on masking

December 21, 2023 3:30 PM

Within the past year, you have shifted from wearing a cotton mask, surgical mask, no mask, or similar to wearing an N95 or similar mask. Why did you make the switch?
posted by aniola to Grab Bag (20 answers total)

Best answer: I don’t wear a mask all the time, but at those times I do it’s because I really need to protect myself or I am protecting others (for example after I exited COVID isolation). N95 masks are just a lot more effective. When I wore one every day it was usually a surgical-type mask because they are more comfortable for me.
posted by mai at 3:36 PM on December 21, 2023 [4 favorites]

Best answer: I don't like masks that brush against my lips. N95 and KN95 come in a nice variety of shapes that have enough structure to keep them from doing this. Also I find the better seal to be more compatible with not fogging up glasses.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 3:51 PM on December 21, 2023 [6 favorites]

Best answer: I'm not satisfied with the effectiveness of surgical masks or cotton masks, now that we have ready access to better alternatives, and I consider it imprudent to go into places with lots of people without a mask. So many people have had covid lately.
posted by metonym at 4:03 PM on December 21, 2023 [9 favorites]

Best answer: shifted towards using N95 when i can, and supplementing by more liberally using KN95, due to increased availability. as fewer people seem to be masking at all, there isn’t the same competition and price mark-ups.
posted by tamarack at 4:10 PM on December 21, 2023

Best answer: Cotton masks get damp, surgical paper masks poke me in the eyeball and hurt my ears, both are less effective and fit more poorly than the “right” n95 mask which is now available at Walgreens. And the better seal keeps my safety glasses from fogging up, as was noted above.
posted by Vatnesine at 4:16 PM on December 21, 2023

Best answer: I always knew that KN95 was more effective than other options, but it took until I got a KN95 sampler kit this year that let me find a style that fit my face comfortably to start using them more often. I don't wear them all the time, but do on flights and before I visit someone with high-risk factors.
posted by matrixclown at 4:41 PM on December 21, 2023 [5 favorites]

You really shouldn't be using anything other than N95's unless you have nothing else available. N95's are THE standard, not surgicals, not cloth, not anything else. I'm not going to do any Internet searches on this right now given my posting situation, but they've been saying for years now that N95 is best for covid.
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:14 PM on December 21, 2023 [14 favorites]

Best answer: I have a lot of sensory issues with masking and it easily overwhelms me when I’m out and about, so as soon as it wasn’t unbearably rude to do so I stopped masking when I would not be socializing with vulnerable people afterward, since the risk balance was just for me, and it’s easy for me to stay home if I had any worrisome symptoms. Shortly after that there was research emerging that wearing n95 or equivalent masks were one of the only individual actions one could take to lower the risk of transmitting the newer variants. My washable cotton masks have been sitting tidily in a drawer ever since, and I’ve only worn them when traveling through airports, on top of a kn95 mask as an extra stability measure.

I try to keep a fresh kn95 (I get these) in most of my bags and jackets, and we keep an extra pack in the car of course. I haven’t worn them too often but it’s great to be able to pull one on if there is a sign in a store or someone else masking who looks worrisome around me or somewhere is especially packed. A lot of times places will have free blue surgical masks for use and being able to use my own mask has made people visibly relieved that I am taking their concerns seriously.

I’ve starting masking a bit more often this winter. For example tomorrow I have an annual checkup at the doctor and I will of course be wearing a mask in the waiting room and on my way home. When I stop in for my last pre-holiday grocery shop I will mask up. As my friend’s kids go back to school after winter break I will probably wear a mask on visits. When my elderly parents come visit in January, I will be bringing lots of masks with us as we do indoor touristy things in the city, and encouraging them to mask up while they travel.

I haven’t had so much as a cold since 2020, it’s pretty awesome. Allergies are still a thing though, and so is my aging body with all its weird nonsense. I suspect I’ll wear a kn95 or equivalent occasionally for the rest of my life, but the washable cotton ones are only useful if I’m the one who is sick and I need to keep my droplets away from others. Since I don’t seem to be getting sick, protection from smaller particles is needed, when I deem the benefit of masking outweighs the annoyance and overwhelm. This winter I will probably purchase a few different shapes and styles to try to find ones that are the best for my face and my preferences, but top of that list is filtering ability, because when I wear a mask I want it to really work, not just be theater.
posted by Mizu at 5:20 PM on December 21, 2023 [3 favorites]

matrixclown, I'm hoping you can tell me a bit more about the KN95 sampler kit. My family and I all wear N95 masks in any indoor public space. However, we don't like masks with ear loops—our preference is for elastic that goes over the head.
posted by Scout405 at 5:30 PM on December 21, 2023

Best answer: After trying several models of n95 and kn95 masks, I discovered a duckbill-style n95 mask that fits my face, doesn't fog my glasses, and lets me talk freely (important, I'm a teacher). I buy them in bulk and stash them at home, in the office, and in my regular go-everywhere bag.

I never stopped wearing masks in crowded (or potentially crowded) indoor spaces, nor at work (undergraduates are hardcore COVID vectors), but I've been even more conscientious about it lately because I got very sick in October (not COVID, bacterial) and while I'm much better now, it's likely per the medical literature that I'm somewhat immunocompromised for a while yet. I keep antiviral nasal spray handy as well.
posted by humbug at 6:05 PM on December 21, 2023 [2 favorites]

From the start of Covid through about January of 2023 I wore masks consistently. My mask of choice was a KN95. During that period of time not only did I not get covid but I didn’t get sick…at all. Then, this summer (after stopping wearing a mask) I got a virus for the 1st time. And then in October 2 weeks after getting the most recent covid vaccine my buddy and I attended an outdoor concert without masks…we both got covid. I fully believe the K95 kept me safe for years. When I ride a plane I still wear it. If I mask I use a KN95. I find them relatively comfortable. The cotton or cloth masks make my nose itch. Covid is still out there along with other stuff. Very rarely do I hear someone say I wear masks all the time and got covid. We gotta live our lives so use discretion. But if you’re worried and wanna stay safe…I say mask up with a KN95.
posted by ljs30 at 6:15 PM on December 21, 2023 [4 favorites]

I was using KN95 masks with elastic loops that hurt my ears. I switched to masks with softer earloops (non-woven material) for big headed people.

That's a Japanese brand Unicharm mask, 大きめ size (large), bendable nose wire, with the ear loops made from non woven material. (amazon.co.jp link, but rakuten japan probably sells them as well.)

They also have medium head and small head models, for people with the corresponding model head.

These are the ones which mention ウイルス(virus) on the lower right front corner and have the infobox on the back mentioning that they passed the JIS T 9001 standard, instance G42109001,
at 99% for their tests on Pollen, Microparticle, Bacterial droplet, and Virus droplet collection efficiency. It also mentions mouth clearence space on the back.

Some of Unicharm's other models masks don't have the rating box or don't obviously mention viruses and may just be antipollen masks.

Fit-wise, it may be slightly worse than my KN95s, on the exhale. Maybe?

I will note it is impossible to find other masks with non-woven material earloops online, becuase of most masks have non-woven filtrate material, so the searches fail.

A family member I know, who works around cancer patients, sticks to an expert-fitted N95 with the elastic that goes over the head.

My physiotherapist wears surgical masks because he got what his opthomologist diagnosed as some flavor of low grade eye infections when he wore some KN95? or N95? masks.
posted by sebastienbailard at 1:03 AM on December 22, 2023

I'm also using a iota-carrageenan nasal spray: https://www.betadine.ca/nasal-spray/

Recent discussion of nasal sprays:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Coronavirus/comments/18nl55t/do_a_few_sprays_a_day_keep_covid_away/
posted by sebastienbailard at 1:12 AM on December 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

I do a combination of KN95 (easier to find but somewhat loose), surgical + cloth or N95.

Indoor / public transport for a long time, then it's N95 (such as when I went to a comic convention earlier this month). KN95 for some bus routes, but the surgical+cloth is tighter fitting for me.
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 2:26 AM on December 22, 2023

Best answer: I changed from surgical to N95s as soon as they recommended to, but I prefer them anyway as they don’t rub your face as much as surgical ones. This is good for sensory and makeup reasons.
posted by ellieBOA at 3:16 AM on December 22, 2023 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Basically free-associating on the topic of masking rather than directly answering the specific parameters of the question, but I switched from wearing a mixture of n95 3m aura masks in higher risk settings and surgical masks in settings where other people were masking, to always wearing kn95 masks for masking that come in different colours and have ear loops rather than the straps over the head of 3m aura masks. I switched because they look more approachable/ less weird so I thought I was less likely to get hassle which would lead me to not masking at all/ people woud be nicer to me and they are easier to take on and off while still being pretty effective in ways surgical/cloth masks aren't.
posted by mosswinter at 6:50 AM on December 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I started wearing the BreatheTeq KN95 masks which are sturdy and breathable. I don't wear my mask every minute at work because I'm in an office with a really good air exchanger and not in anyone's personal space. But I do wear it when I'm up and about talking to people, in meetings, using a shared washroom, etc. as well as anytime I'm out shopping, in a crowd, or in a place where I'm unsure of the ventilation.

I switched to KN95 because they are reasonably easy to get, and more effective with me often being the sole person in a group using a mask. They also hold up to repeated doffing and donning better than I've found surgical masks to be.

Anecdote isn't data, but I've seen a few situations where either myself or someone I know has been in a COVID exposure situations and it seemed to be air circulation or masking that made the difference in not getting infected.
posted by eekernohan at 7:31 AM on December 22, 2023

Sellers of high quality masks are offering deals galore these days. I've been a KN95 wearer in public for years now, but if I'd been avoiding them due to cost/availability concerns before, those concerns are no longer relevant.

Agree with others that KN style masks with ear loops are less hassle than N95s to put on and take off, don't mess up my hair, and many come in stylish colors that make them look more like a fashion accessory than medical equipment. I feel like my black mask is part of my brand at work now.
posted by potrzebie at 1:45 PM on December 22, 2023

Best answer: The best fitting mask for me is a duckbill (ACI or Gerson), but I’ve also used surgical with a fix-the-mask brace, Powecom N95s, and 3M Auras. All of these are available from Armbrust. As of late, I've mostly been wearing N95s, because they are now cheaper than they had been.

I had ordered cup-style N95/ that are stiff, but which still fit my face well, from Costco, but I don’t think they sell them anymore.
posted by SillyShepherd at 2:02 PM on December 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: I tried to "best answer" comments that I thought answered the question. Seems like the top 3 reasons are:

- Comfort / fit
- Cost to purchase / accessibility
- What condoms do for contagious STDs, N95s/P100s etc. do for contagious airborne diseases.

So if I want to encourage people to wear N95s etc., I should consider/talk about comfort, cost, and condoms.
posted by aniola at 7:58 PM on December 22, 2023 [5 favorites]