Coronavirus: Do face masks actually work?

[nausea]

I've started wearing one just to put other people at ease, me being a Farang, even though I consider it's mostly useless. Yeah, if I was going the whole hog I'd be wearing a mask, my swimming goggles, and some latex gloves I've bought. Probably one of these plastic raincoat things as well. If it mutates, and the the fatality rate reaches significant levels, I'll consider it.

[elliss]

 My Thai darling , tell me i must wear mask all time when i go outside house , to ATM.

  Darling tell me , not talk with farlang , not good ..

 

Edited March 21, 2020 by elliss
spelling

[samsensam]

 

the WHO and public health services of most western countries state that wearing face masks does very little to prevent infection, indeed it may actually contribute to infection by giving individuals a false sense of security. this had been stated many many times as have the precautions that people should actually be taking to prevent infection.

 

unfortunately i'm constantly told by locals that i should be wearing a mask to protect myself, if this is an indication of the misinformation being pumped out by the local media and government agencies then it is extremely worrying.

[Denim]

On 3/19/2020 at 9:22 AM, whiteman said:

NO THEY DO NOT

 

People should look at this differently.

 

The WHO is oft quoted as saying that wearing masks offers little or no protection.

 

They have also said that mask are only effective when worn by infected people to prevent further spreading , as any mask will reduce the field of contagion around a virus carrier.

 

Also the incubation period has been given as anything between 1-3 weeks.

 

Therefore it has been proven that people who had already been infected but who as yet had no symptoms and had past any test given , nonetheless were infected and unknowingly past the virus on to others .Hence the term super spreaders.

 

So it is time people stopped looking at things from a me me me attitude of smug faux knowledge and started wearing a mask as a cheap and considerate way of doing ones individual best not to make a bad situations worse by stubbornly chanting the ' masks are useless ' mantra.

 

The mask you wear is not going to protect you much but it might help save others should you unknowingly be carrying the virus.

 

[Dumbastheycome]

Specific  to  Covid-19  will remain  disputable.

But for those who are ugly or suffering extreme acne attack definitely a wonderful advantage !

Surpassed only by the full on  hijab!

 

[tropo]

3 hours ago, Isaanbiker said:

You are right that people do not touch their faces so often. But the use of a mask would not be very helpful as a precaution.

 

The virus can get through your eyes, through the mucous. 

 

      Best is to stay away from many people, washing hands with a good soup often and the use of common sense is worth gold.

 

   

If masks are not very helpful as a precaution, then why are they recommending health workers to wear them who work with infected people. Where's the logic there?

 

Of course they work. If you're walking around in crowded public places, how do you know when an infected person is going to cough or sneeze near you. It could even be an asymptomatic carrier of the virus sneezing or coughing for any number of unrelated reasons.

 

But this subject is a waste of time. Surgical masks that are the effective masks according to the Chinese information sheet shown above are unavailable, so even if you want a mask, bad luck for you.

 

What we have now is a whole bunch of people pretending to be safe, wearing the same filthy mask day after day, week after week, as they cannot comply with the essential, recommended method of use - replace every 8 hours, because they cannot buy replacements and certainly not at least 2 per day if they have a job in a mall or somewhere they come in contact with many people.

 

For example, I went into Watsons late last evening. All the staff were wearing a mask. They most certainly had been wearing the same mask for days or weeks. I had no mask. Who is the danger here? The staff wearing the same mask who come in contact with many people everyday, or me. Obviously they are more of a risk to me than I, with no mask are to them.

Edited March 21, 2020 by tropo

[CLS]

1 hour ago, Denim said:

 

People should look at this differently.

 

The WHO is oft quoted as saying that wearing masks offers little or no protection.

 

They have also said that mask are only effective when worn by infected people to prevent further spreading , as any mask will reduce the field of contagion around a virus carrier.

 

Also the incubation period has been given as anything between 1-3 weeks.

 

Therefore it has been proven that people who had already been infected but who as yet had no symptoms and had past any test given , nonetheless were infected and unknowingly past the virus on to others .Hence the term super spreaders.

 

So it is time people stopped looking at things from a me me me attitude of smug faux knowledge and started wearing a mask as a cheap and considerate way of doing ones individual best not to make a bad situations worse by stubbornly chanting the ' masks are useless ' mantra.

 

The mask you wear is not going to protect you much but it might help save others should you unknowingly be carrying the virus.

 

Right, if there were enough masks for everyone. But that’s not the case. By wearing a mask you prevent that those in need can get one.

[Denim]

32 minutes ago, CLS said:

Right, if there were enough masks for everyone. But that’s not the case. By wearing a mask you prevent that those in need can get one.

Lame excuse in the extreme.

 

Any mask, even home made, whilst not protecting the wearer much, can at least reduce the chances of a potential carrier spreading the disease unknowingly.

 

Put your thinking cap on before posting.

[bluesofa]

On 3/21/2020 at 7:20 PM, nausea said:

I've started wearing one just to put other people at ease, me being a Farang, even though I consider it's mostly useless. Yeah, if I was going the whole hog I'd be wearing a mask, my swimming goggles, and some latex gloves I've bought. Probably one of these plastic raincoat things as well. If it mutates, and the the fatality rate reaches significant levels, I'll consider it.

I've just put a face mask on for the first time in my life, for exactly the same reason - purely to put other people at ease, and to avoid them pointing out the 'ferang' for not wearing one.

Firstly I'll say I have very little medical knowledge. I only know about the transmission of Covid-19 from what I've read - mainly from scientific reports, rather than social media.

This is my understanding:

 

'Face masks' are of very little use. Surgical (cloth) masks were designed over a hundred years ago for use by surgeons in operating theatres to stop their own saliva, mucus, etc., infecting the patients they were operating on. They were never designed to prevent wearers contracting an airborne infection.

From the WHO video I saw a few days ago, they said the same thing: If you have Covid-19, wearing one will reduce the chance of you infecting someone else.

 

It seems the main chance of infection is by physically touching something with the virus on it. Hence the information about washing your hands regularly with alcohol or soap and water, making sure you clean your fingers, including between your fingers and not just the palms of your hands.

 

Wearing disposable plastic gloves seems to me a good idea. It was not exactly practical when I went to Big C with my wife just now.

I made sure I didn't touch my face while we were shopping. I was pushing a trolley around, wondering if the virus could be present on the handles.

 

I waited until we got home and I'd washed my hands before I even removed the 'pointless' face mask, as that must surely be the best way to contract the virus - by touching your face after your hands have been in contact with something that has the virus on it, say, door handles, using a bank supplied pen, holding an escalator rail, etc.

 

Sorry if I've gone on too much here. I'd be interested if someone can say if I'm using flawed logic.

 

[transam]

6 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

I've just put a face mask on for the first time in my life, for exactly the same reason - purely to put other people at ease, and to avoid them pointing out the 'ferang' for not wearing one.

Firstly I'll say I have very little medical knowledge. I only know about the transmission of Covid-19 from what I've read - mainly from scientific reports, rather than social media.

This is my understanding:

 

'Face masks' are of very little use. Surgical (cloth) masks were designed over a hundred years ago for use by surgeons in operating theatres to stop their own saliva, mucus, etc., infecting the patients they were operating on. They were never designed to prevent wearers contracting an airborne infection.

From the WHO video I saw a few days ago, they said the same thing: If you have Covid-19, wearing one will reduce the chance of you infecting someone else.

 

It seems the main chance of infection is by physically touching something with the virus on it. Hence the information about washing your hands regularly with alcohol or soap and water, making sure you clean your fingers, including between your fingers and not just the palms of your hands.

 

Wearing disposable plastic gloves seems to me a good idea. It was not exactly practical when I went to Big C with my wife just now.

I made sure I didn't touch my face while we were shopping. I was pushing a trolley around, wondering if the virus could be present on the handles.

 

I waited until we got home and I'd washed my hands before I even removed the 'pointless' face mask, as that must surely be the best way to contract the virus - by touching your face after your hands have been in contact with something that has the virus on it, say, door handles, using a bank supplied pen, holding an escalator rail, etc.

 

Sorry if I've gone on too much here. I'd be interested if someone can say if I'm using flawed logic.

 

 

[bluesofa]

Transam,

Thanks for posting that BBC video from the doctor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

That was one of the sources I was referring to in my post.

[Justgrazing]

46 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

and to avoid them pointing out the 'ferang'

 

47 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

logic

You tink too mutt Mr Sofa .. The finger pointing locals will point at you some more once the word is out you are applying logic .. especially 'farang logic .. 

Avoided touching these I have : 

pump gun when gassing the cruiser up , ATM touch pads , shop trolley handles .. always carry a bottle of S S ( 95% alcohol ) to clean my paws with whenever out .. 

[bluesofa]

2 minutes ago, Justgrazing said:

 

You tink too mutt Mr Sofa .. The finger pointing locals will point at you some more once the word is out you are applying logic .. especially 'farang logic .. 

Avoided touching these I have : 

pump gun when gassing the cruiser up , ATM touch pads , shop trolley handles .. always carry a bottle of S S ( 95% alcohol ) to clean my paws with whenever out .. 

I know it's a dirty job - 'tink too mutt', but someone's got to do it.

 

[transam]

I went to an ATM this morning, I looked at it and thought ..."Fluck".......I tried punching the buttons with my elbows, didn't work, then my knuckles, didn't work....Hmmmm, so used my little finger that eventually worked........My new plan B for the ATM is a latex glove.....????

[soalbundy]

On 3/20/2020 at 8:30 AM, steven100 said:

I'm boycotting anything chinese, I will never spend another satang on anything from China. period.

 

That would be most things, it might say made in Japan or whatever but guaranteed inside is something from China.

[ivor bigun]

On 3/19/2020 at 9:22 AM, whiteman said:

NO THEY DO NOT

There is this couple called Jane and Dick ,he wont wear a mask ,but she always does as it not only makes her feel better but other people around her do as well ,so many are worried at the moment ,so just for her and the other people , DONT BE A DICK.

[bluesofa]

4 hours ago, transam said:

I went to an ATM this morning, I looked at it and thought ..."Fluck".......I tried punching the buttons with my elbows, didn't work, then my knuckles, didn't work....Hmmmm, so used my little finger that eventually worked........My new plan B for the ATM is a latex glove.....????

I haven't noticed anything in recent days about infected Thai bank notes.

After the xenophobia about dirty foreign bank notes and they're now no longer exchangeable, how come no one (in government anyway) has said there could be the same problem with Thai currency?

If touching physical items can pass on the virus, this must also be a source of potential infection?

[Anaelle]

Fact is: when you get Corona Virus, you won't know it before the 7 to 10 days incubation time is over and during which YOU ARE a deadly bomb for others ! So it is ONLY logical that masks should ALWAYS be worn, no matter what ! Not wearing a mask is at present time the most selfish act of all !