Here's a thing I don't get about masks.
For the whole pandemic, I've been making do with a couple of (really quite nice) hand-stitched double-layer cloth masks. I almost never go anywhere, so that's been fine. But in light of recent recommendations, we bought a box of KN-95 disposable masks with the intent to use them instead.
All along I'd been hearing about how you have to make sure that these special masks are properly fitted. Indeed, much of the rationale for telling the general public not to wear masks in the early days of the pandemic was that we lowly peons couldn't possibly fit these sophisticated devices to our faces.
And then I tried one on. It was frighteningly flimsy and loose. There were loops for the ears--but how tightly can anyone fit anything to their face when it's only a couple of ear loops holding it on? The nose bridge didn't hold tightly at all. Turning my head opened up a gap at the side of my face. Whenever I would exhale, I could feel the breath escaping along the edges. There seemed to be nothing I could do to improve on any of that.
I can't really test its ability to stop aerosols or droplets, but honestly--how good can it be when the air flows freely along the edges and never even passes through the filter? Might as well breathe through a straw, or at least so it would seem.
So the last time I went to Wegmans I did something that I've mocked before: I double masked. KN95 underneath, cloth mask strapped on top for a proper fit. (Or at least this peon's closest idea of a proper fit. Maybe they teach you how to use ear loops in med school?)
Anyway. It was... like a cross between going to Wegmans and running a marathon with emphysema. I could do it again, I'm just not sure I want to.
What am I doing wrong or misunderstanding here? I genuinely want to know, and I will value the advice of anyone who has been using this type of mask as part of their trained, professional activities.
