Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms Wearing Face Masks

Washing up liquid has a lot of salt in it which destroys the lens coatings on modern spectacles. I have a pair somewhere which demonstrate this.

Years ago I had a mask for when we were adding lead to steel during the casting. It was a rubber one with cannisters. It waste robust and a tight fit. It left marks on your face. I also made a point of staying upwind as well. The people actually handling the lead had two lockers, for clean and dirty clothes, blood tests every 3 months.
As for the lightweight masks for diy I have 3M ones with the mouldable nose insert to seal the fit. The only time the safety glasses mist up is when that nose seal is poor. The key for effectiveness is getting a good, tight seal. The nose area is easier but the sides on the cheeks is the weak area. I see many wearing these lightweight or home made versions and they are poor. I have a beard too so the cheek and jaw areas would need VERY tight masks. Even the diy ones sold in B&Q and other stores have varying specs for each type of hazardous environment, usually based on particle size.
I think that the masks widely used are not full medical spec so might only limit transfer from the wearer but not fully contain a sneeze/cough. I bet people use the same one many times and their hand to mask hygiene sadly lacking.
I wore a 3M mask and glasses a couple of days ago while sanding some mdf in the garage. Full head elastic not behind the ears so gives a tighter fit.

I stand corrected - hand soap?

Masks Are Symbolic,’ say Dr Fauci and The New England Journal of Medicine
By Jim Hoft Gateway Pundit
Published May 28, 2020 at 12:13pm
Guest post by Bill Hennessey

In the past week, Dr. Anthony Fauci and the New England Journal of Medicine have admitted that masks are little more than symbols. Virtue signaling.
For those of you who shout “science” like it’s a Tourette tick, this is from the New England Journal of Medicine on May 21, 2020:
We know that wearing a mask outside health care facilities offers little, if any, protection from infection. Public health authorities define a significant exposure to Covid-19 as face-to-face contact within 6 feet with a patient with symptomatic Covid-19 that is sustained for at least a few minutes (and some say more than 10 minutes or even 30 minutes). The chance of catching Covid-19 from a passing interaction in a public space is therefore minimal. In many cases, the desire for widespread masking is a reflexive reaction to anxiety over the pandemic.

So, why are we ordered to wear masks? Symbolism. From the same article in NEJM:
“It is also clear that masks serve symbolic roles. Masks are not only tools, they are also talismans that may help increase health care workers’ perceived sense of safety, well-being, and trust in their hospitals.”

The Surgeon General was widely mocked and ridiculed for suggesting in March that masks might even increase the spread of the virus. Yet, here, the esteemed New England Journal of Medicine provides the same warning to mask-wearers:
What is clear, however, is that universal masking alone is not a panacea. A mask will not protect providers caring for a patient with active Covid-19 if it’s not accompanied by meticulous hand hygiene, eye protection, gloves, and a gown. A mask alone will not prevent health care workers with early Covid-19 from contaminating their hands and spreading the virus to patients and colleagues. Focusing on universal masking alone may, paradoxically, lead to more transmission of Covid-19 if it diverts attention from implementing more fundamental infection-control measures.
Thus, the argument is over. Anyone who advocates universal masking is merely engaging in virtue signaling, not public health.
It’s time to unmask. I, for one, don’t have enough virtue to signal.

Notices have appeared at our local hospital "Pronto Soccorso" (Emergency) to remove gloves before entering. They have realised that most people wearing gloves have touched everything in sight and that the gloves are more contaminated than the bare hands which can be easily sanitised.

It drives me nuts that bar, restaurant, shop staff have to wear gloves and then often take payment wearing the same gloves. If at all possible we pay contactless using the phone. Samsung now probably knows where we shop and what we buy in detail but I would rather that than handle the money that has passed who knows how many hands in the last 24 hours.

Regarding masks: the main idea of everyone wearing masks is that healthy carriers of the virus do not pass the virus on to others. The idea is not personal protection. Surgical type masks do this reasonably well if worn correctly. (we have them with the wire and no matter how I try to form it I still get my glasses fog up if I put them on to read something.)



The 3M mask referred to is probably of the type worn by medical staff when working in an area where they need personal protection from contagious patients. Many of them have a valve to allow the easy exhalation. Obviously a correctly fitted mask of this type should not fog up glasses but the valve allows the exhalation of an infected person to enter the environment. Obviously this does not protect the next person.
I have seen film of medical staff working in Covid wards and equiped with such a mask wearing an ordinary disposable mask under it.

God point on the gloves. Yes I do everything contactless where I can.
My glasses also steam up

Well this is quite topical.

Last night I was settling in with a glass of Malt when I got a call from my neighbour (80 and fragile). He'd tripped helping his severely disabled wife and badly cut his foot. Got dressed and ran round (nitrile gloves and 3m dust mask) blood spurting from his foot. Did the best first aid I could to stem the flow, (elevation and tight bandage). Struggling to see with misted up glasses.

Now to add more complication, my wife is medically shielding and must avoid all contact with others (including me to a large extent) and my neighbour 'isn't bothered anymore' after the Cummings affair and goes out left right and centre and has numerous visitors to keep him and his wife company.

Cut to the chase and 2 1/2 hours later the ambulance arrives and wants to take him to hospital but he refuses because of his wife. Wound cleaned and bandaged at 3 hours his drunken son arrives in a taxi after a 50 mile ride, medics still in attendance.

I come home and strip off in the garage, hose myself off in the garden (garden hose) then run in and have a proper shower. All my clothes will go in the wash this morning and my crap PPE is obviously in the bin.

I'll now stay well out of the way of my wife for at least another 7 days.

To my mind this is a clear case where testing should apply - not necessarily me but certainly my neighbour and his wife.

Cummings has done huge damage if not physically then certainly psychologically.

You do realise that you can wash and sanitise rubber gloves the same as bare hands don't you? You just don't end up with bleeding knuckles.

I sometimes wonder if people put more effort into seeing problems, you should become TV hosts or journalists.

Peter it's quite difficult, unless the mask is the vented exhale type which only protects the wearer and not others, given that initially medical staff were replacing masks every 15 minutes, it makes you wonder what is living in a mask that is worn all day long.

Masks may eliviate some hay fever reactions as a plus.

I see masks as a physiological placebo to a large degree, unless the users decontaminate properly then they become a potential biohazard by their very nature of trapping particulate matter unless the self sanitise.

Maybe a dab of glue along the top edge would stop them steaming your glasses up

Wow quite a tale. I agree testing would help. I hope it works out OK for you.

Well done what a tale, I wish your neighbour and you both well in these strange days.