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<This later turned out to be true. The authorities were lying to us about the effectiveness of masks to keep non-medical people from making a run on them. I’m fine with the medical people having priority; it spurs creativity in the rest of us, like Christal (below)! ~Steve>


   Everyone says masks are ineffective at stopping the spread of COVID-19. But they also say the main means of spread is tiny virus-laden droplets when someone sneezes, coughs, or speaks. And then someone touches a surface the droplets landed on. The main point of entry mouth or nose, but sometimes the eyes. People have long said that the point of a mask is to remind you not to touch your face. Why doesn’t that work with COVID19?


   ~Steve Mouzon


Laura Hamilton The gist of this is that any mask, even a homemade mask, will provide better protection than no mask. You are being told not to wear masks because of hoarding and scarcity issues, and that's the only reason. Scarf tied around your face, dust mask, old surgical mask, particle mask leftover from wildfires, they are all better than nothing. 


This study also indicates that masks in general do a better job of protecting you from others than they do at protecting others from you. Mostly because when you exhale, the force of the air coming out can break your mask seal. Still, it's better to wear a mask than not. 

If you have to go out, wear a mask. If you don't have one, make one.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2440799

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NCBI.NLM.NIH.GOV

Professional and Home-Made Face Masks Reduce Exposure to Respiratory…

Professional and Home-Made Face Masks Reduce Exposure to Respiratory Infections among the General Population


Steve Mouzon Wow thanks Laura Hamilton! Good stuff.



Steven Schloeder I don’t see how wearing a mask cannot be better than not wearing a mask.



Michael Stayman This is an important time to listen to authority and heed the warnings, but this is why people don't trust the government. They speak out of both sides of their mouth.


Nancy Bruning Michael Stayman or they speak prematurely when they don’t have sufficient science.



Brian Vinson I understand that wearing a mask actually causes you to touch your face more often. You're not used to wearing one, and you tend to adjust it repeatedly. Yeah it might prevent you from spreading your germs, but it seems you're more likely to pick up others.


Andrew Laska Brian Vinson while others say it makes you conscious of your face and therefore not touch it.



Tom Richerson Masks work- but mostly to stop the spread from people who already have it to those who don't. It doesn't work so much to prevent one from getting it because it can still come through your eyes, ears, nose and even through the sides of the mask.


Laura Hamilton It actually works the opposite way according to the studies. Better at protecting you from others than protecting them from you. This is why we all need to be wearing masks.


Becky Tiffany There is significant discrepancy between American and Asian experts on this. It's more than cultural. Also prior to this many publications noted that masks protected individuals from viruses when worn correctly.


David Moye Masks make contagious people less contagious




Veronika Eagleson It's all about the hoarding and the fact that medical personnel need them. We have a big stack of old work masks for drywall etc and are not afraid to use them.


Pamela Asher I would love to be able to get masks, all out!




Christal Deeter Hudson Pamela Asher ... make one out of an old bra... that’s what I’m doing... lol
cut the bra in half... cut off straps & back...cut straps into skinny strips... sew strips for the ears onto the single bra cup.


<Now thats what I mean by creative thanks, Christal! Wanda is making our masks now! ~Steve>


Norma Whitehead Most people wear them wrong and studies show that the average person winds up touching their face more often when wearing one than when they aren't wearing one. So they do the opposite of what is intended to happen


Chris Kochtitzky Surgical masks are designed to keep the doctors and other healthcare professionals from infecting patients. They are open to incoming airflow on the sides. They also often cause you to touch your face more rather than less. Only n95 masks professionally fitted for each person’s face can prevent others from infecting the wearer.


Megan Marie They absolutely do protect the wearer . That’s the reason for the PPE taught in the very first few nursing classes in college . People not wearing them correctly can provide false security and they need to be paired with common sense and remember not to touch surfaces and then your face, etc. The shortage is the reason the govt is telling us not to wear them in my opinion. Also they have to go for “herd mentality” and tailor their advice for the largest survival %. They are advising what will save the highest % of people, not what is best for each individual.


Kitty Klitzke I read that the masks go on the sick people. Not so great at protecting those who don’t have it.



John Czarnecki clear plastic cones keep Fido from scratching. ;- }




Rick Geller There’s a shortage of masks for medical workers.




Kira Gould Yes: That, I thought, was the main reason not to have all sorts of random healthy people using them up (to shop) ... so that health workers and first responders have the supply that they need.


Sandy Sorlien Breathing into a scarf or mask all the time will build up moisture. Keep a lookout for fungal infections on chin etc., air it out frequently (which means you are touching your face a lot) Seriously. The mask is more for people who are sneezing and coughing, to protect others.


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© Stephen A. Mouzon 2020