Why I Choose Not to Wear a Mask
I avoid wearing a mask as much as possible. Now it’s not a political thing with me. Don’t think that I’m not wearing a mask to take a stand for or against something. That’s not the case.
There are a series of reasons why I think that the emphasis for wearing a mask is unnecessary.
Lack of Comfort
I know that this reason to many people may seem a bit irresponsible or selfish, but this is my blog and I speak my mind.
I know that I am not alone on this, the mask for me is just straight up uncomfortable to wear.
It gets hard to breathe under a mask, and I know that my heavy breathers can relate. Comfortability means a lot to me, it may not be a big deal to most but it is certainly a big deal to me.
I want to get the maximum amount of oxygen with every breath I take. The mask restricts my privilege to that ever precious oxygen.
Judge me if you want.
Most People are Basically not Wearing a Mask at All
I have been stopped on several occasions upon entering stores about not wearing my mask, just to walk in and see most people in those same stores walking around with their masks on their chins.
Having your mask at your chin is equivalent to not wearing a mask at all.
I feel as though if you’re going to stress the importance of wearing a mask, then you must also enforce the proper way to wear that mask.
So wearing a mask at your chin is socially acceptable, but not wearing a mask isn’t? Make it make sense.
A lot of people don’t even know why they’re wearing a mask, they’re just doing it because someone told them to.
I like to have my own mind…. forgive me.
You Touch Your Face More When You Wear a Mask
I would hope that most of us know one of the most common ways to spread sickness is through touch. Touching of the face, mouth, nose and eyes is a great way to expedite a lot of sicknesses.
As you know the mask is normally located on your face, meaning you oftentimes have to touch your face, mouth, nose and eyes whilst adjusting your mask.
Seems like in times like this, that isn’t the best tactic for avoiding sickness.
What Does the CDC Say About Masks
For those of you that don’t know the CDC is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
CDC.gov had this to say on the importance of wearing a mask, “Masks are recommended as a simple barrier to help prevent respiratory droplets from traveling into the air and onto other people when the person wearing the mask coughs, sneezes, talks, or raises their voice.”
In other words the mask’s main purpose is to stop bodily droplets from your coughs and sneezes from getting near other people.
If you’re near someone with the virus and they cough or sneeze around you without covering their mouths, then the likelihood of catching the illness increases.
The spreading of those droplets can easily be avoided by covering your mouth the correct way, which is to cough or sneeze into the bend of your elbow. It’s pretty simple.
Again simple hygienic practices is the key to beating the Coronavirus.
CDC.gov also mentions a unique downside when it comes to wearing a mask, “In some situations, wearing a mask may exacerbate a physical or mental health condition, lead to a medical emergency, or introduce significant safety concerns.”
Why doesn’t this interesting tidbit get more notoriety? Why aren’t the downfalls of wearing a mask brought to the forefront?
The Emphasis Should be on Washing Your Hands Not Wearing a Mask
The biggest reason why I feel as though wearing a mask is unnecessary is because I believe that the most efficient way to avoid the Coronavirus is to wash your hands on the regular basis.
And if you’re really serious about avoiding the Coronavirus, then wash your hands thoroughly.
Way before the Coronavirus was ever a thing, I was washing my hands consistently. After the Coronavirus was a thing, I continued to wash my hands as I normally would.
Way before the Coronavirus was a thing I was covering my mouth properly when I sneezed and coughed. After Coronavirus was a thing I continued to cover my mouth properly when I coughed and sneezed.
In my opinion I think that the Coronavirus is easily avoidable.
Now of course I’m not an idiot. I know that you can take every precaution necessary and still catch the virus, but I think that we all can agree that your chances of catching the sickness SIGNIFICANTLY decrease when you wash your hands consistently.
I would also like to point out that people that worked in hospitals are an exception. It was virtually impossible for them to avoid catching the Coronavirus.
I know what a lot of you are saying, “but there’s other ways of catching it.” This is true but spreading illness is most commonly done through touch.
The Minnesota Department of Health talked about 5 common ways germs are spread. On their website page 4 out of the 5 common ways included use of hands to spread germs.
Click the link to the site for more:
Healthline.com mentions how taking good care of your hands is the key to avoiding most illnesses.
“Something as simple as touching a doorknob, elevator button, light switch, or another person’s hand increases the likelihood of coming in contact with germs that can make you sick. The good news is that a few simple precautions can prevent some disease transmission. For example, make sure you wash your hands frequently and thoroughly. Use soap and warm water and vigorously rub your hands together for at least 20 seconds. If you can’t wash your hands, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Washing your hands is the gold standard though!”
Washing your hands is key, but let the media tell you and they’ll talk about a mask.
Healthline.com goes on to talk about other tips to help avoid illness, some of those other tips include: covering your mouth when you sneeze or cough, minimize touching your mouth and nose, and they reiterate the importance of washing your hands.
I’m not trying to come off as insensitive towards anyone who has caught COVID-19, or has lost someone due to this sickness. I’m just trying to show people that the emphasis is in the wrong area.
Defeating the virus isn’t rocket science.
Wash your hands consistently, cover your mouth the right way, and the likelihood of you getting the Coronavirus is very slim.
If the best way to defeat something is to continue living life in a normal hygienic way, then I don’t really need to change much of my lifestyle.
It’s a shame that a whole summer had to go to waste because people didn’t wash their hands.
I don’t need a mask because I wash my hands.
Food for Thought
Another thing I would like to mention is the fact that when things get back to normal, do people revert to walking around maskless?? Pneumonia is much more common than the Coronavirus, and kills a fair amount of people yearly.
According to cdc.gov about 50,000 people per year die due to Pneumonia in the United States.
Moral of the story is don’t just be “cleanly” for the time being, be cleanly year round and you’ll have less illnesses to worry about.
