Facemasks

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Readers share tips about face coverings

We know that wearing a face covering correctly – that is, over your mouth and nose – is one of the most effective ways to slow the spread of COVID-19. People in Oregon are extremely creative and willing to go the extra mile to make wearing a face covering work for them. We asked Coronavirus Update readers to share their tips. Here's some of what they told us:

If your glasses are fogging up:

• Fold a tissue into a small rectangle and put in under the mask on the bridge of your nose.
• Raise the top of the face covering so that it’s under the bottom edge of your glasses.
• Use anti-fog spray or cloths.
• Rubbing soap on your glasses, then wiping it off with a microfiber cloth without rinsing. This can also work for a clear mask that may be worn to make it easier for those who are Deaf or hard of hearing to understand.
• Put a piece of paper medical tape or adhesive bandage across the top of the mask.
• Rub a pea-sized drop of shaving cream on your eyeglass lenses to prevent fogging. Do not use shaving cream with moisturizers. Polish until clear.
• Use a bit of vinegar and hot water on the lenses.

To make it more comfortable:

• Repurpose swimsuits to make comfortable straps.
• Sew on the closure from a coffee bean bag, a pipe cleaner or twist tie from electronics packaging for a nose strip.
• Tie a string or ribbon to the elastic so the mask is secured around the head rather than behind the ears
• Slip your mask over the arm of your glasses (near your ear) to reduce pressure on your ears.

To remember your face covering:

• Wear it on a lanyard.
• Leave some extras in your glove compartment.
• Keep an extra in your bag.
• Keep it with your wallet and keys.

One reader named Kathy reminded us why we wear face coverings, “Masks are about freedom! Freedom to stay safe and keep others safe, so you can do MORE.”

Woman with baseball cap from the side wearing face mask with elastic around a button sewn onto baseball cap

Val sewed buttons by hand using needle and thread onto all of her baseball caps, a winter hat and a fleece ear warmer. If you place the buttons a little up and behind your ears, it solves three problems: 1) no painful ears 2) no slipping down the nose 3) less foggy glasses because the mask is more snug. Buttons need to be larger than shirt size, about 1/2" diameter or a little larger seems to be best.

It’s true that masks work best when everyone in the room is wearing one?

But there is also plenty of evidence showing that masks protect wearers even when others around them are mask-free. The amount of protection depends on the quality of the mask and how well it fits.

One study from the C.D.C. found that a standard surgical mask protected the wearer from only about 7.5 percent of the particles generated by a simulated cough. But knotting the loops and tucking in the sides of the medical mask reduced exposure by nearly 65 percent. (Watch this video to see the “knot and tuck” method.) Covering the surgical mask with a cloth mask, a technique known as double masking, reduced exposure to the simulated cough particles by 83 percent.

A study from Tokyo tested how well different types of masks protected wearers from actual coronavirus particles. The study showed that even a simple cotton mask offered some protection (17 to 27 percent). Medical masks performed better, including a surgical mask (47 to 50 percent protection); a loosefitting N95 (57 to 86 percent protection); and a tightly sealed N95 (79 to 90 percent protection).

Given that the Delta variant is far more contagious than other variants, experts recommend wearing the highest-quality mask possible when you can’t keep your distance or aren’t outdoors — especially when nobody around you is masking up.
Source: New York Times 9/2021