Japanese get creative in face of coronavirus crisis mask shortages

I still don't understand why the Japanese government hasn't stepped up to the plate and supported the manufacturers and suppliers of these masks so they can produce a lot more, even though, they don't really work. My Mrs is going back to Japan from Australia next week and all her friends are requesting she brings masks for 'omiage'.

fearful Chinese people are forced into some extreme, if strange, measures such as using fruit skins, plastic bottles, sanitary pads, and even bras as makeshift face masks

Good grief.

If you are not sick... it's pointless to wear a mask!!!

Why is nobody pointing out the fact that the shortage of masks is directly caused BY government itself? They have imposed a price fixing on the production of masks, which has prevented companies from producing enough masks to supply the demand. This puts people's live in danger by making them use DYI masks which are obviously not reliable. This is stupidity at its finest. Like i explained before, you cannot increase output unless you increase production costs, which means you have to charge more for the product, otherwise you will be producing it at a loss. By allowing businesses to raise the price, the production of masks becomes more profitable, and the production increases. More businesses shift production to that product too. As the supply increases, the price falls down again. By preventing the initial price rise, they kill the incentives for producers to increase production. This is just another reason why people should be studying basic economics in school instead of history or other BS subjects.

If you are not sick... it's pointless to wear a mask!!!

You are going to catch a lot of flak for having pointed out a fact.

The masks people wear do not prevent microscopic particles, most people don’t wear them correctly and leave huge gaps for viruses to pass through, and don’t change the masks frequently enough.

Instead of walking around looking like morons, people need to be frequently washing their hands with soap and water and not touching their eyes, nose, or mouth. (I know washing your hands with soap and water will seem strange to the average Japanese dude, but it is the most effective way to prevent the transmission of diseases.)

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/amp/health-51205344

Of course, the Japanese will reject these facts out of hand because the source is not Japanese.

wash hands, use hand sanitizer, cough/sneeze into the elbow, should be announced on every tv and fax machine

"Recently, thieves stole 6,000 surgical masks from a hospital in Kobe, western Japan, and armed robbers stole 600 rolls of toilet paper after mugging a delivery man outside a Hong Kong supermarket as fears of supply shortages mount."

Hahaha, indeed DIY solutions.

I wear an invisible one.

Korea just banned the export of masks completely and will take care of their own.

Japan can't do the same? Again, no leadership! Leave it to the market to decide.

Well that's not working, is it?

Also, next to disappear off the shelves will be tissue paper, rubber bands, staples and other stuff that people use to make their pointless "masks" that are not going to help against contracting the virus anyway!

Oh, want makeshift hand sanitizer? Alcohol. You can get some from the combini. Or just distil your own. Coming soon to a place in Japan near you.

Just astounding.

@kohakuebisu there's something called air mask in the market if you believe that it works.

A behavioral observation study was undertaken involving medical students at the University of New South Wales. Their face-touching behavior was observed via videotape recording. Using standardized scoring sheets, the frequency of hand-to-face contacts with mucosal or nonmucosal areas was tallied and analyzed.

Results

On average, each of the 26 observed students touched their face 23 times per hour. Of all face touches, 44% (1,024/2,346) involved contact with a mucous membrane, whereas 56% (1,322/2,346) of contacts involved nonmucosal areas. Of mucous membrane touches observed, 36% (372) involved the mouth, 31% (318) involved the nose, 27% (273) involved the eyes, and 6% (61) were a combination of these regions.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0196655314012814

One of my doctors won’t treat a patient wearing a mask - take it off as you enter his room, or he will tell you to remove it. He says it is useless and simply a Japan/Asia fashion item.

Face masks actually make you more likely to catch a flu than not wearing one at all for quite a few reasons. They are the perfect incubating environment for a virus with warmth, fresh air and moisture. They also create a heightened sensitivity by disallowing your natural body defenses to work. People who wear them are constantly touching them and running their eyes.

Good personal hygiene, good sleeping habits and a diet high in vitamins (fruits and veges) are the only way to beat the flu.

From what I read, if used properly, a mask, plus washing hands with warm water and soap were better than either individually.

Recently at my local pharmacy, it was like an American Black Friday sale where folks just sprinted to get themselves a box of masks. Craziness!

I hate to say it, but chip star is absolutely correct on this one. Some doctors are even saying that it increases your chance of infection because it causes you to touch your face more often during the day. And if you read the mask package, even warns you that masks are not effective against infection. But, there is some Merit to wearing a mask if you are already sick because it keeps you from spraying other people when you cough or sneeze. As was already stated, wash your hands frequently and don't touch your face.

If you are not sick... it's pointless to wear a mask!!!

The health professionals say otherwise, you need data to prove them wrong, not your opinion.

The masks people wear do not prevent microscopic particles,

Yes they do, most of the spit from sneezing and coughing is stopped by simple 3ply masks, including those that are microscopic.

most people don’t wear them correctly and leave huge gaps for viruses to pass through, and don’t change the masks frequently enough.

Most people don't wash their hands properly, do that mean that washing your hands is useless?

Also, mask should not be changed frequently, the change of the mask is the risky part of their use, and its not necessary, some people even here have suggested that doctors change their masks every 15 minutes during surgeries, that is completely incorrect. Mask should be changed once you leave the environment where contamination is likely and when you can wash your hands immediately after doing it.

Instead of walking around looking like morons, people need to be frequently washing their hands with soap and water and not touching their eyes, nose, or mouth.

So your solution is to do impossible things? Washing your hands while riding a train is not exactly possible and you get contaminated almost as soon as you ride one, and because people touch their faces instintively without thinking, at least this time you did not include the ears.

What is best is to do everything, wearing a mask does not mean you cannot wash your hands so if you can do both why not?

One of my doctors won’t treat a patient wearing a mask - take it off as you enter his room, or he will tell you to remove it. He says it is useless and simply a Japan/Asia fashion item.

Not all doctors use the best available science based policies, one thing is mask being not a perfect protection, another completely different is being useless. There is data that shows a limited efficacy at lowering rates of infection for healthy people using it while in close proximity to patients, but as usual people cannot use information that they are not interested to see in the first place.

Face masks actually make you more likely to catch a flu than not wearing one at all for quite a few reasons. They are the perfect incubating environment for a virus with warmth, fresh air and moisture

Do you know what happens to a virus with warmth, fresh air and moisture? it dies.

You are confused between viruses and bacteria, there is nothing in the use of a mask that increace the risk of catching influenza or coronavirus,

They also create a heightened sensitivity by disallowing your natural body defenses to work. 

There is not a single piece of evidence that points to this ever happening, at all. Maybe an urban legend or stories that get repeated without foundation, like gargling to prevent colds.

Proper wearing of masks is part of good hygiene, same as coughing etiquette or washing your hands or drinking plenty of liquids during the day.

I'm a hayfever sufferer, so I've taken to sticking old ones in the washing machine and reusing them. They hold up against a spin cycle pretty well. Dunno how it affects their ability to reduce viruses but it still does the job against pollen.

My wife is a nurse here in Japan and her hospital does not provide masks. The staff have to supply there own, which surprisingly this is not uncommon. It get stressful going around the shops and finding empty shelves all the time.

Anti-pollution masks work even better.... think about gants too and cap.

°

NadAge

@virusrex

The health professionals say otherwise, you need data to prove them wrong, not your opinion.

From the Center for Disease Control and Prevention info page on COVID-19:

"Follow CDC’s recommendations for using a facemask.

[ ] CDC does not recommend that people who are well wear a facemask to protect themselves from respiratory diseases, including COVID-19.

[ ] Facemasks should be used by people who show symptoms of COVID-19 to help prevent the spread of the disease to others. The use of facemasks is also crucial for health workers and people who are taking care of someone in close settings (at home or in a health care facility)."

I repeat one more time.

If you are not sick, wearing a mask is useless.

http://www.allure.com/story/coronavirus-protection-surgical-mask/amp

If you are not sick, wearing a mask is useless.f you are not sick, wearing a mask is useless.

Except people can be asymptomatic and carrier of the virus. The purpose in this case is not to protect yourself but rather to limit the spread of the virus, because you cannot know for sure whether you are infected or not.

I repeat one more time.

If you are not sick, wearing a mask is useless.

Your link does nothing to support your opinion, it is one thing to say it is not recommended or needed because it is extremely unlikely to be in close contact with a patient and another completely different to say it is useless.

Quoting your own link

“I would only wear the mask if I would be in proximity to another person in a small, closed room,” she says. “But you have to be very close to be infected. With the novel coronavirus, it’s within two meters.”

> “It will mostly keep you from inhaling large droplets for a short period, and keep you from touching your face, which is another way you inoculate organisms into your body.”

So they are perfectly useful to prevent contagion when used by healthy people according to your own sources, specially for most of the people doing their daily commute in a train with lots of other people within 2 meters.

Normal 3ply mask can be used even when moist from inside, because they are made to sepparate liquids in both sides, 1ply surgical masks are not, that is why they lose efficacy more quickly (also, losing efficacy still means keeping some, so still better than not using anything).

It is almost as if you read only the title of the article you referenced without reading it first.

another article? no problem

http://www.yahoo.com/amphtml/lifestyle/kate-hudson-selfie-mask-coronavirus-015647717.html

another article? no problem

You really like to post articles without reading them

others pointing out that the mask she is wearing isn’t effective at preventing the spread of the virus.

> “They’re not terribly effective, especially if you have the regular paper surgical ones,”

>  other commenters told Hudson she should purchase a “better” mask 

> Whether or not they’re effective, the CDC says that those outside of hospitals or other professions should not be considering purchasing them at this point

> “It may be modest protection, but it's ‘this is what we can do’ kind of thing.”

So the masks are apparently not 100% effective but help, that is still completely different from being "useless" as you said. 3ply are more effective than 2ply or 1ply, and N95 even more, but none are just "useless" just not recommended "at this point"

So, what happens if your own articles contradicts your uninformed opinion? do you change it? or why put it here in the first place if the next thing you are going to do is ignore them?

Usually people use as source something they think is reliable and can be trusted,

Wearing masks will help,but need to wear it correctly and it has to be higher rating masks. Also eye goggles will help too. But most important thing is to wear a glove so that your hand is not directly expose to germs.

I will probably do mask and light gloves now, if things get worse, probably wear medical goggles, these virus are suppose to live on surface any where from 7 days or so, trains and buses are perfect places for these virus call it home.

And most important for stores, and retailers, please continue with the purchase limits,

I will not be mentioning certain ethnic group for mass mask purchase for quick profit back home.

People forget common sense.

Since there is no availability for everyone, only sick people (or those who think they 're likely to be because dealing with sick ones...) Should wear them.

Making unavailable masks for sick people is worst thing.

I’ll wear a mask as it stops me touching my face and spreading my bacteria...

John is correct. I fully read the articles and they support what my family says, which are doctors and nurses.

Virusrex, please read the articles in full.

Virusrex, please read the articles in full.

The quotes come directly from both articles, they do NOT support the uniformed opinion of both the poster and your doctor. You may be simply misinterpreting the information you read.

If you think the conclusions are different then what part of the quotes is not real according to you? because if the quotes are real your estimation of the articles content is mistaken. Both things cannot be true at the same time.

Next time ask your doctor to provide a primary source of information, after all its completely inconsequential who says anything about health care but what is the data that support the thing that is being told, a simple pubmed number that identify a reviewed and indexed scientific report that says that appropriate masks have no utility in preventing respiratory diseases should be enough, anything else is just an appeal to authority, which is not a valid argument.

My favorite mask is the Hello Kitty type which I find complements my suit colors nicely!

Respitory diseases?

Hello Kitty is strong enough for any virus...

"If you are not sick its pointless to wear mask"

So are you trying to say we should NOT wear masks to protect ourselves?? And just wear one when we are already infected??? Good heavens please use some brains!!! its must be there for a reason!!!