Face Masks (COVID-19)

proudfootz · **#41** by **proudfootz** » Apr 09, 2020 12:28 am

My employer will be issuing masks for staff to wear at all times while in the building.

SafeAsMilk · **#42** by **SafeAsMilk** » Apr 09, 2020 2:24 am

kiore wrote:Gloves are possibly the most useless and most dangerous (to the wearer) protective equipment.

Why is this? False sense of security, so less caution? Sorry if you've already said.

kiore · **#43** by **kiore** » Apr 09, 2020 2:41 am

SafeAsMilk wrote:
kiore wrote:Gloves are possibly the most useless and most dangerous (to the wearer) protective equipment.

Why is this? False sense of security, so less caution? Sorry if you've already said.

The gloves act as infective agents fomites if you will as people do not tend to wash their gloves like you would hands, maybe if you changed gloves after every touch they may be OK or if you hand sanitized after every touch. But gloves offer no protection whatsoever unless you have compromised skin and give a false sense of security. Really touch that contaminated door handle with gloves, OK gloves now contaminated, so everything you now touch with the gloves is also contaminated just like with bare hands, no difference except you feel that the gloves have somehow protected you. Other scenario and one that was critical when I worked with Ebola, gloves are contaminated but you are safe in them, take them off anyway less than perfectly and you have cross-contaminated your hands, or clothes so we would hand sanitize for 1 minute before attempting to remove the gloves, carefully while someone watching and guiding every step. Now coronavirus nowhere near Ebola like this but principle the same, gloves are dangerous and offer no benefit in this setting over bare hands.

Macdoc · **#44** by **Macdoc** » Apr 09, 2020 6:17 am

My partner says exactly the same. :coffee:

Rachel Bronwyn · **#45** by **Rachel Bronwyn** » Apr 09, 2020 6:38 am

I use hand sanitizer on my gloves. Makes me wonder why I wear gloves. The virus isn't going to infect me through my skin. Maybe I touch my face less when I wear gloves vs not. I don't know.

Fallible · **#46** by **Fallible** » Apr 09, 2020 8:48 am

I wore a face mask for a few hours on Monday, as I was at the hospital to receive treatment. All staff and patients in masks. It was quite busy there. I’m now waiting patiently to see if I managed to dodge the virus. What I became immediately aware of was how little I could tolerate something fastened over my face like that, and I only just managed to suppress panic while wearing it. I have absolutely no idea how healthcare workers wear them day in day out.

Mike_L · **#47** by **Mike_L** » Apr 09, 2020 11:02 am

Fallible wrote:I wore a face mask...

Must... stay... away... from... Photoshop...
Must... resist...
Oh, too late!

: xena_mask.jpg (32.29 KiB) Viewed 903 times

Animavore · **#48** by **Animavore** » Apr 09, 2020 11:20 am

Finally got rubber gloves in work today. But no masks.

: 92627127_10219962745551539_8960233284848058368_n.jpg (21.17 KiB) Viewed 897 times

Fallible · **#49** by **Fallible** » Apr 09, 2020 11:40 am

Mike_L wrote:
Fallible wrote:I wore a face mask...

Must... stay... away... from... Photoshop...
Must... resist...
Oh, too late!

xena_mask.jpg

Mine was light blue. :naughty:

Svartalf · **#50** by **Svartalf** » Apr 09, 2020 1:32 pm

gaaah !

I read up on fomites and now I'm overcome with paranoia.

The_Metatron · **#51** by **The_Metatron** » Apr 09, 2020 2:46 pm

kiore wrote:So despite my concerns that masks worn generally would be a distraction I do accept I am living in an outbreak zone with ongoing community acquired infections and that the city government has insisted people wear non medical masks when out and about and particularly when in confined spaces. I don't necessarily disagree with this as a protect others method but I did note when I ventured out today many medical masks still being used and paid particular attention to people unused to mask wearing frequently touching and adjusting their masks/bandannas etc. which is exactly the wrong thing to do but hopefully most will get used to this soon. I made a cloth mask, unsure it very protective of me but definitely would reduce my expulsion of infected droplets should I be sick. I specifically made it with an outer layer of colorful cotton to firstly remind me of which is the outside side and to obviously display that this wasn't a reserved medical mask. I lack a sewing machine, so I held the 3 layers and the twist tie nose clip in place with a border of cloth type insulating tape (designed for the tip of an electric foil) this works really well but this version not really washable so will just have to dry it. I have to walk to work so I might need to make a few or find a friend with a sewing machine, not so common in Manhattan to have a sewing machine in a shoe box apartment.

The ladies living across the street are making masks, and complained their sewing machine broke. I lent them my old Japanese Precision sewing machine, a Singer Model 15 clone. Straight stitches, short, long, forward, or backward. That's the only choices with that machine.

I bought that machine when I was an airman fresh out of basic training in 1982, and saw what the alterations shop on base was charging to sew on stripes and other patches onto uniforms. I bought it for 65 bucks, sewed shit on for guys in the dorm until I paid for it, and that is all it did for 25 years. My uniform patches, insignia, and modifications. It pleases me to see it put into service.

They're making the elastic earloop type of masks. Not such a great mask attachment method, I see. There's no length adjustment on the elastic loops, a huge fitment problem. Not sure what synthetic shit they've sandwiched into their masks, either. I think it's too restrictive. So much that it turns the mask into more of a face shield than a filter.

I'm going to check the suitability of the forty pound (18 kilo) box o' rags I bought for my shop a few weeks ago for making masks. It's a huge box of t-shirts, cut up into quarters, usually. I think I like Johns Hopkins plan better, which uses ties instead of earloops. That, and I have no elastic, anyway.

I could even be shabby and do it as my bike shop, for cheap advertising on social media! I don't think so. Could keep a few in the van and give one to customers who don't have one when we meet, I suppose.

don't get me started · **#52** by **don't get me started** » Apr 09, 2020 3:18 pm

Fallible wrote:I wore a face mask for a few hours on Monday, as I was at the hospital to receive treatment. All staff and patients in masks. It was quite busy there. I’m now waiting patiently to see if I managed to dodge the virus. What I became immediately aware of was how little I could tolerate something fastened over my face like that, and I only just managed to suppress panic while wearing it. I have absolutely no idea how healthcare workers wear them day in day out.

I had to go into work for a meeting yesterday. I was masked up the whole time, and I agree. I hate wearing a mask.

The trains were a lot quieter than usual. I estimate that about 95%+ people on trains were wearing masks.
100 percent of people at work were masked up and everyone washed hands with alcohol based cleaner before and after the meeting, which was held in a large lecture theater with one person per desk, giving a good distance between everyone.
I was lucky in that one of the trains I can catch is the airport express. There were about three other passengers in my carriage, all sitting a good way away from each other.
When I got home I stripped off completely as soon as I got through the front door and took a shower immediately before going anywhere near my family.
The rate in Japan is creeping up slowly, but it is not exponential...

The academic year was supposed to start this week. It has been postponed until May and for the May and June we are doing on-line lessons. We'll see how that goes....

Anyways, I hope your treatment went well Fallible, and that the mask and other measures kept you out of harm's way.

The_Piper · **#53** by **The_Piper** » Apr 09, 2020 3:40 pm

Gloves are good for me because I have chronically dry hands and the skin cracks open. I really should wear them more often. I've been washing my gloved hands for years, no need for a pandemic. I reuse the ones made for dishwashing or chemicals.

I always have a few n95 masks on hand for sweeping, painting, etc. I usually launder them, which of course reduces the quality, but they're on the expensive side. I have 2 that I've never washed, so after going out in public I hang one in a shed for a few days and assume the virus is dead by then, and reuse. It's light years from foolproof. At this point it's courteous to wear in public because it helps keep sick people's coughs and sneezes contained.

laklak · **#54** by **laklak** » Apr 09, 2020 3:53 pm

I've got one Mrs. Lak crocheted. It has a replaceable filter cut from a HEPA air conditioning filter. I'm sure it accomplishes little or nothing, but at least I'm stylish.

Fallible · **#55** by **Fallible** » Apr 09, 2020 4:53 pm

don't get me started wrote:
Fallible wrote:I wore a face mask for a few hours on Monday, as I was at the hospital to receive treatment. All staff and patients in masks. It was quite busy there. I’m now waiting patiently to see if I managed to dodge the virus. What I became immediately aware of was how little I could tolerate something fastened over my face like that, and I only just managed to suppress panic while wearing it. I have absolutely no idea how healthcare workers wear them day in day out.

I had to go into work for a meeting yesterday. I was masked up the whole time, and I agree. I hate wearing a mask.

The trains were a lot quieter than usual. I estimate that about 95%+ people on trains were wearing masks.
100 percent of people at work were masked up and everyone washed hands with alcohol based cleaner before and after the meeting, which was held in a large lecture theater with one person per desk, giving a good distance between everyone.
I was lucky in that one of the trains I can catch is the airport express. There were about three other passengers in my carriage, all sitting a good way away from each other.
When I got home I stripped off completely as soon as I got through the front door and took a shower immediately before going anywhere near my family.
The rate in Japan is creeping up slowly, but it is not exponential...

The academic year was supposed to start this week. It has been postponed until May and for the May and June we are doing on-line lessons. We'll see how that goes....

Anyways, I hope your treatment went well Fallible, and that the mask and other measures kept you out of harm's way.

Cheers, DGMS. Treatment in pill form, thankfully, I just have to pick it up. They finally handed it over after running around like headless chickens trying to find an oncologist to look over my blood results and give the OK, twice the normal amount so I don’t have to go there for at least two months, then shoved me out into the fresh air. Bless them, they must have halved their body weight since this started, the way they’re pushed. I’m hoping I’ll be ok, they do a full blood count every time, and so far no comment has been made on inadequate wbc levels. Hope you and yours stay healthy.

kiore · **#56** by **kiore** » Apr 10, 2020 2:49 am

Face masks are uncomfortable to wear for prolonged periods. even the most ergonomic ones are terrible to work in for hours on end. Distancing and hand washing washing remain the most effective general use tools.
On this note here is a public service announcement from the Beatles:

Face Masks (COVID-19)

Re: Face Masks (COVID-19)

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Re: Face Masks (COVID-19)

Re: Face Masks (COVID-19)

Re: Face Masks (COVID-19)

Re: Face Masks (COVID-19)

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Re: Face Masks (COVID-19)

Re: Face Masks (COVID-19)

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