Face Masks in shops

The trouble with getting disposable masks is that they end up in the sea - & in the stomachs of dolphins, etc. There was a news clip a couple of days ago showing thousands of these masks floating in the sea & it was very distressing. Best to wear a mask or face covering that's washable.

Claustrophobic. Can’t breathe. Steams up glasses. Hate the b@@stard things.

Please note if you have asthma, COPD or other breathing difficulties then you do NOT need to wear a face covering - this group of people are exempt. On the other hand, how exactly are people supposed to prove they are exempt? My husband has COPD - he tried a mask and just cannot breathe but is worried about being accosted by people because he is not wearing one so he will not go out anywhere. He has been shielded since March and this new rule means he is going to be housebound for the foreseeable future. Please remember once it becomes compulsory on the 24th July that if you see someone without a mask then they may well have a medical condition that prevents them wearing one - breathing difficulties are an invisible disability so please do not jump to conclusions or accuse people who are not wearing masks.

I haven't worn one yet but I'm happy to comply.

It's surprised me that there seem so few on sale at the moment. Unless I'm missing them I've only noticed them in a couple of shops - a garden centre and a gift shop today - none of the supermarkets I go to have them on obvious display.

I'm going to have a go at making some.

I’ve seen a few people in recent days wearing visors and all of them worn in the wrong way. Instead of the headpiece worn on a straight circle from the forehead round the back of the head ensuring the face visor was in a straight down vertical position on the face it was tilted back on their head.

This resulted in the face visor tilted out at an angle away from the mouth and face. Just like the masks worn with the nose protruding over the top, the visors are of no use unless worn properly.

If face coverings are going to be of any benefit we could do with a tutorial on the correct way to use them.

I had my hair done today for the first time since lockdown. My hairdresser had a visor -type of face cover and she said it can be lifted up and put down as necessary. They cost £18.00 from Amazon and she said it was more comfortable than the ones close to your face.

Men don't have to wear dark colours, DH wears a plain medium blue one, please discourage them from frightening the little ones.

Megs36 but may be exempt from wearing a mask because very bad breathing problems,

Maybe your husband could wear a visor instead?

"stylish" not "stylist"

I already have some disposable face masks and 1 washable one, but I suspect wearing a mask will become the new normal for a few months yet, so I am ridiculously excited to have ordered a stylist leopard print washable mask, and can't wait to try it on. Crazy I know ......

FarNorth

Wow!
Tory party members are cutting up their membership cards and vowing never to vote Tory again - because of masks.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/conservative-activists-membership-cards-mandatory-face-mask-a9617866.html?fbclid=IwAR2d7NNHpnu4hLAd6M-R5VJDhZVeG_36FL3TbJnPf1TX_dgTWNuOUAu7HEk

Oh come on. That’s beyond pathetic

Wow!
Tory party members are cutting up their membership cards and vowing never to vote Tory again - because of masks.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/conservative-activists-membership-cards-mandatory-face-mask-a9617866.html?fbclid=IwAR2d7NNHpnu4hLAd6M-R5VJDhZVeG_36FL3TbJnPf1TX_dgTWNuOUAu7HEk

I'm glad that they're making face coverings compulsory, I may even dare go out now. I just worry that people won't comply . How will it be enforced, you never see a police officer in our town

About time too! I made myself a few during the first couple of days of 'lockdown' and got used to wearing them during my 'necessary outings for medical treatment, food shopping and exercise' - ESPECIALLY as I travel by bus or Taxi!

I've since bought a few different styles of face coverings and I wear one every time I leave the house.

I've been out for a meal on a couple of occasions with grandchildren. We get settled into our 'booths' and only THEN do I remove my whichever mask/face covering I'm wearing on.

I also carry my Hand Sanitiser PLUS a small squirty bottle of diluted Dettol - for sanitising anything that I see fit ................. including handrails / bus buzzers / tables / shopping trolley handles etc.

I would have thought that those with a good medical reason to not wear a mask should avoid going into shops if at all possible!

It's about a week since I was last in Aldi, but when I went there a short time ago, at least twice as many people were wearing masks than wore them last week. Including me.

Surely those with a valid medical reason to exempt them from mask wearing should be issued with a badge to avoid being challenged.

My husband is still shielding,he has COPD and previous lung cancer but may be exempt from wearing a mask because very bad breathing problems, however may give it a go if we go for his permitted walk a day,but in fact can’t go into a shop yet because of shielding rules, or anyone’s house other than ours.

Kate51 thank for the tip about using a tissue under the top of the mask to stop glasses fogging! I will tell the opticians when I pick up my new glasses tomorrow as it was a real issue when having my eyes tested as really couldn’t see anything though the test specs - so had to remove the mask at his request. I hasten to add he was in full PPE mask and visor.

Shop workers are at a high level of risk. Why wouldn't you want to do anything you could to reduce that risk?

How many people have a genuine medical reason for not wearing a mask? And is that reason more severe than the effects of COVID-19? I have an ileostomy and I remember a fuss in the "ostomy" community when seat belts were made compulsory. Didn't we have a reason not to wear one? As the belt came across the body, might it not crush the stoma? This went on until the Ileostomy Association pointed out that a damaged stoma was nothing compared to going through a windscreen and fracturing your skull on the road. That ended the debate.

Of course, in that case, the greater danger was to ourselves. I can't help wondering if some people are reluctant to wear masks because the aim is to protect other people, rather than themselves. I think this is why many Americans struggle with it. They don't accept the idea of making sacrifices for others, hence their resistance to a tax-funded health care system.

In the USA, the virus has been heavily politicised, with resistance to the lockdown, mask-wearing, etc vociferously opposed by right wing Republicans. Apparently some Tories are cutting up their party membership cards in response to the face mask announcement. Let's hope that common sense prevails.

Oh dear! DH bought 4 packs of 20 for a whopping £60 from Boots..........

I bought a pack of 50 from Amazon last week for £6.09, and free postage.

Kim, my mistake four for £2.80 at Asda! A bargain.

i wore a mask for the first time on friday as i live in scotland, i have epilepsy and mental health - panic attack problems, but i kept it on till i got to the self service checkout, the lady there always chats to me and the first thing she said when she saw me shaking was get that mask off, the epilepsy seizure had started and i pointed to my bracelet. she put my items through the till and took me to sit down , it is not that i don't want to wear the mask, i was the same in hospital with the oxygen mask- but i will keep trying

Thanks, Marydoll. Appreciated.