by Lynn Mandaville
Used to be that masks were for Halloween costumes, catchers, goalies, super-heroes, doctors, nurses and crooks.
As a child I loved masks for Halloween because a full-face mask would hide my buck teeth and no one could tell who I really was.
It wasn’t until I had my first baby that I saw, in person, a medical person wearing a mask.
I don’t remember when dentists began wearing face masks and eye guards as a matter of routine against the mouth splatter of their patients, but it was adopted without any fanfare. One day dentists didn’t wear them, and suddenly they did.
It might have been when the bird flu appeared in east Asia that I first recall seeing large numbers of civilians donning surgical style masks in their every day lives. It seemed like overkill to me, a white person living in a country relatively free of life-threatening, air-borne diseases, but I had no reason to pass judgment. Chalk it up to cultural response to the perceived threat of that flu. No skin off my nose.
Today in the US we are experiencing a new normal.
The COVID-19 virus has issued in an age of public health confusion I can’t recall on this scale ever in my almost 70 years.
Sure, we’ve had a bit too much controversy over vaccinations in the last decade or so, but that’s been nothing compared to the get-your-knickers-in-a-twist frenzy that the wearing of face masks is causing today.
I attribute the confusion over the advisability of wearing said masks to the fact that with COVID-19, being such a new virus, we just don’t know much about it. Our knowledge is evolving day to day as researchers and epidemiologists spend more time learning about the bug. At one time masks were a great way to prevent the spread of the disease. Then they were deemed completely ineffective. Then there were hints that wearing masks might even be a bad idea. Then they were a good idea again, and in some places they weren’t just a suggestion, they were a mandate.
The effectiveness of masks is still subject to debate, especially among columnists and their responders in this publication. Percentages are tossed about as to how many germs are corralled, and whether they protect the wearer or those with whom the wearer comes into contact.
I’ve yet to hear a definitive prescription, and the messages we get from leadership in Washington are ambiguous, and I sure don’t have the medical knowledge to even hazard a guess as to who or what is correct. But I thought I’d weigh in with a couple of thoughts on the issue anyway.
One of the excuses I’ve been reading about for not wearing masks is that it’s against the constitutional rights of Americans to be told what to wear. I personally don’t see the mandates to wear them as an assault on our constitutional protections. It’s been common for all of my life to see signs posted in places of business saying “No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service.” People seem to accept such requirements without any fuss or bother.
To insert “No Masks” before “No Service” shouldn’t cause the uproar it does. It’s just a stipulation on the part of the institution or business to your entering. Right now that stipulation may have been imposed by a governor or a health agency, but what the hell? If you’re eager to shop in that store, add a face mask to your outfit. Don’t like it? Don’t go in.
A corollary to this issue is the expectation on the part of potential customers that face masks be provided free by the business owner. Why would anyone have that expectation? We don’t expect a businessman or woman to provide free shirts or shoes to people who show up at their doors barefoot or bare chested.
Another excuse is that a mask makes it difficult to breathe. I’ve made and tried out several versions of masks that vary in thickness and fabric, and I agree that some masks are more difficult to breathe through than others. What I have found to be true is that all masks require getting used to, like wearing glasses or hearing aids. Most people can get used to whatever is required of them, provided they don’t adopt an attitude.
(Yes, I’ve heard about the rare person who has a claustrophobic reaction to masks, as well as other psychological blocks, and I’m sure there are other valid conditions that making mask-wearing impossible.) It’s a matter of getting over that hurdle of doing something new.
New York City Mayor Andrew Cuomo has been clear that he believes that the wearing of a face mask is a form of respect for other people. There is some evidence that a mask may protect others from contaminated particles that could be shed by a person who doesn’t know he or she is infected. So how hard is it, really, to demonstrate to others that we have sympathy for this shared situation that is scary and bothersome? Can’t we rise above our pettiness and show empathy for one another?
Masks don’t have to be the end of the world.
Masks can be a way that we insert a little humor and creativity into these dull days of confinement and caution.
A while ago, in response to one of Army Bob Traxler’s columns, I told of a Facebook posting in which a young woman made an impromptu face mask from a clean pair of boxer shorts. Funny and quite clever! (After which my husband dug out an old pair of Corona Beer boxers that he’d like me to convert for him! He’s a pip!)
People are making their own masks from fabrics that express their personalities. There are burgeoning cottage industries of folks making specialty masks that depict famous personalities, or have big, red Rolling Stones lips, or even show the lower half of one’s own face! I’ve made Star Wars masks, and Batman masks. I’ve made plain ones, and plaid ones. Soon I’ll be digging into my stash of fabrics for other fun ideas. Maybe dinosaurs, or jack-o-lanterns. Hey, I have fabric with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Wouldn’t that take the sting out of masking up?
It’s my personal opinion that for some of us a face mask will be a mandatory clothing choice for many months to come. I plan to have a wide array of them, like I do shoes, to match my outfit or my mood, in order to provide even the slightest modicum of protection from whatever germs may be “out there,” at least until we have a reliable and safe vaccine.
It’s my guess that the CDC or NIH will be recommending masks for a while, and that some establishments eager to coax the illusion of security will require them of their clients, in which case it would behoove some people to drop the attitude and have at least one mask at the ready should they wish to go somewhere that requires one. Don’t we all own at least one sweater or jacket “in case?” What’s the big deal about having one mask as well?
The way I see it, our face masks will serve a purpose for a while (whatever it is for each of us), the way fashion trends of the past have.
Eventually they will be relegated to a drawer or a box on a closet shelf.
Someday in the future, when our children are cleaning out our stuff, this vintage clothing will resurface, and it will prompt recollections of a time when we made the best of a bad thing.
Ms Mandaville
Since we know I am not a fan of the mask we will not go over that debate again.
My question and truly would appreciate your explanation.
I think we agree the only mask that is working is the N95. Currently not available to everyone. So after much back and forth the homemade cloth mask is deemed socially acceptable. (At this point not proven to work )
So in your article you say let’s have fun making different and comical masks.
I’m thinking when someone is wearing a N95 , gas mask or other approved PPE…there must be a serious reason for it.
If we are just wearing these cloth masks to make others feel secure is this the correct thing to do?
As you have guessed because there is no proven evidence the cloth works as of yet. Just to make people happy I always have one in my pocket so I can shop at places that mandate them.
But as you said in this article…have fun with it….so it must be a joke… Otherwise those more effective masks would be needed .
Mr. Smit,
Thanks for taking the time to read my offering. I take your request to heart to elaborate on whether masking up is the correct thing to do.
N95 masks are the gold standard. Still in short supply and medical people should still have first dibs. I hope that supply will meet demand for all of us SOON.
There are no accurate numbers on the potential protection presented by cloth masks, but there are still very low odds that one can expect enough protection from them to use them in situations where social distancing is difficult. The accepted wisdom so far is that a cloth barrier will provide some protection to others from germs expelled by an infected person, and CDC guidelines still recommend them. Thus, to me, these masks are not a joke.
I am, by any standard, an old woman. Thus, I am prone to dwell on “old fashioned” ideas, such as etiquette.
It is my opinion that it doesn’t matter that cloth masks are a poor substitute for the “real thing.” Cloth masks, even in their imperfection, offer more than the illusion of security. They convey to others that I care enough about then to trap even a measly 1% of what I may unknowingly shed when I’m out and about. They indicate that I’m willing to put up with slightly more difficult breathing. They tell others that I’m willing to tote around yet one more thing to show them I value their humanity.
By having fun with these masks, I’m also letting others know that I can make an attempt at lightness while I’m still scared sh*tless I won’t live to see my grandkids graduate from high school.
1% dubious protection from COVID-19 is all I am privy to today. (The politics of that being the truth may be the actual joke.)
So, to answer your question, is wearing the imperfect mask the correct thing to do? I say without question it is.
My mask with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on it speaks to the utter irony of our situation, where, in what is arguably the greatest country on earth, the only way left for me to show respect to you, in an abysmal situation, while getting a feeble percentage of protection, is to wear this funny mask.
Thanks for carrying and wearing your own cloth mask. It speaks volumes about your respect for others.
I look forward to the time when all of us can have N95 masks of our own. I expect that if and when I do, I’ll still be looking for ways to make those fun as well.
Peace and health to you, Harry.
Mr. Smit,
The N-95 mask filters 95% of particles, a cloth mask filters around 20% at best, 20% is better than 0%. The CDC and Mayo Clinic along with hundreds of others recommend a cloth mask. Ask yourself if a cloth mask did not work why have they been used by the majority of people in the world for hundreds of years?
As for the fun aspect, it is like folks who decorate a cast or splint, it does no good but it makes folks feel good, I see no problem with that.
If you or I have the COVIT-19 virus and exhale, cough or sneeze inside a room the water droplets hang in the air for up to 20 minutes, contained in a cloth mask some if not most are not transmitted to others. Add a paper towel that has been sprayed with H2O and soap allowed to dry and placed between two layers of the cloth and it makes the cloth mask more effective than 20%.
Think of a mask as body armor or a ballistic helmet for your lungs, both are not 100% effective at stopping rifle bullets but I would not go into a fight without a helmet and body armor.
Army Bob
Again we agree to disagree. If you recall the statement that military officer you spoke with. Said something to the effect they really was no proof they worked but a matter of being courteous.
Now some may feel comfortable wearing something with only 20% protection…
Yes, even our military has been misled by getting faulty equipment… remember 3M with the multi colored ear plugs.
In my opinion since this mask debate at this point has no concrete numbers as to safety. Why am I wrong to oppose wearing some that only gives a possible 20% of protection and 80% of failure?
I believe wearing one just to make others comfortable, giving them false security, is wrong.
Until real unquestionable facts are produced by unbiased scientific research. Isn’t it possible we may be doing more harm to ourselves by being masked. At this point no one knows… there are more facts that social distancing works and was the first requirement to slow the spread of this virus.
Sorry to all those promoting the mask… I have little faith in equipment for protection with a 80% of failure.
But I carry one if mandated to use to shop… giggling about how secure you are while you forget to social distance. Oh…please wear it correctly..under your nose,or only covering your lower lip, removing it to talk to a friend. These actions make you look very strange… but to each his own.
I really need closer to 90% protection before I am convinced masks work.