There are SO MANY essays/articles on this very controversial subject and I think it's good to be posted on this forum....

I've even found essays on the chemicals in the mfgr of masks that could cause cancers.

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Be smart and do your research and listening to just 1 or 2 "experts" is not what I have done.

Here standard policy is to wear a mask whenever you are in a public place, including using public transport.

Testing for Covid-19 infection is is free here. If somebody is infected then getting isolated is important as well as tracing all their contacts.

The virus does not appear by magic. Health professionals in the states follow the science, which is epidemiology, virology and immunology and advise the states accordingly.

Whenever something unexpected like Covid-19 happens conspiracy theorists get excited; they are ignored.

Testing is overboard here where I live...my grandgirl works in a clinic who gives IV's of vitamins and more therapies including covid tests and she says so many are so paranoid and come in for 2-3 tests a week....and a coulple even come in wearing a couple masks....she really likes her job and since covid she's sick of it all with the masks, fear and fines etc etc.....

I have not and will not test, I am fine and good strong immune system. And grand says that so many walk around with the virus and have no clue and nothing happens....

It's over 9 months and we are living the disaster of all the lockdowns of our states....and especially CA and NY. I see it could/should have been handled so differently, but panic took over.

caroline, you do whatever you want, but please, enough.

"Paranoid" "Fear"- your words.

I sometimes have 11 hospital appointments in a month, but usually 3 every 3 weeks. Average I guess is around 1 appointment a week. Like so many others of us, we've not felt safe going to have our life saving treatments. When the virus was active in my area and thankfully that was a long time back now, people were putting my life at risk by their behaviour. I'm back there this morning and people are going to be coughing all over me and standing too close to me. Paranoid, fear. Yes indeedy. All warranted.

P.S. I've been doing that for the whole of the pandemic btw, not just weeks recently.

Sounds like you have some ongoing health issues and if the mask feels necessary for your issues, that is fine and good. And that's how it needs to be handled -- those with chronic issues and weaker immune systems.

There are plenty of people with heart, cancer, diabetes and other issues and feel the mask is more protection for them.

My issues are chronic OA and don't feel a mask does anything for the OA issues. Thanks...

Caroline
Perhaps you don't understand that the main purpose of wearing a mask is to show caring respectful protection for OTHERS!
Yes, recent studies have shown masks offer measures of protection for the wearer as well...but the primary function of masks during this global pandemic is to protect each other, and so stop the spread.

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One thing they know about this virus is that a person can have it for quite a while but have no symptoms. You can be carrying it around and capable of spreading it to others without realizing you're doing so. That's a very good reason to wear a mask--to protect other people.

You missed my point entirely.

If you have osteo arthritis and think grape seed extract or whatever is the be all and end all of every medical condition that exists then that is fine by me.

What is not fine by me is the blatant lack of respect I come across from people in hospital settings and elsewhere who are for some reason armed and militant about onesrights and freedoms to the point where they actually believe things that are so not correct that they are dangerous.

It's about showing basic caring and respect. This is a medical forum. It's not the place to post misinformation regarding such serious matters.

Aside all that, not that you even care, I don't have a weakened immune system. I have the opposite. I'm on Immunotherapy so have extremely heightened immune system. I keep myself isolated apart from these frightening hospital visits. If I caught virus like this that has symptoms like this because of someone else's lack of basic respect for others then my body is likely to go into instant overdrive and cytokine storm and die. Basically I should be dead. I am not dead and I darn well don't intend to be any time soon because of others lack of respect and common sense.

I was just using my experience to show you how odd it seems to me that now your latest post is about face masks causing cancer and how people like me are so inconvenient for your grandgirl. Don't you SEE how ironic that is? Did you not read what you wrote? I find it all so offensive and yet here I sit at a computer screen all these years later still sitting on my hands and holding back so as not to be disrespectful to you about such nonsense. I've had enough.