How are you guys handling the Coronavirus chaos?

Back on the main subject of this thread, I'm home in Colorado now and bracing for the zombie apocalypse. Our governor for some reason instituted a state-wide mask order the day we left for South Dakota and now I have to face the faceless crowds with a soggy germ-bag firmly installed against my airways in all public indoor places. Last time I spent time indoors with a mask, my face and neck broke out horribly with giant pimples that quickly became infected. I'm 41. I should not still be battling acne! I'm one of those idiots who can't help but touch my face when I have a mask on (the sweat, the dripping snot, the tickling sensation!). Since I also rarely wash my hands or use sanitizer, I suppose acne can only be expected. My biggest problem is that my nose runs constantly from the warm, moist air and then I feel compelled to wipe it with my hand or even blow my nose on my shirt sleeves. So then I'm walking around with snot on my mask, hands, and sleeves all day. Does anyone have a suggestion for masks that DON'T create warm, moist air underneath?

I'm not sure I understand the mask rule being put in place NOW since Colorado's death count has only gone down since May. We've had rising cases among young people for the last few weeks, but I see that as a GOOD thing. Hospitalizations are still down. There's no shortage of supplies. So why are we still trying to stem the spread? It's not like the virus is ever going away. I'm not sure yet how my town has reacted to the mask order and I anticipate there may be some friction. I popped into Family Dollar last night on my way home for a gallon of milk. I had my mask on, but the cashier's mask was dangling around her neck and the man behind me in line had no mask and kept railing about government control and takeover. If this was just the first five minutes of being home, I'm pretty sure the next few weeks may be very interesting.

At times like these I'm very glad I'm not on Facebook. I can only imagine the vitriol there. We have some very strong anti-maskers in our community and they were already getting close to boiling over on the virus issue before this new mask order even came into place. I just hope nothing devolves into fights, murder, suicide, and drug overdoses. The grocery store cashiers were already openly carrying firearms before the new order because of too many hostile confrontations. I feel like getting sick is the least of our worries. Turning on one another and on the authorities in rage and frustration seems the bigger danger. I smell anarchy in the air.

 

Have you tried wearing a thin gator or bandana tied like on an old western? Those are easier to breathe in when it is so humid and hot out for us.

 

Yeah, my face covering is a bandana folded over with elastics tied on each end that I can loop over my ears instead of tying it behind my head. Tying it behind my head makes it slide down and also is harder to use since I wear hats all the time. It's the constant nose running and the acne that get to me though. I started carrying pocket handkerchiefs when we lived in western NY because the air there is hot and humid and the humidity makes my nose drip. I've carried them ever since but rarely use them here in our dry Colorado climate. Now my hanky will be getting a lot of use! I'm sure it looks pretty bad with me constantly sneezing, blowing my nose, and wiping it, but I'm not sure what else to do. When I wear masks at home while I'm burning brush or cleaning dusty goat pens it's not a big deal because no one has to see me wiping my nose all the time, and I can farmer blow the big chunks into the dirt. It's a little different if I'm in Walmart, and I feel kind of disgusting. Not sure what to do about it and if the whole point is to protect others I know this definitely isn't a step in the right direction.

I did some Googling today to see if others have this drippy nose problem and yes, it's a thing. I found some suggestions on an old blog for doctors and nurses, but none of them were very good. Most just say you have to live with it and try not to drip on the patients (oh dear!) and change your mask frequently. On the plus side, if I look sick in public, perhaps nervous people will keep a good social distance.

 

Sometimes we use a touch of vicks under our nose under the mask. Some of us use that vicks nasal stick..before we mask up. Hope this might help.

 

Thanks. I'll give that a try. It just better not cause any more pimples!!

Thankfully I rarely frequent indoor public places. The problems arose when I went for my six-week shopping trip in Pueblo and had to have the mask on for several hours.

It would be fun to buy a bunch of silly masks to match my personality. I love cosplay and I've seen some great beard masks, buck teeth masks, big red lips, etc. Maybe if I stick a maxi pad to the inside it will catch the nasal drippage.

 

Ha ha, the other day, I saw someone with a bandana face covering - along with an entire pirate costume, which really made the bandana blend in!! Why not, right?

 

I do have lots of pirate and cowboy costume stuff. My husband started dressing in full cowboy regalia when the mask order was in place earlier this spring for church gatherings. He plays the fiddle at church and he looked great up there with his bandit look. He even wore his six shooter! I'm sure he'll be breaking that out again this Sunday.

 

Your going to start a new fashion! Sounds great!

 

Every time I wear a stupid mask, I cough! Then you feel like a criminal, coughing in public!

 

Our county has 73 cases so far. Neighboring counties are much bigger so they have ten times the number of cases

 

I'm somewhere that has a limited number of cases due to early shut down, but just wanted to give my sympathies to Damfino - I'm 45, and still have acne. Seems unfair!

I have some nice masks, a black velvet one and a fun red tartan one.

Our rules here are fairly specific. You are allowed to leave your house for four reasons:

• to shop for food and essential goods or services
• to provide care, for compassionate reasons or to seek medical treatment
• to exercise or for outdoor recreation
• for work or study, if you can’t do it from home

Non-shared households stay 1.5 meters apart, 'or the length of a kangaroo'. Masks must be worn by everyone, with two exceptions - a medical exemption, or high intensity exercise. But most joggers I now see wear their masks even so - a few of the runners I know are using it as a chance to train hard and then be able to run more efficiently when they can run maskless.

Masks unfortunately make me sneeze and cough a bit - I've worked out it's the moisture, so it will probably not be so bad in our very dry summer.

 

The acne wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that the pimples are getting seriously inflamed and infected under the mask. I've got another huge one on my chin from just a short stint in the grocery store the other day.

Sounds like y'all have it rough in Australia. I have to wonder what on earth is the point of requiring masks in open air activities or in forcing everyone to stay home. This is so unhealthy for people's bodies, mental wellbeing, and immune systems. I can understand the reasoning behind mask wearing in crowded indoor spaces, but not at all outside unless you're jammed up against other people. Keeping folks trapped indoors at home is very unhealthy and I think it's very likely to backfire. I believe that is one of the reasons NY had such a terrible outcome. The virus hit them at a cold time of year when everyone was trapped indoors by the weather and it spread among workers and family members like wildfire. The majority of cases are contracted at home from a family member, so having everyone stay home isn't going to protect them unless they can eliminate all essential workers or prevent workers from ever going home. Home, hospital, workplace, and church are probably the most likely places a person will get infected. Almost no one gets infected by brief casual contact with strangers except perhaps in a small enclosed space like an elevator, subway or other mass transportation. I can see how conventions and concerts where you're crammed up against lots of other people for extended periods of time could also be a problem. But visiting the park? Hiking on a trail? Walking down the street or riding in your car? No. I don't think they've traced even one infection to that type of activity.

News keeps predicting "another NY" with cases surging in Texas, Florida, and California (although they don't mention California much), but the high death counts just aren't happening, and I don't believe they will. The rhetoric that NY did anything worthwhile to "stem the tide" is ridiculous. The virus ran its course and that's all. It wouldn't have mattered if they opened completely or locked down forever--the cases and deaths in New England were going to plummet no matter what. They're saying that as many as 60-70% of people in some of the NYC burrows are testing positive for antibodies. If that's true, then they won't have a second wave and there's nothing amazing anyone did to stop the spread because clearly it spread about as far as it could if that many people have antibodies! All the other states currently having surges never had a "wave" in the first place and it's hitting them now. It was bound to eventually.

I don't believe anyone is going to escape this thing. Everyone will be exposed sooner or later no matter what they do. There may be a vaccine eventually, but it is going to take several years before it can really be declared safe and effective. In the meantime, hiding is not exactly a viable option. I'm ok with slowing the spread. I'm not ok with trying to pretend we could ever have stopped it.

 

Well, that's what I get for being on the road for 4 days.
I am so sorry to hear about your ordeal damfino. On our first trip to Michigan; a biker went zooming by us darting in and out. I think I said something like, "We'll probably see him splattered on the road up ahead." And we did. Even though we were not involved it touched me deeply. I was heartbroken for the truckdriver who was terribly shaken though it was clearly not his fault. I was equally concerned for his friends who came back for him and saw him there. I still get a chill when we pass through that bridge.
I am very happy that you have a clear conscience and were able to offer comfort.

 

We started our *social distancing* trip with our daughter's family at Clearlake. My grandson stole the show when he landed a 30 inch 10 pound catfish. His first unassisted catch. Then we headed on south and turned left at Bakersfield. We have taken the 40 through 4 states and will be in Mena Arkansas tomorrow. It has been interesting working hard to distance and not using public restrooms and such. We usually go out of our way to meet people. Right now we are hunkered down in a KOA while a thunder storm rages around us. (Last night on the West Texas panhandle; we thought we might wake up in OZ!!) At least it is cooling down.
Most people in most states have been wearing masks. Most businesses require them inside.

 

Thanks. I sent a note to the family on Monday and I hope it reaches them in time for the funeral tomorrow. I just hope that no one harbors any bitterness in their hearts. Although it wasn't my fault, I'm sure there are always questions about whether I was speeding or drifting out of my lane, or if I could have swerved in time to avoid the collision. I'm sure I could not have done anything to avoid it in such short notice. If I'd panicked and swerved we absolutely would have rolled our truck and possibly been killed or seriously injured ourselves and would still not have avoided the motorcycle. I'm thankful it wasn't worse. The man didn't have a passenger with him. The wreck didn't create a chain reaction with other bikes or vehicles. His family was there and so was mine. There are still many blessings in the midst of tragedy and that is what I focus on. I hope the man's family can focus on their blessings as well and that his funeral will be a good occasion with many happy memories shared. He died doing what he loved and that is a kind of blessing in itself. As your story also illustrates, motorcycles are definitely for folks who live on the edge.

 

Back to the coronavirus. I am really upset that our kids can play football and volleyball, but we are having school online for the first 3 weeks! I want to say something to the superintendent but I am scared that I would not be diplomatic. Then they keep saying on TV that teachers don't want to go back to school. YES WE DO!!!

 

We don't mind that much. Research here shows that constant mask wearing and distancing drops the infection rates - we did have a brief period a time back where they loosened restrictions for a while. Two weeks later we had a giant spike in cases in my state (627 new cases!), so they have been tightened again and are going to remain that way until it's gone.

We're very close to Asia, remember, and in many parts of Asia - especially Japan - everyone wears a mask the moment they have a sniffle to stop others from catching it. So we're more used to seeing it as many of our Asian-Australians do the same thing to this day. Earlier this year we all had to wear masks because of the bushfire smoke...and we said we'd not use them again. Well, I guess we found a use.

I can say I can't really jog with a mask on, but I can't really jog without industrial strength support anyway. I do find that a peaked mask allows me to breathe more easily even if I'm exercising hard.

One thing that does crack me up is - I live in a city which is famed for it's hipster culture and coffee culture. Everyone kvetched about masks for a couple of days, and now everyone is wearing their ethically-produced, single origin masks that match all their clothes (okay, it's not that hard - everyone in Melbourne wears black ALL winter). It's kind of hilarious - we now have people stopping each other to check where they got their cool mask from.

 

I had chicken pox as a kid and shingles in Nov. not fun. Then the plague in Dec. (Covid 19, before they told us about it). Now they (who are they?) claim you can get it again. I give up. I'll just live my life in my barn like I have for years and avoid bars like I have for many years. (Who has time for a hangover? )
My wish: that the Gov't. Would be honest ( honest government??? What an oxymoron) and our dictator of a governor would quit the histrionics!

 

I have a saying. "I am tired of adulting. I just want to goat. For a short while. Just long enough to avoid the human issues in the world".
Especially if life gets tough. I go to Destiny and Gizmos pen and spend a good 8 hours just being with them. Its so much easier.