I had hoped there was no need to write about wearing breathing masks ever again. Alas cheri, it was not to be. Here we are again, arguing over face masks.
Do I believe masks do much to filter the air we breathe? In a word, no. It is possible to make such masks, people who work with dangerous chemicals or spray paint wear them but they make the wearer look like a space alien, require maintenance, and are expensive.
Do I believe Covid masks keep us from spraying micro droplets of saliva and whatever viruses happen to be present in our mouths around the area we find ourselves in? Emphatically, I do.
If everybody who feels at all like they might have a cold, allergy, or flu would wear masks when around others, I believe it would reduce the transmission of respiratory infections generally, not just Covid. The masks would catch the spray of which we are unaware, but all of us produce pretty much whenever we open our mouths.
I can almost hear you thinking, "I do no such thing, I would know if I did." Heck, until Covid came along I would have totes agreed with you. You may well ask, how did I learn of the microspray? That is an extremely short story I will now share with you.
Early in the first Covid era, while most wore cloth or paper masks, some few including the other DrC wore transparent plastic face shields. She got one for me too, and I wore it some when out to the store or to get the mail.
I'd take it off when back in my car, bring it home, and ignore it until I went out again. She did likewise. Then, when getting ready to go out the next time I'd pick it up and be grossed out by all the tiny dried spots of spittle on the inside of the clear mask.
There were dozens of them, right in front of my mouth, small but not microscopic, large enough to probably settle to the floor within a few feet. The other DrC had an identical experience with her mask. We'd get out the Windex, clean off the shields and put them on.
If the two of us, a couple of PhDs, spray micro droplets of saliva as we talk, mouth breathe around allergies, and generally live, it is highly probable you do too and like us were (or still are) unaware of doing so.
There, I've told you more than you wanted to know about what cloth/paper masks do and don't do. I hope I didn't spoil your appetite for lunch.
