These days if I feel any sort of respiratory illness coming on I head straight to bed and get my head under the covers. The secret is to create a 'cave' or pocket of air by using a pole or prop to hold the duvet or comforter up like a little tent. Experience does seem to bear out that lungs prefer moist, warm air.
Researchers propose that humidity from masks may lessen severity of Covid-19
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Re: Researchers propose that humidity from masks may lessen severity of Covid-19
#42One unexpected discovery for me was that wearing a tight FFP3 mask is quite pleasant during cold winter weather. It's very effective at warming up the air, probably because it mixes it with the one in the dead space.
This is probably because it eliminates the wind chill factor.
Yeah it basically acts like a ski mask for a good portion of your face.
Re: Researchers propose that humidity from masks may lessen severity of Covid-19
#43It seems like wearing a mask in some environments (public transit, crowded shops, etc) might be a good practice going forward. I wonder if it will be normalized? Will you stand out if you choose to wear a mask to the mall 5 years from now?
Don't take this as a personal attack, but when I see people regularly wearing masks 5 years from now I'll certainly bias against engaging with them. I'll assume they don't understand risk and prioritize fear and emotion over reason. I won't be mean to them (nor disrespectful at all) but I will keep my distance socially (yes, somewhat ironically.)
Re: Researchers propose that humidity from masks may lessen severity of Covid-19
#44It seems like wearing a mask in some environments (public transit, crowded shops, etc) might be a good practice going forward. I wonder if it will be normalized? Will you stand out if you choose to wear a mask to the mall 5 years from now?
Don't take this as a personal attack, but when I see people regularly wearing masks 5 years from now I'll certainly bias against engaging with them. I'll assume they don't understand risk and prioritize fear and emotion over reason. I won't be mean to them (nor disrespectful at all) but I will keep my distance socially (yes, somewhat ironically.)
From a strictly rational perspective, wearing a mask in public transit is always the correct decision, you are statistically less likely to contract airbourne diseases with a mask on. You're free to attach emotional significance to the act of wearing a mask, but maybe it has the desired effect - I personally would rather not interact socially with anyone on public transit, so maybe we are both the better for it.
Re: Researchers propose that humidity from masks may lessen severity of Covid-19
#45It seems like wearing a mask in some environments (public transit, crowded shops, etc) might be a good practice going forward. I wonder if it will be normalized? Will you stand out if you choose to wear a mask to the mall 5 years from now?
Don't take this as a personal attack, but when I see people regularly wearing masks 5 years from now I'll certainly bias against engaging with them. I'll assume they don't understand risk and prioritize fear and emotion over reason. I won't be mean to them (nor disrespectful at all) but I will keep my distance socially (yes, somewhat ironically.)
You can probably safely assume anyone wearing a mask in 5 years is doing so because they are sick but still need to be in public for essential everyday tasks.
Re: Researchers propose that humidity from masks may lessen severity of Covid-19
#46It seems like wearing a mask in some environments (public transit, crowded shops, etc) might be a good practice going forward. I wonder if it will be normalized? Will you stand out if you choose to wear a mask to the mall 5 years from now?
Don't take this as a personal attack, but when I see people regularly wearing masks 5 years from now I'll certainly bias against engaging with them. I'll assume they don't understand risk and prioritize fear and emotion over reason. I won't be mean to them (nor disrespectful at all) but I will keep my distance socially (yes, somewhat ironically.)
Do you feel the same way about seatbelts? If people choose to be safer by wearing masks, judging them is pretty extreme. This kind of attitude is what made the early days of the pandemic a mess.
Re: Researchers propose that humidity from masks may lessen severity of Covid-19
#47One unexpected discovery for me was that wearing a tight FFP3 mask is quite pleasant during cold winter weather. It's very effective at warming up the air, probably because it mixes it with the one in the dead space.
And even that benefit isn't enough for many people to wear masks unless absolutely required (e.g. inside shops). It's been unusually cold the past few weeks in the UK and I've seen less and less mask usage on busy streets and even shop queues.
I can't speak for anyone else, but in NYC I've been finding I have to take my mask off outside or I literally can't see, because that's how much my glasses fog up. Like, I walked straight into a pole one night.
After that, I decided that the increased risk of getting COVID was lower than the risk of getting hit by a car.
I do know it's not this bad for everyone, and I have tried different methods to mitigate it—anti-fog spray, different masks, etc. From what I've read it's largely dependent on the shape of your face, so I assume I just lost the lottery there.
Re: Researchers propose that humidity from masks may lessen severity of Covid-19
#48Earlier quoted context omitted.
And even that benefit isn't enough for many people to wear masks unless absolutely required (e.g. inside shops). It's been unusually cold the past few weeks in the UK and I've seen less and less mask usage on busy streets and even shop queues.
I can't speak for anyone else, but in NYC I've been finding I have to take my mask off outside or I literally can't see, because that's how much my glasses fog up. Like, I walked straight into a pole one night. After that, I decided that the increased risk of getting COVID was lower than the risk of getting hit by a car. I do know it's not this bad for everyone, and I have tried different methods to mitigate it—anti-…
Oh, I sympathise even though I don’t wear prescriptions. I do like to wear sunglasses quite often, and even thought it’d help reduce a vector of infection. But I can’t get a mask and sunglasses combo that works for more than 10 seconds!
Re: Researchers propose that humidity from masks may lessen severity of Covid-19
#49It seems like wearing a mask in some environments (public transit, crowded shops, etc) might be a good practice going forward. I wonder if it will be normalized? Will you stand out if you choose to wear a mask to the mall 5 years from now?
It became normal practice in East Asia after bad flu pandemics.
To be quite honest, masks are very helpful, given that they are infinitely more effective than covering the mouth with hands or elbow (it doesn't block everything, and people often do not sanitize their hands or elbows afterwards).
Masks are also used in Japan to protect the wearer from allergens during their allergy season. After I read about it, I also started doing this, and I noticed my symptoms were a lot less terrible than previous years. They are also used in China when smog is bad.
Given how cheap masks are, and how we will have a lot of manufacturing left after all this that will drive prices down, to me it is a no-brainer, and I'd definitely prefer it if Americans resume their practice of coming into work sick once we are at least partially back in office. (Now, they do this because we have terrible sick leave, but masks are at least not super-expensive at solving the problem absent some state or federal push for mandated paid sick leave.)
Re: Researchers propose that humidity from masks may lessen severity of Covid-19
#50I propose that when handled by the average citizen they also increase the risk of bacterial pneumonia as you filter your warm moist breath through a bacteria catcher/cultivator.
If one were to wear the same pair of underwear every day without washing them, you'd probably smell bad and end up with nasty rashes. But unless you are homeless where it is difficult, everybody changes their underwear daily and washes it after every use.
If you don't wash your plates, bowls, and utensils, you can get sick due to crud which has grown on the residual cruft. That is why people wash them between uses.
If you are using your mask long enough that it is developing bacterial growths, that is your fault and isn't flaw of the mask. Wash your mask after every use, giving it ample dwell time in the soap before rinsing it. Wring it out, hang it to dry, no problems.