General-Masks

Cover it up, please!

 

                                          Jim Carrey in The Mask

Thanks to the notoriety of the super-active killer virus during the large part of this year, there is no need to check the dictionary to know the meaning of the word mask. It is one of the commonest words in everyone’s lexicon now.

Alarmed by the cavalier attitude of the people even during the rapid spread, the Central government has made it compulsory for people to wear masks in public areas, including workplaces. Nagpur Police even used Jethalal of Taarak Mehta ka Ooltah Chashma to convey its message. You can also see photos of how TV and cinema actors are shooting with masks on.

People generally cover their faces with dupattas or scarves as protection against dust and strong hot summer or desert winds. Yet, in 2016, police of some districts in Punjab had banned the use of face coverings by two-wheeler riders after two bikers with cloth-covered faces shot RSS leader Jagdish Gagneja in Jalandhar.

Till last year, the word mask conjured up for me the images of the kinds worn by stage or meme artists, bank robbers, in the Venice carnival, the masks in Asian and African dances or Jim Carrey’s miracle-working contraption in the comedy film of the same name. My romantic heart loves every story of a kind-hearted girl finding her soulmate in a masquerade ball. The main purpose is disguise so the wearer has the opportunity to show the other side of his personality except in case of those used by snorkelers and goalkeepers’ face protectors.

But for the present, all the above have become redundant. The functional ones with the sole purpose of checking the spread of the deadly virus are making more sense. No need of my giving gyan (knowledge)- wear a mask when around people.

Around March when it looked like the lockdown would drive the virus away, people hid their lower faces behind fruit peels and lettuce leaves, bori (burlap) and katori (bowls), cardboard, scarves or even plastic cans to avoid the fine imposed for violation of the order. 

Shankar Kurade, from Pimpri-Chinchwad (Pune), spent about Rs 3 lakh for a 50 gms gold mask with minute holes. “I am not sure whether this mask will be effective,” he, however, said.

Yet as the ordeal grew in time and numbers, and masks became a part of our clothing, masks were also matched, customised or made funky. They can be monochrome or with floral, geometric, nursery, cartoon, skull and grotesque prints, one-liners or serious messages. There is no law against making a fashion statement out of them as long as they serve their purpose, i.e., prevent the to and fro traffic of virus.

                                            Photo: Bored Panda

Every doctor tells us that the medical-grade masks- surgical (disposable, loose-fitting, covers nose, mouth and chin) or the N95 respirator (tight-fitting that can filter the air particles breathed through it) or the non-medical homemade ones tied to the ears with ties or elastic, each one is effective only if it covers both your mouth and your nose.

Matching masks for weddings

For me, it just inspires the confidence that the person around is careful and conscientious, like in the case of my dentist. Reclined stiff and taut in the chair, I opened my eyes to verify if he had not launched off into space with that mask (3M 3100), and immediately relaxed on seeing him bending over my wide open mouth to peer into in the narrow canals of my half-dead tooth.

Dr Harshul Sharma with his 3M3100

Looking at Adam Sandler dangling an underwear from his ears (https://www.newsbreak.com/news/1554351216532/saturday-night-live-adam-sandler-says-hes-been-wearing-underwear-mask-at-home-to-stay-entertained) made me think it is a good idea to treat your mask like your underwear (and not the other way round as he has done). 

Therefore, they should    

•        be made of soft breathable material,

•         be large enough to cover the required parts (here face and mouth), 
•        fit securely and not too small/large or with loose ties
•        sit on your nose and mouth, not your chin or dangling from one ear (dangling underwear, anyone)
•         not have holes or zippers for nose and mouth (neither should underwear).     

• not need adjusting often (Nobody enjoys seeing men & women tugging out their unseen piece of underclothing from the crevices and folds of their body),
• washed and changed regularly (smelly, sweaty underwear-yuk!),
• do not impair vision (functions are different in case of underwear though).
•  be worn dry and clean. Wet/damp mask as well as underwear is useless        not be exchanged, lent/borrowed especially the ones in use.

 

                Really !

By the way, Maidenform (USA) has come out with non-medical-grade masks. It is just an observation and not publicity, unless they send me free supply. They have, however, made no claims of ‘antimicrobial/ antiviral/ infection prevention’ or ‘particulate filtration’.

For young minds with high-fidelity imagination, the choice is to compare the mask to a condom. Too small, too large, exposing the organ required to be covered, dangling it from some other organ do not work. Like in case of condom-related accidents, say a loud ‘no’ to masks with holes/zippers for nose or mouth, worn out, too old, wearing them upside down/inside out or knitted/crocheted ones.

Fortunately, unlike underwear (Superman is exception) and condoms, you are supposed to be seen wearing masks in public. So go ahead and be creative.

However, in a recent article Doctors Perencevich, Diekama and Edmond https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2765525  write:...simple and easy-to-use barriers to respiratory droplets, along with hand hygiene and avoidance of touching the face, could help prevent community transmission when physical distancing and stay-at-home measures are relaxed or no longer possible. The 2 major options for such barriers are face masks and face shields..

Face shields offer a number of advantages. While medical masks have limited durability and little potential for reprocessing, face shields can be reused indefinitely and are easily cleaned with soap and water, or common household disinfectants. They are comfortable to wear, protect the portals of viral entry, and reduce the potential for autoinoculation by preventing the wearer from touching their face. People wearing medical masks often have to remove them to communicate with others around them; this is not necessary with face shields. The use of a face shield is also a reminder to maintain social distancing, but allows visibility of facial expressions and lip movements for speech perception.

Wouldn’t plastic shields make one vulnerable? The shield-wearers are exhaling air and droplets into the area within the shield and inhaling the air back. Their transparent shield cannot hide expressions of glee, disappointment, disgust, dislike or even interest (especially the risky kind), from the viewer. But they can continue to smile for toothpaste and mouthwash ads or show off good teeth, as against the mask-wearers. But tell me, don’t you think some people do look better with masks on?

                              The mask for the hearing impaired with 

                              transparent shield so that they can lip read.

I used to be worried about the companies losing business over the significantly decreased use of lipsticks but the small businesses profiting from making masks cheered me up.

I am, however, not qualified to argue with Patrick Fagan, who, in Why face masks are a form of dehumanisation, argues, “There is also a more basic reason masks might make you stupid: decreasing oxygen flow to the brain. Face veils reduce ventilatory function in the long-term (Alghadir, Aly & Zafar, 2012), and surgical masks may reduce blood oxygenation among surgeons (Beder et al., 2008): believe it or not, covering your mouth makes it harder to breathe. The fact that masks likely don’t even work brings us to the final reason that wearing one inculcates stupidity and compliance: through a bombardment of lies, contradictions, and confusion, the state overwhelms your ability to reason clearly.”

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