mariana
(14,849 posts)They're doing it on purpose to be childishly passive-aggressive. "You may be able to make me wear a mask in the store, but you can't make me wear it correctly! Nyah nyah nyah fuck you!" Everyone knows how to wear a mask properly by now.
lame54
(35,141 posts)wnylib
(21,146 posts)than in the esrly days of mask wearing. Seems that once the reopening started, more people are leaving the nose uncovered. Whenever I encounter an exposed nose, I treat the person the same as someone without a mask. I put much more than 6 feet between us whenever I can..
Properly worn masks not only protect others, but they offer some degree of protection for the one wearing the mask. The less amount of virus breathed in, the less chance of being infected. Even if infected, a lesser amount breathed in can make a difference in how bad the infection gets. Other health factors matter, too, but if the initial amount of virus is high, infection can be worse, with the immune system getting overwhelmed from the start.
Ms. Toad
(33,915 posts)About the same number of improper mask wearers - BUT the number of people wearing masks at all has gone up dramatically, so as a percentage of mask wearere, those whose noses are sticking out is significantly lower around here.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)layer improves mask protection by providing a tighter molding to the face. "In some cases, that extra nylon layer helped homemade cloth masks match or exceed the filtering capability of medical-grade surgical masks."
The picture's scarcely appealing, but perhaps, if a stocking were opaque and chosen for reasonable attractiveness, it might end up looking no worse or conceivably better than just a face mask. And before this is over we're all likely to feel a need for greater safety in some situation or other.
Nevilledog
(50,687 posts)Had not seen it utilized this way.
JHB
(37,133 posts)Normally (unmasked) breath, and the micro-droplets within it, travel several feet.
A mask, covering nose and mouth and with no big gaps (like cutting dumbass holes in them) puts an impediment in the way and tends to cut that down to a few inches.
Combine that with distancing, and you create a situation where it is hard for the virus to get from an exposed (but possibly asymptomatic) person to a new potential host.
It's not hard to understand, at least if you're not high as a kite from snorting axe-grindings, dessicated bile, and horseshit.
ooky
(8,889 posts)The masks are being used as chin guards.
Meowmee
(5,164 posts)And get a lift from garage to get my car inspected and taxi to pick up during an ankle sprain injury. Same taxi driver- twice he had his mask not over his nose, but he pulled it up, when I looked at it through rear view as we conversed, I am not sure if it fell off, I think not. The garage man had his mask covering his entire face all the time in the shop and in the car driving me.
I think it is intentional for many, for some the reason may be it is very hot and it is hard to breath with a mask on. My pt wears one all the time of course as do all medical people I have seen, the ortho center put a band on your wrist and checked temp at the door.
I am mostly wearing the disposable surgical masks vs my cotton ones with disposable filters. When I tried kn95 for second Er visit for myself, I could not breath, I had covid pneumonia and have asthma etc. and more breathing trouble that night so I think I wore my cotton one with A filter instead, it also has a plastic vent so I hope that does not make it less effective. I also wore goggles. I have new fire goggles now which dont fog up most of the time.
I have a small face so fitting is an issue with all of them, the latest surgical masks seem more open at the side but they are still against my face. None of the goggles are snug against my face. I have to get some custom designed for me maybe. Foggi g up is a big issue with my glasses as well even without the goggles.
It is hard to breath and very hot with all of this on plus gloves. I still have trouble breathing at 4 months and pressure & pain in my ribs etc. I have been doing breathing and other exercises to help expand the muscles around my ribs. I find myself falling asleep sitting up after dinner watching tv/ reading and I keep waking up and take several deep breaths to try and get air in. I have not been using my inhalers as much and I need to use them more probably.
Towlie
(5,308 posts)I've even seen those masks on some TV reporters in the field. They may be appropriate in dusty environments or when spray painting, but obviously don't protect others from virus particles that you might spread.
maxsolomon
(32,992 posts)No one's perfect! I'm sure they're doing the best they can...
fescuerescue
(4,448 posts)All that face touching GREATLY increases your risk.
Put it on and don't TOUCH IT tlll you get home.
CottonBear
(21,596 posts)especially when Im in a store or business.
The cotton mask has excellent coverage: under chin, contoured up over nose and almost to my ears on the sides. The disposable mask keeps the cotton mask off my face and also fills in any gaps. I can always pull off the outer cotton mask once Im back outside in the heat.