IF YOUR NOSE ISNT COVERED, THERE IS NO POINT

IF+YOUR+NOSE+ISNT+COVERED%2C+THERE+IS+NO+POINT

Isabella Risoli, Design and Staff Writer

In the last few months, we have grown accustomed to wearing masks to protect ourselves and others from the coronavirus. Wearing masks can only serve as optimal protection when everyone takes part in doing so. Most people know that they need to wear a mask; however, that is not the most important part. THE MASK NEEDS TO BE WORN PROPERLY! You might be saying to yourself, “what do you mean? I am wearing a mask, and there is only one way to wear it.” While this may seem obvious, many people do not wear the mask in an effective manner, which allows the mask to do its job. 

On the few occasions that I take to the city streets, many people have their masks below their noses. According to the CDC, the mask must be covering your entire face when you are out in public, which includes your nose and mouth. The nose and mouth must be covered because “the primary purpose of a mask is to prevent your respiratory droplets from traveling to other people. Those droplets come from your nose and mouth, so your mask should cover both of these areas, and the perimeter of the mask should maintain tight contact with your face.” Not covering your mouth causes these respiratory droplets to spread, which defeats the purpose of the mask. 

I know it might be uncomfortable to wear the mask for long periods of time. Perhaps you might not be aware that the mask is no longer covering your nose, or even might be afraid to touch your face after a while of time to fix it. Firstly, if you have sensitive skin and find wearing a medical mask to be irritating to the face, wear a cloth mask underneath the medical mask. Wearing two masks is unnecessary; however, cloth masks do not provide the same protection that medical masks do, hence the need for an additional mask. Another tip, if you are wearing a medical mask (and even in some cloth masks), there is a medical wire at the top of the mask. If you pinch the wire to the shape of your nose, it can help with staying up and ensuring that your nose is covered. Also, if the mask is falling, that might be because it is too big on your face, so to adjust the mask to stay on your face, you can double up the strings of the masks by creating a loop shape to shorten the distance between the mask and the string behind your ear. 

Don’t forget that your nose spreads droplets just as easily as your mouth! Remember, wearing a mask is essential, but it is more important to wear it properly! Happy mask-wearing! 

 

Please see the and video and links below: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TTg53aAP8Q

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/cloth-face-covering.pdf

https://www.huck.psu.edu/institutes-and-centers/center-for-infectious-disease-dynamics/covid-19-faq-askcidd