Tips for toting masks

[ldubs]

Well we made about 20 posts before the great mask debate restarted! 😀

[slidergirl]

I was thinking that one of those soft glasses pouches would do if you want to carry your mask around.  Use a clip of some sort to attach it to whatever.  Just spitballing here.   I've got a bunch of them - all the sunglasses I order from the place I buy my glasses gives a pouch with each pair. 

[cruiseracer]

4 hours ago, slidergirl said:

I was thinking that one of those soft glasses pouches would do if you want to carry your mask around.  Use a clip of some sort to attach it to whatever.  Just spitballing here.   I've got a bunch of them - all the sunglasses I order from the place I buy my glasses gives a pouch with each pair. 

Spitballing with a mask! That's awesome!!! 😝

[NantahalaCruiser]

Perhaps another reason to not sail until masks are not required 😏

[navybankerteacher]

50 minutes ago, NantahalaCruiser said:

Perhaps another reason to not sail until masks are not required 😏

Agreed - there are enough other ways to spend free time.

[zekekelso]

Sigh, yet another tipping thread. And no, I’m not tipping anyone for toting my mask around. I can do it just fine by myself thankyouverymuch. 

[ldubs]

Ladies could stick them in their bra.  Of course, that is going to be a problem on a topless cruise.  

 

Maybe we need a dedicated mask bag.  I'm sure there is a market for designer mask bags.  I don't mean designer masks.  I think we already have those.  I mean a designer bag for masks.  Gucci is going to read this and run with it.  I'm sure.        

[mom says]

1 hour ago, ldubs said:

Maybe we need a dedicated mask bag.  I'm sure there is a market for designer mask bags.  I don't mean designer masks.  I think we already have those.  I mean a designer bag for masks.  Gucci is going to read this and run with it.  I'm sure.

Dunno about Gucci, but if you Google "mask cases" you'll find they are available in a huge array of colors and styles. I'm sure the OP can find something that works.

[navybankerteacher]

I saw a woman today with a lightweight chain around her neck with a mask suspended from it —- ready to pull over nose and mouth in an instant.

[PurpleHays]

On 8/11/2021 at 9:34 PM, navybankerteacher said:

You seem to be contradicting yourself.  How can something which "...can't protect you from catching anything..."   still will "...also protect the wearer from rapidly picking up airborne bacteria/virus."?

 

In any event, while a mask is not sure protection, it is obvious that ANY material between possible transmitters and your insides can help protect you.. It is tiresome hearing people unthinkingly repeat the notion that something which is is not 100% effective is of NO use .

I never said masks are worthless--I'm a firm believer in their use. I don't think I've left my house in the last year and a half without one (in addition to all my time at work).  There are even a few places I double mask. I liken mask use to seatbelts and motorcycle/bike helmets. Neither *prevent* death, but they increase your chance of survival. Go back and re-read what I wrote:

 

"One of the purposes of a mask is to slow the projection of organisms when one sneezes, coughs, talks, sings, or pants/breathes heavily when working out. A mask can't prevent you from catching anything (except for an N95 alledgedly). They also protect the wearer from rapidly picking up airborne bacteria/viruses."

 

Note that I said "slow the projection". Please don't read anything else into my words. Again, I've worn them for 33+ years in the OR and think I have a pretty good idea of how they work.

[zekekelso]

On 8/10/2021 at 11:58 PM, lissie said:

Just stick them in a pocket ... a man's pocket if your clothes don't have them 

Said pocket belonging to a man you know, or is this a new way to meet people. 

[navybankerteacher]

On 8/11/2021 at 6:47 PM, PurpleHays said:

.... A mask can't prevent you from catching anything (except for an N95 alledgedly). 

??????

On 8/11/2021 at 6:47 PM, PurpleHays said:

 

 

[ldubs]

10 hours ago, mom says said:

Dunno about Gucci, but if you Google "mask cases" you'll find they are available in a huge array of colors and styles. I'm sure the OP can find something that works.

 

Drats!  They beat me to it!  

 

Thanks.  

[lissie]

10 hours ago, zekekelso said:

Said pocket belonging to a man you know, or is this a new way to meet people. 

Fair comment -  I do bring my own man 

[Hlitner]

I cannot believe this is even a topic.  Come on folks, figuring out how to carry masks does not take a PhD.   We are currently traveling in Greece where masks are still worn inside many stores and generally not worn in most other places.  We carry a N95 mask, a cheap (more comfy) regular medical mask and a Seabourn Cruise Lines cloth mask (me, in my pocket and DW in her purse).  They take up very little space.  If we are in an area where we are constantly going in and our of shops we will generally have a regular medical mask hanging off an arm (this is the typical Greece way) ready to use if we duck into a shop.  

 

I will not get into the mask argument of whether they work, don't work, or only some kinds work but simply go along with the local rules out of common curtesy.  

 

Hank

[ldubs]

25 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

I cannot believe this is even a topic.  Come on folks, figuring out how to carry masks does not take a PhD.   We are currently traveling in Greece where masks are still worn inside many stores and generally not worn in most other places.  We carry a N95 mask, a cheap (more comfy) regular medical mask and a Seabourn Cruise Lines cloth mask (me, in my pocket and DW in her purse).  They take up very little space.  If we are in an area where we are constantly going in and our of shops we will generally have a regular medical mask hanging off an arm (this is the typical Greece way) ready to use if we duck into a shop.  

 

I will not get into the mask argument of whether they work, don't work, or only some kinds work but simply go along with the local rules out of common curtesy.  

 

Hank

 

"I cannot believe this is even a topic."

 

Why not?  We talk about how to carry cruise cards, why not how to carry masks.  And, that didn't stop you from sharing how you carry your masks!   😀

 

[BoozinCroozin]

We just had mask mandates where I live. We are waiting to find out if we will be working from home or in the office. If I have to go into the office, we have to wear a mask all day. My plan is to bring 8 masks and change switch to a new one every hour. I cannot stand the amount of germs that get on them. I am not a germaphobe, but the human mouth has so much craziness going on. Breathing it in and out all day long from the same mask is toxic. I plan to do the same on a cruise ship if that is the case. I will wash them every night.

[mom says]

1 hour ago, BoozinCroozin said:

We just had mask mandates where I live. We are waiting to find out if we will be working from home or in the office. If I have to go into the office, we have to wear a mask all day. My plan is to bring 8 masks and change switch to a new one every hour. I cannot stand the amount of germs that get on them. I am not a germaphobe, but the human mouth has so much craziness going on. Breathing it in and out all day long from the same mask is toxic. I plan to do the same on a cruise ship if that is the case. I will wash them every night.

None of this is responsive to the OPs  question.  How do you carry your mask when not in use?

[zekekelso]

56 minutes ago, mom says said:

None of this is responsive to the OPs  question.  How do you carry your mask when not in use?

Perhaps the suggestion is to bring a box of masks and toss one after every use rather than carry around and reuse. 
 

Narrator voice: don’t do this. 

[PurpleHays]

21 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

??????

 

Taken out of context. Are you a spin doc or politician?

 

I'm out. I don't want to be dragged into your fight.

[navybankerteacher]

2 hours ago, PurpleHays said:

Taken out of context. Are you a spin doc or politician?

 

I'm out. I don't want to be dragged into your fight.

I simply quoted you  precisely and directly --- wondering about the contradiction. 

 

No "fight" here.

[BoozinCroozin]

On 8/15/2021 at 5:39 PM, mom says said:

None of this is responsive to the OPs  question.  How do you carry your mask when not in use?

Your are correct. The rest got cutoff. The rest basically said for toting masks, they will be attached to a caribener on my backpack. I have to do the same for work. Green caribener is clean, red needs to be washed 

Edited August 17, 2021 by BoozinCroozin

[aungrl]

On 8/14/2021 at 8:05 PM, PurpleHays said:

I never said masks are worthless--I'm a firm believer in their use. I don't think I've left my house in the last year and a half without one (in addition to all my time at work).  There are even a few places I double mask. I liken mask use to seatbelts and motorcycle/bike helmets. Neither *prevent* death, but they increase your chance of survival. Go back and re-read what I wrote:

 

"One of the purposes of a mask is to slow the projection of organisms when one sneezes, coughs, talks, sings, or pants/breathes heavily when working out. A mask can't prevent you from catching anything (except for an N95 alledgedly). They also protect the wearer from rapidly picking up airborne bacteria/viruses."

 

Note that I said "slow the projection". Please don't read anything else into my words. Again, I've worn them for 33+ years in the OR and think I have a pretty good idea of how they work.

PurpleHays, because you actually DO have a bunch of experience here, your "allegedly" attached to the N95 parenthetical worries me.  Why do you say "allegedly"?  (I've been - perhaps naively - counting on N95 protection pretty heavily.)

[PurpleHays]

21 hours ago, aungrl said:

PurpleHays, because you actually DO have a bunch of experience here, your "allegedly" attached to the N95 parenthetical worries me.  Why do you say "allegedly"?  (I've been - perhaps naively - counting on N95 protection pretty heavily.)

What I meant was that N95s are more protective than what most of us are wearing, but can still allow infection due to personal usage/habit. We only wear them (N95s) when intubating/extubating patients (we cancel cases at our ambulatory surgery center if covid positive) or within six feet of airway issues. NO mask is going to be 100%, even when worn correctly. Masks are like birth control pills--there's a very high efficacy rate, but they're not fool proof. However, the more we in the general population wear them--correctly--the better and higher our odds of lowering transmission rates. And isn't that what it's all about?

 

As long as you're wearing your N95 tightly on your face and--most importantly--keeping your hands off of it after it's in place, you should be fine. And, if it's on your face correctly, it should be fairly difficult to breathe. I would not recommend usage when working out, but rather a regular cloth or disposable mask. If you wear glasses and are fogging them, you're leaking and the N95 needs to be tighter. One way to prevent leaking/fogging is a strip of medical tape across the top of the mask to seal it. When you take it off, only handle a mask by the strings/ties/elastic bands. Don't touch the mask itself, especially the inside. Either toss directly into the laundry hamper or the trash. If you take multiple reusables and plan to swap them out, put the used ones in a bag and don't touch them again.

[aungrl]

46 minutes ago, PurpleHays said:

What I meant was that N95s are more protective than what most of us are wearing, but can still allow infection due to personal usage/habit. We only wear them (N95s) when intubating/extubating patients (we cancel cases at our ambulatory surgery center if covid positive) or within six feet of airway issues. NO mask is going to be 100%, even when worn correctly. Masks are like birth control pills--there's a very high efficacy rate, but they're not fool proof. However, the more we in the general population wear them--correctly--the better and higher our odds of lowering transmission rates. And isn't that what it's all about?

 

As long as you're wearing your N95 tightly on your face and--most importantly--keeping your hands off of it after it's in place, you should be fine. And, if it's on your face correctly, it should be fairly difficult to breathe. I would not recommend usage when working out, but rather a regular cloth or disposable mask. If you wear glasses and are fogging them, you're leaking and the N95 needs to be tighter. One way to prevent leaking/fogging is a strip of medical tape across the top of the mask to seal it. When you take it off, only handle a mask by the strings/ties/elastic bands. Don't touch the mask itself, especially the inside. Either toss directly into the laundry hamper or the trash. If you take multiple reusables and plan to swap them out, put the used ones in a bag and don't touch them again.

Thanks, really appreciate the detail!  This is what I was hoping you'd say - we do reserve our N95s for trickier situations, and I think we're wearing them properly....I have the ring/mask impression around my face when it comes off.  Again, thanks for sharing all this useful info.