question about masks
question about masks
So I live in a part of the US where I haven't seen more than 2 or 3 people wear a mask (outside of a protest I went to) in the past two years. Its genuinely just not done here. I will wear a mask if I feel a under the weather or my allergies are acting up but typically don't wear one. Should I? Would it help? Do y'all wear one everytime you go out?
As I understand it masks don't prevent you from getting sick as much as they prevent you from getting others sick. Is this correct?
You should mask up in public indoor spaces and crowded outdoor spaces. Wear at least a KN95. This significantly protects you from COVID.
Others wearing masks would be better but this doesn't mean masks won't protect you. You should try to get COVID as few times as possible to reduce the chances of complications. It will also help protect people around you, particularly the immunocompromised.
High quality respirators, especially KN95s and even better are N95s, protect you considerably. I haven't been sick since 2019.
Echoing the others to say that wearing an *N95 will provide some protection to you, as well as those around you. I wear one every time I'm indoors in public spaces or outside in large crowds.
*N95
Lol woops thanks, fixed
N95Gang says masks are sexy and functional!
I always wear an N95 and use a nasal spray when I got out in public indoor spaces and the rare times I have to do the outdoor crowds. I also wear an N95 at home because I live with family who "after Covid" swung wildly back towards being total germ cultists and spending months at a time sick with "allergies." Despite them passing their "allergies" back and forth like trading cards for months at a time, I haven't caught a communicable disease since I started masking full time a couple years ago.🤞
edit: forgot to put after Covid in quotes.🤪
Could you give details about the nasal spray you use? I've seen it mentioned but haven't looked into it. If it's not cost prohibitive I may do that in addition to masking
I personally use covixyl, costs about $20 a bottle, one bottle a monthish. I also keep a bottle of xlear handy, but it's more like a sinus wash, I rarely use it. I've been thinking about trying the iota-carrageenan, but I buy covixyl in bulk to save a few bucks and have another couple bottles left. Avoid anything that relies primarily on povidone or claims it's sterilizing your nasal passages. Also note that the FDA has been getting angry at some of these sprays claiming not be drugs/inactive while claiming to be preventatives. I know covixyl got a letter about that earlier this year.
Here's a Google doc with a bunch of the different types. Recommend opening in incognito to avoid sharing your account cookies.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/15AfpHj1XItgJMfVoYRckIV3GnTd-v_vxZdUSfOoUsps/edit
I try to wear one every time I go out, but occasionally find myself without one. Even so, every percent you cut down your chance of transmission is good, especially with how little effort wearing a mask is. Plus there's cameras and pigs everywhere, so that's an added benefit. Not to mention all the other diseases that are often worse after having covid.
A mask lowers the likelihood of getting infected through your mouth and nose. How effective this is depends on a lot of things, including your other safety measures (washing hands, not touching your face, avoiding crowds) and the mask's seal and filtering effectiveness. But very generally speaking, decreasing the viral load itself lessens the severity of infections you may still get, and helps bring down the R number of diseases socially.
I bought a box of 3M Auras (from a verified source to ensure they aren't counterfeit, not Amazon), and they came out to ~$1 each. I reuse them until they don't work anymore, get too dirty, or something breaks. I have like 15 in rotation at any time, cycling through three bags so that each one sits for a week or two before reuse.
Thanks for all the replies, I'll be wearing more masks from now on lol
Check out linktr.ee/buymasks for some resources and options
KN95s tend to be cheaper than N95s for no other reason than they come from overseas; that's how I stocked up. Plus, if you can weather the added aggro, it makes plague rat anglos quietly seethe seeing a reminder of the thing that 'sTrIpPeD aWaY tHeIr LiBeRtIeS'; and I value unsettling the Nurglites.