I guess it's all of matter of circumstance: as an anesthesiology resident/attending/private practitioner from 1977-2015, I normally wore a mask in the OR all day and sometimes all night.
It never occurred to me that this was uncomfortable — it was like a fish in water: this is the life I had chosen.
But the mask itself, if worn properly, provides no discomfort whatsoever.
Teach me. I'm at an event right now (not CCC obviously) and wearing a mask for some hours and it's killing, making me look for any opportunity to get outside and take it off for five minutes. It pulls on both ears, pushes onto the bridge of my nose (that issue seems to be this particular mask though), and depending on how I adjust it, either shoots jets or air into my eyes or onto my glasses and fogging them up. How does one wear this "properly"?
Not like you can turn it upside down or inside out, I'm not sure what options I have? I've tried one of these plastic things for behind your head, so it doesn't have to hold onto the ears directly, but that trades added nose hurt for reduced ear hurt.
This has been the case with all masks in the past years btw, so unless there's a secret brand, I'd not guess it's brand related. The thing has to be somewhat leak-proof for it to work so that seemed to make sense to me
It's not like this is mandatory atm, just trying to do the right thing (most people don't wear one)...
https://austintechsupply.com/blogs/news/benefits-to-wearing-...
You will note that, unlike the masks most people wear, it goes around the head, not over the ears, and employs not one but two flat rubber head straps.
IMHO ear-mounted masks cannot possible be as closely fitting over the face and effective as those that go over the head.
I first saw this mask in a photo of President Biden, who was wearing one.
I figured if it was good enough for him and his advisers it was plenty good enough for me.
Available (Amazon U.S.) here for about 60 cents apiece for a pack of 20: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09FM2P1KF?ref=nb_sb_ss_w_as-reord...
About 4x more expensive than in the U.S.
With the Aura masks (at least those with a strong clip), it's not necessary to push it down very strongly; you just need to lightly shape it, and then the strength of the clip will ensure that it stays in shape, and the foam around the nose will ensure a good seal.
It seems to take some practice to find the right clip shape, but once you've found it, they're quite comfortable IMO - and most of the time I've seen people complain about discomfort with these masks, it seems to be because of the nose clip being too tight.
These strips stop adhering to the skin, and in turn let air through, when they're soaked in sweat, so you'll have to swap masks somewhat regularly if you're physically active (e.g., volunteering at a chaos event — we still need Engel!)
Second, I use masks with two straps, both going on the back of your head. This prevents the mask from pulling on your ears, improves positioning and decreases the chance of the mask slipping.
I personally can recommend the 3M Aura, the Dräger FFP3 masks, and the JFM04 from Siegmund
> we still need Engel!
I tried volunteering the last two congresses, figuring I'd do my share instead of only making use of the volunteer efforts. The first year, a task came up and I went to the angel desk but they weren't sure what the task was supposed to be or where it was supposed to be or something. I was told to hang around for a while but nothing came of it. Nothing further ever came up, tasks either required training (which might be fine, but there wasn't time for that training anymore) or were already being done by others the second they become available. The second year I occasionally checked the open tasks but same story.
The system is overflowing with angels there for the free food, the ticket vouchers, the crew t-shirts, and the camaraderie. Maybe you mean on other CCC events, or during buildup more than a day before the start? (I'm always there on day zero, when the place is relatively empty but most things are set up.)
Aside from that during build-up (before day 1) and tear-down (after day 4) we also need lots of helpers.
Diff'rent strokes
Probably though, my total mask wearing for most of COVID was about an hour a week when doing shopping, so it was relatively easy just to put up with it. And whilst I did continue wearing a mask for shopping for about 4 months after restrictions were lifted, it was just because I prioritised minimising my exposure over comfort - I actually hated the experience and only put the mask on when getting within about 25m of other people and took them off as soon as possible when I was safely away from people again.
The not over ear, but around the head instead masks that someone else mentioned sound like a good idea, but I've never seen them in the UK, so I never even knew such a thing existed.
I've tried about 3 different designs of masks of the "normal" type, but apart from some having worse joins on the straps, they all seemed about the same in discomfort. I also had some of the thick KN95 masks, and actually found them better than normal masks - although it was harder to breath in them and was a bit hotter, because there was more space between the face and the mask, it didn't feel as squashed.
Here is the 3M Aura N95 mask at Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/AuraTM-Particulate-Respirator-Unval...
£59.65 for 20, so about 6-7x more expensive than in the U.S.
In my country at least (UK), it's not yet possible for an individual to pay to have a booster and so the only way of getting another vaccine shot is for free via the NHS. However, this is only available if you are sufficiently old (I believe over 50) or in a "vulnerable group", so teachers, someone working in healthcare, or someone who has a pre-existing medical condition that makes them more likely to have more severe effects. So, far from making it more open to all, this suggestion massively limits the potential attendee pool.
Of course, the other suggestions like not attending if you have any symptoms or having negative test results, seem like good steps in the right direction.
Masking is another issue - maybe it'd be OK for a 1 day event, but personally, I wouldn't attend a 3 day event if I had to wear a mask the whole time, because they are uncomfortable for prolonged periods. I was super vigilant during and after COVID and always wore a mask when I would encounter people, but because I didn't enjoy wearing a mask, I decided it was better to largely stay at home where I didn't need to interact with people instead. I'm happy to agree that the preference to not wear a mask is selfish, but it's still an interesting question on how many people would choose to not attend because they don't want 3 days of discomfort compared to how many vulnerable people would choose to attend if everyone was wearing masks. My gut feeling is that people who are that vulnerable would still rather stay away and avoid crowds because there would still be a non-zero risk, but equally I can see that some people might be glad for an opportunity to finally do something in a larger group that's safer than normal larger groups.