Gransnet forums

AIBU

about wearing face masks/coverings

(189 Posts)
ExD Tue 09-Jun-20 14:14:23

I went to our local post office to return a parcel and was the only one there wearing a mask.
Its a tiny shop and can only accommodate 3 people at a time and everyone was standing 6ft apart, but I felt a bit foolish in my mask. In fact I stood there feeling a real plonker.
Was I right in continuing to wear it, or should I have followed the others and defied the virus? What would you have done?
(I am 81 but in good health)

Nannatwiglet Wed 10-Jun-20 09:52:15

You are not a plonker...ExD!

My niece made us some masks..beautiful material with a nose wire and an opening for filter...

Not everyone seems to wear masks in our local COOP but no one has made any comments to me yet....if they did I’d ignore them anyway!
The only problem I have found is my glasses tend to steam up with the mask on.
I am 73 and in good health, yet I wore it to a health check up last week and the be-masked doctor offered me one of the hospital masks to wear.

Wear your mask with pride ...ExD...and protect yourself!

NotSpaghetti Wed 10-Jun-20 09:53:09

At the moment I would feel safer in Versailles I think mokryna. I have been super careful since before our UK "lockdown" but so many people are selfish about this virus that I think we will have cases here for a very very long time.

To ExD I would just say "thank you". I find it astonishing that in my local supermarkets be it Asda, Lidl, Morrisons or Waitrose you could count on one hand those wearing masks. I think it's selfish actually.

Our ordinary breathing travels a very long way. Think about the e-cigarettes, you can smell those from quite a distance. What you are actually smelling is the exhale from someone else's lungs. I don't know the virus is as easily wind-blown as the exhale but this particular thought has made me very aware.
I heard an A&E consultant on the radio say this about ordinary smoking only last week so maybe I'm not in fact over-egging this particular pudding.

NannyG123 Wed 10-Jun-20 09:54:38

If I go to shops I wear a mask. Not gloves as they say wearing gloves you could cross contaminate. If I'm just going for a walk I don't wear a mask. As I do my best to distance. I just wish that other people would do the same sometimes, and not look at their phone..

lemsip Wed 10-Jun-20 09:54:56

re; the specsavers story, they all have masks because they are keeping thereselves safe from you, the client! It is courtesy I believe to keep them safe from you, by wearing a mask!

Callistemon Wed 10-Jun-20 09:55:33

Vaughan Gethin has now advised that people should wear 3 layer face masks.
I was going to make some but I doubt have enough of the right materials.

Callistemon Wed 10-Jun-20 09:56:22

Gething, sorry.

Lizzies Wed 10-Jun-20 09:59:31

Thanks Saracyn I will try that. thanks

Craftycat Wed 10-Jun-20 09:59:38

I don't wear a mask- I do have one but TBH when I go shopping everyone is distancing very well so I have not felt the need. Plus I am very claustrophobic & I am worried I might have a melt down.
I tried it on when DH gave it to me & decided that I would risk it rather than wear a mask. I understand if you are fit & healthy ( which I am) the risks are slight .

lindyloo1958 Wed 10-Jun-20 09:59:57

You were absolutely right to wear one. Better to feel a plonked than catch Covid. Well done.

Gloria504 Wed 10-Jun-20 10:00:12

I did manage to get some elastic eventually PamelaJ1 but before it arrived I used an old thin tee shirt cut into half inch wide strips about 8" long which would stretch to 12 ". This is threaded through and tied in a knot. It curls up like a rope and was comfortable. I have also seen youtube videos using a shoelace threaded up through one side and down through the other. The loop made goes on you head and then tie the ends behind you neck . I haven't tried it. It was easier to understand when I watched the video.?

Japanesejoy Wed 10-Jun-20 10:01:20

I have been wearing a mask since the beginning. I find that when I'm wearing it, people keep more of a distance. It's worth it for that!

Shirls52000 Wed 10-Jun-20 10:03:12

As a nurse I would recommend wearing a face covering in public places but not necessary outdoors, this protects others mostly but may have a small benefit to the wearer. I would not recommend wearing gloves as these can exacerbate spread of the virus it would be more beneficial to carry a small container with hand sanitizer with you especially in shops and enclosed spaces and wash hands with soap and water regularly when possible and after using door handles or visiting public toilets etc xx

Bluegrass Wed 10-Jun-20 10:03:15

You are sensible in wearing a mask especially in enclosed spaces. I began making masks in the early weeks for various family members and to protect vulnerable family too. I always wear one inside any building or when I queue. I used an unused duvet cover which provided 2 different fabrics for back and front. It made quite a lot! Keep on doing it. ?

KathrynP Wed 10-Jun-20 10:04:53

I wear a mask in shops as a matter of support for the shop workers who mostly have to wear masks all day. They have kept me fed throughout the lockdown and are frontline if someone does come in coughing and spluttering. Problem is I wear glasses and they immediately fog up and I struggle to see what I am buying or where I am walking!? I have tried scarves and alternatives but they all mist up the glasses. Anyone found a solution?

Armoria Wed 10-Jun-20 10:06:36

After my daughter who is a care worker explained about the dangers of gloves transmitting the virus in a non care setting I stopped wearing them. However masks are different and I always wear one in enclosed public spaces or if there are crowds outside that I cannot avoid. I am a bit of a rebel so if I feel people are rolling eyes or judging I am so super nice to them, I'll catch their eye, say hello or good morning or whatever, smile with my eyes etc.....then bob my tongue out behind the mask, just a little bit heehee!

b1zzle Wed 10-Jun-20 10:07:48

I only mix with other people in the supermarket and always wear my mask but really prefer ones that have elastic that goes round the back as well as on top of the head, so you can control it with one hand.

I'm past caring what others think - it makes me feel safer and being slightly agoraphobic, makes me feel invisible as well!

What's not to love! Plonkers unite!

Theoddbird Wed 10-Jun-20 10:08:30

At my local post office people have to queue outside. One out one in so only two customers side by side at a time. Oh and don't worry what others may think. What you feel is right for you is what is important....

greenhouse53 Wed 10-Jun-20 10:12:22

Never mind feeling a plonker..be safe!Research is divided on the mask issue but the last I heard was the WHO recommended it.At 81 your age,statistically, is a risk factor despite your thankfully good health.Without going into the science as a retired[waiting to go back for Covid!!!!]nurse I wear one in the situations like the one you have described

ForeverAutumn Wed 10-Jun-20 10:12:26

@PamelaJ1

I was watching tutorials for making various types of face mask on YouTube - one of them used tights instead of elastic. They cut a strip about an inch thick across the leg, and then stretched the circle it made so that it rolled up and looked like an elastic band, a few people said that this was more comfortable than elastic. One person then cut this so she had a strip and sewed each end to the mask just as you would with elastic.

blondenana Wed 10-Jun-20 10:12:36

Yes you are right to wear a mask, i don't normally go into my local shop at the moment, but i did yesterday wearing a mask and glad i was,as the shop assistant wasn't ,and she sneezed,
I can't believe shop assistants aren't made to wear masks,

Persistentdonor Wed 10-Jun-20 10:13:12

Masks are now compulsory on public transport I believe.
Medics have mixed feelings about masks as, once they become damp from wear they can admit virus.
If they are deemed to protect others from the wearer, then if we ALL wear them we all become protected.
GLOVES should be sanitised between shops in the same way as naked hands, as gloves will transmit virus from place to place, in the same way as un-sanitised hands.

SueWll Wed 10-Jun-20 10:14:02

I wear a mask to stop me getting lynched. I cough and sneeze a lot because of hayfever.

Horatia Wed 10-Jun-20 10:14:22

I would think well done to you for trying to be considerate.

Thecatshatontgemat Wed 10-Jun-20 10:14:45

Never worn one, have no intention of wearing one, and very few people seem to wear one. I go to supermarkets about two to three times a week, and shopping in Wilco, and l have to say, they are very rare.
People cycling with one one, are the ones that look plonkers, standing in a shop with one on, is not plonkerish at all.
.
Do what you feel comfortable doing.
If you had to travel by public transport, it is necessary, and l would definately wear one then too.

Matelda Wed 10-Jun-20 10:14:47

I do have masks but avoid other people and hardly ever need to use them. I think there is a larger issue here, which is the way in which we make social contact. I use my face a lot when talking to others, especially smiling and grimacing with my mouth. Up until now, I have been happy and sociable with a wide circle of friends, but now that my social life is mostly intense one-to-one conversations on Skype, I have become more introverted and cautious. I am concerned that the use of masks in social situations is going to have an adverse effect on the mental well-being of people because body language will be more difficult to read.