#masks4all

[pandemic-info]

Tired of masking! how to stay motivated? Tips on negotiating mask/COVID-related differences in relationships?

The above links to a thread with a lot of helpful responses.

[fuckyeahilike]

Right in the beginning of the pandemic, when the virus was at its deadliest, the WHO told the world that not only was there no need for anyone to be putting on any form of mask over their faces, but that it would cause the spread of the disease because it would lull people into a false sense of security; and only staying home and washing your hands could help.

They lied like this for months, as the piles of corpses piled up, and people developed neurological incurable diseases.

For some weird and strange reason the minute that masks became plentiful and available to health care professionals the WHO suddenly changed its tune... and just like that wearing masks, any kind of masks, not only were we told was absolutely necessary after all, but if you didn't wear them everywhere you went you were breaking the law. 

No more talk now about this was only lulling people into a false sense of security; no more talk then about how only washing your hands and social distance could help. As soon as masks for health care professionals were plentiful and available, people were allowed to get back to their normal lives, provided they left their masks on at all times.

Funny how that goes. So, the WHO decided that it couldn’t risk ordinary civilians hogging all their masks (masks belong to them, not to us) if there were any, so it gaslighted us into thinking we didn't need any form of mask, to make sure that all masks went to them, the health care professionals.

No one is being sued or put in jail for this. This is how you see how all-powerful the health care profession is. They literally get away with mass murder. Someone tell me again why I’m supposed to trust doctors?

[chin-up-and-drown-slower]

Another holiday by myself, because nobody around me takes the pandemic seriously. And my family has proven time and time again that they can't be trusted to stay home when they're sick -- and lie by omission about being sick to begin with.

Merry Christmas to me.

[rodolfovergara]

Papá luchón orgulloso cómo se puede ver en la primera foto, la bendición cumple 7 años de llegar a este mundo , el tiempo vuela y ya no eres mas mi bebe , como dices , “ ahora eres un niño grande “ . Muchas felicidades campeón, te quiero ! #FelizCumpleaños #BirthdayBoy #HijoDeTigrePintito #DeTalPadreTalHijo #BuenFinDeSemana #BestBuddieEver👨‍👦 #FamilyFirst #Blessed #Masks4All #PapáCuervo #FatherAndSonTime #Blessed #Molcas #Chicharito #Funny #PapáLuchón #Bendición #ShotOnIphone #Coronavirus #QuedateEnCasa #Covid19 #StayHome #Guapo #HandsomeBoy https://www.instagram.com/p/Cl00XiCOJ0l/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[covid-safer-hotties]

^Masks4All reddit page

[fuckyeahilike]

how you move when you’re friend-shaped

Once saw a clown say clowns & furries speak the same "silent language" and that stuck with me for some reason

[unveilandresist]

here to be a buzzkill once again

covid is real and killing people every day

long covid cases are going up like crazy every year

please wear a mask

I know facing this is scary but wearing an kn95 or even better, an n95 will help protect you. so will air purifiers with hepa filters, and nasal sprays like xlear. get a vaccine if you haven't had one in the past 4 months. mitigations really do reduce your risk. r/masks4all will even help you find the right mask for your face shape!

if you get covid, do whatever you can to rest and not strain yourself for about 6 weeks to reduce risk of long covid.

love you all, wanting us all to be well 💗

- my chronically ill ass who has been sick from postviral illness since 2012

[swampgallows]

do you have advice on how to find a mask for someone who legit, for real has difficulty breathing through one? i get badly congested because of the build up of humidity/moisture (plus a deviated septum), so then i have to remove the mask to blow my nose every 10 seconds which obvi defeats the purpose. i've tried to do research but i'm having trouble finding answers to this specific query. since you seem knowledgeable i would really appreciate any pointers if you have them. thank you.

hi! first of all thank you so much for wanting to mask despite the difficulties. second, i want to mention that im not a science or medical-type person of any kind, just a high-risk civilian trying to stay alive through the ongoing pandemic.

with the widespread non-industrial use of respirators in dealing with covid, there are manufacturers that have been looking for more comfortable, casual options while still offering adequate filtration. however many of these kinds of masks are either quite expensive, perpetually hard to acquire/sold out, or aren't fully NIOSH-approved (or equivalent standard). so my recommendations will be for only NIOSH-approved headstrap N95s.

since you have a structural condition (deviated septum), finding a breathable mask that fits your face without agitating your sinuses is essential. you'll want to be sure it's large enough that it's not pinching or putting too much pressure on your nose bridge. some users in the Masks4All subreddit have said saline rinses and BreatheRight strips can alleviate congestion issues, along with the right kind of mask. exploring a variety of mask shapes may help you!

finding a well-fitting respirator is difficult because there is no "one size fits all", but the 3M Aura 9205+ comes close! it's available in many areas and fits a wide range of faces. this is the mask i use. the "tri-fold" shape allows me to talk or laugh without compromising the seal or brushing against my face, compared to a typical "cup" shape N95. they also come individually wrapped, so it's easy to keep one in your car or bag, or distribute to others.

according to many who are "still coviding", the most breathable masks are the "duckbill" shape like the Gerson 3230+. I personally haven't tried them myself as I'm put off by the shape, but many duckbill wearers say that they easily overcome this "flinch" once they feel how comfortable it is, and that it's their go-to mask for extended wear or strenuous activities like the gym.

a more standard shape said to be close to the comfort of the duckbill is the 3M 9105 VFlex. It still has a larger silhouette than the Aura, but the duckbill look is less pronounced. "bi-fold" mask shapes like the BNX N95 can also put less pressure on your nose and allow more breathing room while keeping a slimmer profile.

you can also try something like the Readimask, a strapless mask that adheres to your face with medical adhesive (think like a band-aid). these can be a little more expensive, but you can order a free sample pack for sizing purposes (free plus shipping, mine was only $5 in the US) and see if it works for you.

if you feel that the humidity/moisture is more of an issue than your septum, you may also want to look into valved masks, but be warned: masks with an exhaust valve only protect the wearer, and not the people around you. reserve these only for situations where you will be one-way masking. particles cannot enter through the valve, but particles you exhale exit into the ambient air. however, if you are in a situation where you find you are the only person masking and everyone else is breathing unfiltered air anyway, a mask with an exhaust valve is fine. reusable elastomeric respirators often have exhaust valves, but there are disposable versions too, like the 3M Aura 9211+ above.

"mask nerd" Aaron Collins has a full demonstration and overview of many of these masks in his most recent video. He also discusses earloop masks if you prefer those:

you can also view AccuMed's Mask Testing Data and sort by lowest to highest breathability (lower numbers indicate the pressure drop = better breathing). This doesn't have every mask on the market (for instance, it's missing the VFlex), but it does have many common brands/models. Aaron Collins also made his own spreadsheet of over 200 masks he fit-tested himself.

i hope this gives you a launchpad to find something that works for you!

[cygnoir]

Doomscrolling and feeling powerless? Here’s something tangible we can do: Normalize wearing masks. Let’s protect our health and decrease the spread of airborne diseases. Out of masks and don’t know where to start? r/Masks4All Wiki is a great resource.

[liminalweirdo]

@shiningroyalty a shirt probably won't do much to protect you or others, but if you're in the US there are lots of places that donate N95 or similar masks to people who cannot access or afford them. Check out Project N95's program where they can donate masks to those in need. Masks4All on reddit is (or was? I'm not sure what's going on with them while reddit's a shitshow) is a pretty great resource as well.

[pokabrows]

lol finally went off the deep end of keeping myself safe from covid. Got myself a reusable elastomeric respirator.

(pictured here on a fan because it's brand new and so still smells like plastic)

It's way cheaper in the long run than disposable masks. The mask I got, the Honeywell North 7700, was a bit under $30 and then p100 filter pucks are less than $10 and you only have to replace them when they become hard to breathe through, dirty or damaged. (Some people recommend replacing them at least every year regardless just to be safe and to be fair they're cheap enough where that's pretty reasonable.)

The silicone does way better at sealing to faces than disposable ones. And the mask comes in small, medium and large so hopefully it fits your face a little better that way too. (I got a small based on the size guide on their website and it seems to fit well.) And a better fit means better protection. Arguably the fit matters more than p100 vs N95.

The one I have is valved. This was the hardest part of the decision. Valved respirators only protect other people from you (source control) as much as a surgical mask. So it's not ideal if you could be sick. However a valve really helps in keeping the mask comfortable to wear for longer periods of time with reducing condensation build up. You can also always tape N95 mask material over the vent to help make it a better source control. Basically if you're in a situation that requires masking better than a cloth/surgical mask a valve is not appropriate or if you could be sick and want to protect others around you. It's hard because even if no one else around me is wearing a mask I do want to protect them. However because no one else is wearing a mask it's more important for me to have a comfortable mask I can wear all day. If I like this one enough to want another one for different situations I'll probably go valveless. Probably the MSA Advantage 900 because it's wayyy better for talking than most elastomeric respirators. Or one of those quarter respirators that look a little bit less than bane. But all of those are a bit more expensive so I didn't want to start with those.

But since the pandemic is continuing with no end in sight I figured it was time to invest in a bit better mask. Especially since this one was under $40 for both the mask and filter. If I like this style of mask I may get another depending on what I feel I need versus this one. After all I'm already disabled, the last thing I need is any additional disabilities to deal with.

Oh shout out to the subreddit /r/masks4all that's where I did a lot of the research.

[chilipowder9]

replying to a slightly older reblog of urs about masks - has ur mom tried valve masks? you inhale filtered air but the valve allows for outer exhalation rather than a sort of build up of air within the mask which may be more breathable for her! some masks just generally have better breathability - the masks4all subreddit may be a good place to do some research if ur interested!

ohmyfuckinggod THANK YOU NO SHE HASN'T

cranky gen x woman decided masks are evil so no she didn't

[none-ofthisnonsense]

Hi, I saw that you couldn't afford any masks but that you wanted to wear them. I just wanted to let you know that if you're in the US, you can request free masks from Project N95. Just to go to projectn95 (dot) org/free-masks/

The reddit board r/Masks4All also has some really great resources. There are options out there!

Thanks for the info!

Unfortunately, I'm not in the USA (and I'm currently in the process of changing countries too - not to the USA - so adresses are a bit wacky at the moment.)

Thank you for all the resources, I'm checking them out :)

[covid-safer-hotties]

Folks in the UK: There's a black trifold FFP3 avaliable here

Discout with coupon code MASKS4ALL-10-2025

[unveilandresist]

y'all know how the media is spouting all kinds of garbage about palestine?

jsyk they have done the same damn thing with covid. covid is not like a casual cold or the flu. covid destroys your vascular system. covid fucks up your body's immune system. if you are wondering why you get sick so easily now, that is very likely why. your chance of becoming chronically ill increases with each infection you have, and up to 60% of cases are asymptomatic. they are lying about shit because the only thing that matters in the US is keeping the wheels of capitalism going and making the rich richer. remember at the beginning when Dan Patrick said we should sacrifice grandma for the economy?

he said the quiet bit out loud. vulnerable people have to rely on others to keep us safe, because the government does not give a single fuck. thousands of people are still dying of covid and many more are becoming disabled.

I haven't gone anywhere other than doctor's appointments and the grocery store for years now, as I am too sick to work and it is too risky. high risk people now cannot see their medical providers or even go to the hospital without putting ourselves at risk because no one masks even though covid is a highly contagious airborne virus.

I'm begging y'all to wear N95 masks or better (r/masks4all and r/zerocovidcommunity are helpful resources) and protect yourselves and the people around you- especially if you are showing up to a protest, crowds are extremely risky for covid transmission.

Please show solidarity by masking. Please give a fuck about your fellow humans. The difference between masking and not can mean saving a life or preventing permanent disability.

[pandemic-info]

Best mask or respirator and eye protection for small face (teen) on long flight from US to Asia?: Masks4All

make sure not to just bring one mask or one type of mask. After a few hours on the plane you might suddenly realize the one you thought would be perfect actually bothers you in some way.