Best Posts in Thread: Wearing mask April 2023

There are two sides to this and probably some luck as to which one an individual falls into:

1. Masks (if worn correctly) will reduce input of pathogens via the mouth and nose and so reduce challenges to parts of the immune system - but no-one is likely to wear a mask 100% of the time and very unlikely to do so inside the home. Thus, mixing within the home environment would allow many pathogens to gain entry to the body and so continue to challenge the immune system.
2. The (possibly) reduced challenge to the immune system by low-risk pathogens might be balanced by the lower risk of inhaling more serious pathogens (which, often, are higher risk for the elderly - which many members here are).

I agree though that not wearing a mask puts us back to the pre-Covid situation and with almost the same risk - which we all undertook in those days without hesitation.

I am not sure how effective various masks are against the inhalation of toxic gases and particulates, but the air in cities here is very polluted and it could be another bonus in wearing a mask.

Finally, if a person is ugly a mask can help.

 

It would seem they are great for keeping dust out of your mouth therefore still useful.

 

There are a number of different types of persistent mask wearers, in my view:

1. Those who genuinely believe that it is still needed for their protection.
2. Those who believe they are protecting others.
3. Those who still do not have the message.
4. Youngsters who feel more confident with their faces hidden, most often teenage girls.

Regarding the continued effectiveness of wearing a mask, the fact is that protecting yourself from every God given germ with masks and copious use of alcohol as sanitizer will, in the long run, reduce resistance to bacteria through lack of exposure. I'm no biologist or health expert, but this much I do know.

Incidentally, the WHO is said to be on the verge of declaring Covid-19 as no longer a global emergency.

 

I would hazard a guess that mostly because of wearing masks many people around the world avoided catching not only Covid19 but also other diseases like the flu. It will be interesting to see the casualty numbers for the flu for 2020-2022, they'll probably be a lot lower than for previous years. If that's correct then that would mean a blow to your argument; the flu has been endemic for centuries so if wearing masks would be useless and even counterproductive then we would expect more deaths from the flu, not less.