What's the score on masks?

[dinagam]

Very well said. The same ought to be "encouraged" for the anti-vaxers.

.
Caveat emptor

[arsenal]

Mr Dodger.
Far be it from me to disparage your mask success. However I should point out that perhaps the reason you've escaped your annual cold/sinus is because you haven't been around many people and that's because there aren't any people there.

[gerefan2]

I'll continue wearing it when I'm riding my motorbike, .

Me too. I learnt a few years ago to keep it on whilst on the bike.

Have you ever tried using the same mask on the bike for say 3 days? Try it and then have a good look at it.

All that black shit you see would be down your throat...and that’s just 3 days worth!

I too find I don’t get ill so much in Thailand as I used to. Although only a three month millionaire I thought I had become immune to their bugs...but it may be using the mask on the bike that’s helped.

[Manforallseasons]

I know a lot of foreigners that should always wear a mask Covid or not.

[snotface]

In the past 2 years since I started wearing an N95 mask I have never once even caught a common cold. Very unusual for me, because for years I would routinely catch at least one cold a year, especially around flu season, and I also suffered from sinus infections at least once per year which required prescription strength nasel spray to treat. Since wearing the mask (knock of wood) my annual colds and sinus infections are a thing of the past, and I've never once experienced even a hint of a flu symptom.

Dodger in a post of 31st July talking about his exercise and health-supplement regime:

'The last time I was sick (from anything) was when I contacted the flu during our hockey teams last game of the season in 1972. Since then I have not even had a nose snivel. I credit the acidoplulis (probiotic) I was taking for preventing any cases of diarea, urinary track infections, stomach problems, etc. as well as contributing to my strong immune system.'

[Manforallseasons]

They say that giving a couple of drops of bourbon to a parakeet with a cold will also help.

[Dodger]

Mr Dodger.
Far be it from me to disparage your mask success. However I should point out that perhaps the reason you've escaped your annual cold/sinus is because you haven't been around many people and that's because there aren't any people there.

Valid point.

What really throws me is the sinus problem disappearing that I've dealt with since birth. There must be something in the air causing this that the mask blocks.

Anyway, I plan to keep wearing it when I think it's going to be helpful. Air pollution over here is a real problem, especially during the Feb-March timeframe when the farmers do their burning, and it will always be useful when riding the motorbike.

[Dodger]

Dodger in a post of 31st July talking about his exercise and health-supplement regime:

'The last time I was sick (from anything) was when I contacted the flu during our hockey teams last game of the season in 1972. Since then I have not even had a nose snivel. I credit the acidoplulis (probiotic) I was taking for preventing any cases of diarea, urinary track infections, stomach problems, etc. as well as contributing to my strong immune system.'

Fortunately, I've remained just as healthy after this pandemic hit than before it came to town. Yes, I still take a daily probiotic and will continue doing so. The sinus infection that has bothered me since birth is now gone. I attribute this (right or wrong) to wearing a mask. plus the fact that 2 more years have passed without a sniffle.

[Dodger]

Have you ever tried using the same mask on the bike for say 3 days? Try it and then have a good look at it.

All that black shit you see would be down your throat...and that’s just 3 days worth!.

Yes, I noticed the very same thing just a few days after wearing the mask 20 months ago and was shocked.

Now I know why so many Thai policemen who stand around guiding traffic, or ride their motorbikes all day, wear these...well before covid.

And that's just the "black shit" we can see with our eyes. What about the germs (bacteria/viruses, etc.) we can't see?

[christianpfc]

Why would anyone want to negate the effects of a mask?

I was providing a possible solution to the OP's dilemma.

...and the mask helps block some (not all) of the unspent carbon monoxide fumes ...But the fact that they block some of it is a benefit.

These masks don't block any carbon monoxide. ZERO! Carbon monoxide goes through these masks like water through a sieve. Anyway, carbon monoxide is not a big problem, it goes in and out of your blood and unless you reach a toxic concentration doesn't cause lasting damage or has an accumulative effect.

Those masks don't block any gases, only particles.

When I was young, I had allergy to pollen that caused me running nose. Sometimes I wore a gas mask (from military, with a filter that is designed to filter out gases, but in this cases I used it just to filter out particles), and my situation improved!