I wish wearing hospital masks was more accepted. Out of the listed reactions, it's probably the least overreaction possible, especially if it's a fashionable one and not actually hospital color...
I wear one everytime I fly (which is 8-10 times a month on average) and I just don‘t care about the reactions.
Also, keep your bare hands the hell away from your eyes and nose.
I travel almost every week and washing my hands every time I can plus never touching my face have kept me ill-free for a couple of years now. Of course I also take other precautions like avoiding closed spaces with sick people, good sleep, drink water and exercise regularly.
I've been able to mostly stop rubbing my eyes or nose, when I'm serious about staying healthy.
If I'm desperate, I rub them with some piece of clothing that's not much exposed to the air, such as the inside of my t-shirt. Or alternatively, washing my hands carefully with soap and water immediately before rubbing my eyes.
I can't say for sure if those measures helped, but it seems plausible based on my experience.
Interesting. I have an absolute control over this kind of things.
If I decide not to touch my face with my hands it just happens. It feels like mentally setting an exception in my loop. As soon as the hand comes closer to the face or my eyes itch, I realize what‘s happening and stop.
I never saw that as anything special, though, is it?
This is probably why it would carry a negative stigma here since that's been the norm in this country where the sick people have to wear masks, not the healthy people.
I remember being in Urgent Care and having to wear a mask when SARS broke out and I had a cough that wouldn't go away. People wouldn't come near me. One guy came over, saw that I was wearing a mask and gave me a look as if to say, "Oh hey man, that's cool, I'll just stand here." and kind of side stepped away from me.
In China, the pollution is so bad, people have been wearing masks for so long, seeing them in public isn't a big deal anymore. Here, in the US, you're right, its always been the sick people wear masks, not the healthy ones. I feel it would be incredibly hard to get people to overcome this ingrained idea since its so uncommon to see people out in public with surgical masks on.
If you're sick or believe you may be sick and can't simply isolate yourself at home, then definitely wear one. I see folks wear them occasionally though its second best compared to just staying home and resting.
Hospital masks by itself would not help prevent things like SARS. In Toronto, health care workers were getting infected even after following the strictest protocols.
If there was definite evidence that wearing masks helped prevent catching flu, at the very least you would see them used in occupations where the cost of an employee being out with the flu for a week is very high. Since we don't see this, they are probably ineffective.
I've read such conflicting information on them. Some sources say they protect other people from you more than they do you, some say they protect you 60-80%, some say washing your hands properly (and frequently) is more effective etc.
As an epidemiologist, this is an "and" not an "or".
You need to wash your hands to supplement a mask. If you believe it's working, the mask is now covered in infectious fomites, and you need to get it off you without infecting yourself.
The good news is coronaviruses are enveloped, and thus relatively susceptible for disinfectants.