RE: Can you sew? Can you save a life?
March 24, 2020 at 8:43 am
(This post was last modified: March 24, 2020 at 9:05 am by John 6IX Breezy.)
The issue with "experts" (there's no such thing as experts when there's a new strain; you only know as much as you research) is that they have the difficult job of communicating medical information to lots of people in a way that is easily digestible by everyone. That often means saying things that are less than accurate but get a point across.
For example, when trying to prevent panic buying, the Surgeon General tweeted out that we should stop buying masks because they do little to protect us and prevent healthcare workers that need them from having them. But face masks either help or they don't, they don't magically provide protection only if you're a nurse but not if you're just an average person. What he should have said was yes masks help, that's why we need them most in the medical field, so please stop buying them or we'll have a shortage.
The other common one is that you only need a mask if you're sick but not if you're healthy. But again, masks either help or they don't. They don't randomly become a protective barrier if you're breathing out but not when you're breathing in, they protect both ways, and most have a waterproof lining on the outside specifically to protect when inhaling. The point they're trying to get across is that there's a limited supply, and masks become most efficient if the person that's sick wears them, than if everyone around them tries to.
The expert in OnlineBiker's link said this: "“The DIY masks, albeit creative, are only to serve as a reminder for us to not touch our face," Doyle said. "The virus can travel up to six feet if you cough, sneeze, vape, second-hand vape."
Not only is he wrong because people tend to touch their face more when they put something on it. He's trying to foresee the millions of potentially dangerous ways someone might make DIY masks, like putting a plastic bag over your face, or ignoring social distancing because you think a mask makes you untouchable. You have to remember experts are speaking to that audience as well when they make these PSA statements.
But as he said in his own statement, coughing and sneezing are main avenues of spread. So putting any cloth over your face is going to provide more protection against droplets than wearing nothing. Coughing on your elbow alone is a great way to capture most of these droplets.
For example, when trying to prevent panic buying, the Surgeon General tweeted out that we should stop buying masks because they do little to protect us and prevent healthcare workers that need them from having them. But face masks either help or they don't, they don't magically provide protection only if you're a nurse but not if you're just an average person. What he should have said was yes masks help, that's why we need them most in the medical field, so please stop buying them or we'll have a shortage.
The other common one is that you only need a mask if you're sick but not if you're healthy. But again, masks either help or they don't. They don't randomly become a protective barrier if you're breathing out but not when you're breathing in, they protect both ways, and most have a waterproof lining on the outside specifically to protect when inhaling. The point they're trying to get across is that there's a limited supply, and masks become most efficient if the person that's sick wears them, than if everyone around them tries to.
The expert in OnlineBiker's link said this: "“The DIY masks, albeit creative, are only to serve as a reminder for us to not touch our face," Doyle said. "The virus can travel up to six feet if you cough, sneeze, vape, second-hand vape."
Not only is he wrong because people tend to touch their face more when they put something on it. He's trying to foresee the millions of potentially dangerous ways someone might make DIY masks, like putting a plastic bag over your face, or ignoring social distancing because you think a mask makes you untouchable. You have to remember experts are speaking to that audience as well when they make these PSA statements.
But as he said in his own statement, coughing and sneezing are main avenues of spread. So putting any cloth over your face is going to provide more protection against droplets than wearing nothing. Coughing on your elbow alone is a great way to capture most of these droplets.
