Something that has piqued my interest in the midst of wearing masks is that wearing a mask does more than just protect you from… Covid-19. WOAH, who would’ve thought? The graphic below illuminates the probability of spreading Covid-19; however, this applies to other viruses and other airborne illnesses like whooping cough and chickenpox.
I’ve seen many individuals while traveling that have worn masks pre-COVID-19, either because they’re immune-compromised, or they simply wanted to refrain from catching other viruses when enclosed in spaces like busses and planes. I think I could’ve refrained from getting sick multiple times in my past if I’d generally worn a mask as I do have asthma. I also am very allergic to animals and I do benefit from wearing masks around animals so I can avoid sneezing. I tested this out over winter break when I stayed with my friends family. They had two cats and a dog, and as soon as I sat on the couch without my mask, I was sent into an asthma induced allergy attack. Big yikes. Even with an antihistamine in my system, I still experienced severe allergic reactions.
This makes me wonder if people will continue to wear masks once it is deemed safe and vaccinations have made their way through. I certainly will wear one for mine and others’ sake when I travel on busses and planes. It’ll just become a part of my traveling experience. are all my fluids under 3.4 oz, check, do I have enough socks and underwear, check, do I have masks? Check. I’m not sure how long that will last, I suppose that there will come a time when it’ll be safe to travel without masks, but that doesn’t mean that other viruses won’t be present. We should definitely normalize wearing masks post pandemic to avoid another pandemic and to generally keep each other safe.
Follow Us!