Masks at Disney

[Random Ninja]

it can't be any worse than the surgical ones i've been given, but yeah of course!

It's a lot harder to do physical activity with a mask on. I do tae kwon do and figure skate and often have to do tests, tournaments, and competitions with one of my masks on. I wear Breathe Healthy masks for everyday use and RZ masks with carbon filters for training. When I cosplay, I wear a modified 3M mask. Definitely spend a little bit of time wearing the mask during training. You'll be a lot better off if you are used to wearing it before you do the run. The surgical masks don't restrict your breathing like one of the heavier filter masks do. There's a reason high level athletes wear masks for endurance and altitude training. I wore one of my RZ masks to Star Wars weekends a couple years ago and Ray Park told me that he uses the same masks for endurance training; really made my day.

Glad to hear so many like Vog masks; I've been considering trying them but the sizing has me nervous to make the jump. I have a small head and they don't look adjustable.

As for Disney, it's no more odd wearing the mask there then anywhere else in public. I get the odd stares and murmurings but generally ignore them. The only odd thing I've encountered at Disney is the few times that I've gone up to cast members and they look down to stare at my hands as if they expect me to start signing and then seem surprised when I start talking.

 

[Starwind]

It's a lot harder to do physical activity with a mask on. I do tae kwon do and figure skate and often have to do tests, tournaments, and competitions with one of my masks on. I wear Breathe Healthy masks for everyday use and RZ masks with carbon filters for training. When I cosplay, I wear a modified 3M mask. Definitely spend a little bit of time wearing the mask during training. You'll be a lot better off if you are used to wearing it before you do the run. The surgical masks don't restrict your breathing like one of the heavier filter masks do. There's a reason high level athletes wear masks for endurance and altitude training. I wore one of my RZ masks to Star Wars weekends a couple years ago and Ray Park told me that he uses the same masks for endurance training; really made my day.

Glad to hear so many like Vog masks; I've been considering trying them but the sizing has me nervous to make the jump. I have a small head and they don't look adjustable.

The Vogmask is not adjustable; however, they do offer a headband-thing that attaches to the earloops and pulls them towards the back of the head -- it is adjustible. I made my own version of the headband but will probably get one of the proper ones since the jury-rigged one isn't quite as finctional as I would like. The masks come in several sizes; they have a sizer you can print out and try at home. It may also be worth contacting them to get them to recommend your proper size.

Re: increased effort while wearing the mask. definitely harder to do physical activity with the mask on. Even sitting still your effort of breathing is higher. As an example, I have a pulseox monitor at home that I use from time to time. If I put it on before putting the mask on for several minutes and then put the mask on... My pulseox drops 1-3%. Only difference is the mask. 3M masks do the same. Now, for me this is not a big deal, but for some people this could be a problem. Also, even though I can adapt to it, I need to be careful doing things that would require a lot of exertion. I can't run, so don't have recent experience trying that with a mask -- I did a few decades ago with a different mask and it does affect performance and effort, as I recall.

I definitely agree that anyone who plans on using a high filtration mask needs to try it out at home and in controled/safe situations first. If you plan to run with it, run at/near home with a partner, enough that you are familiar with the impact it has on you. Even if you are just going to wear it for general things, get used to wearing it around the house. It is not the same as wearing a lightweight non-fitted "surgical mask". The experience is much closer to a good high filtration 3M mask (so not a dust mask; we're talking N95 and up).

SW

 

[TheDisneyDoll]

The Vogmask is not adjustable; however, they do offer a headband-thing that attaches to the earloops and pulls them towards the back of the head -- it is adjustible. I made my own version of the headband but will probably get one of the proper ones since the jury-rigged one isn't quite as finctional as I would like. The masks come in several sizes; they have a sizer you can print out and try at home. It may also be worth contacting them to get them to recommend your proper size.

Re: increased effort while wearing the mask. definitely harder to do physical activity with the mask on. Even sitting still your effort of breathing is higher. As an example, I have a pulseox monitor at home that I use from time to time. If I put it on before putting the mask on for several minutes and then put the mask on... My pulseox drops 1-3%. Only difference is the mask. 3M masks do the same. Now, for me this is not a big deal, but for some people this could be a problem. Also, even though I can adapt to it, I need to be careful doing things that would require a lot of exertion. I can't run, so don't have recent experience trying that with a mask -- I did a few decades ago with a different mask and it does affect performance and effort, as I recall.

I definitely agree that anyone who plans on using a high filtration mask needs to try it out at home and in controled/safe situations first. If you plan to run with it, run at/near home with a partner, enough that you are familiar with the impact it has on you. Even if you are just going to wear it for general things, get used to wearing it around the house. It is not the same as wearing a lightweight non-fitted "surgical mask". The experience is much closer to a good high filtration 3M mask (so not a dust mask; we're talking N95 and up).

SW

i didn't realize they would cause O2 to drop so drastically, i probably can't wear one in that case. my 02 sits around 90% resting, i'm only a hair above not needing oxygen as it is.

 

[Starwind]

i didn't realize they would cause O2 to drop so drastically, i probably can't wear one in that case. my 02 sits around 90% resting, i'm only a hair above not needing oxygen as it is.

It may be that you can't, though you probably won't know without trying.

Reasonably, any high filtration mask is going to probably have a similar effect, the degree of which (and if it is even measurable with a simple device like a pulseox) will depend on the filtration level, the mask design, and the person wearing it: more work of breathing + some degree of rebreathing effect -- the mask holds in some of the air you have exhaled, which you are going to breathe right back in (rinse and repeat with every breath; part of why it can get so humid inside the mask). I have noticed that the higher the filtration level a mask is the bigger a "pocket" of space there tends to be (balancing that whole work of breathing thing by giving more surface area through which to draw air through). Exhale valves help quite a bit because they allow a good chunk of air to fairly freely flow out (instead of with no valves having to push that air back out through the filters...).

There are some nice masks that are not as high a filtration level that may successfully balance protection and breathing.

If planning on any kind of activity with the mask (e.g. lots of walking; running...) I would think it even more important to test the thing thoroughly so you know its impact on you before you try the activity somewhere where a negative impact could be a problem.

Talking with your doctor about what type of mask to wear is probably a good idea.

SW

 

[Starwind]

here is a good article from a mask manufacturer (Moldex) comparing surgical masks vs respirators:

http://www.moldex.com/non-product/tech-briefs/respiratory/comp-respirators-and-surgical.php

Here is a nice site that gives a brief description and review of different brands of high filtration masks:

http://aqicn.org/mask/

I have used a Respro mask (until the metal nose clip/adjuster broke in half) many many years ago (it was my first filtration mask) and liked it.

On the Respro site, they have a FAQ, which includes this:

I feel my breathing is restricted, is this normal?

I think that from the start that you have to understand that any mask will have some level of restriction especially at fast breathing rates for example; when cycling fast.

All of our masks are compatible with aerobic exercise. If you body starts working in an anaerobic capacity then no mask is compatible and you will feel like you need to stop or slow down.

The best masks will use exhalation valves that ‘dump’ heat, water vapours and Co2; the quicker the better. The removal of these components are the key to comfort. You need to get them out of the mask. The Powa™ and Powa™ Elite valve is key at elevated breathing rates.


This PDF about how to wear an N95 mask from the Singapore Ministry of Health has this warning at the bottom:

Elderly people, people with chronic lung disease, heart disease or
stroke, and pregnant women should consult their doctor on the use of
the N95 mask if they feel uncomfortable while breathing. N95 masks
are not certified for use on children, so children should remain indoors
as much as possible.

A family physician in Beijing has some excellent info about masks (as you are aware they have a significant particulate pollution problem, and a lot of people wear masks as a result; keep in mind that is the context of the blog), including comparisons on many different brands and summarizing studies done comparing various masks:

http://www.myhealthbeijing.com/children/awesome-trio-of-pollution-mask-tests-the-winners-and-losers/

the author has a whole bunch of blog posts which are quite informative and which link off his site. For example: http://www.myhealthbeijing.com/china-public-health/air-pollution-masks-a-review-of-the-best/ and http://www.myhealthbeijing.com/china-public-health/n95-pollution-masks-buyers-guide-fit-test/ and http://www.myhealthbeijing.com/chil...testing-heres-the-best-pollution-mask-for-me/ and many others. I just spend a chink of time reading many of the posts and learned quite a bit.

SW

 

[Ms_Butterfly]

actually i can't give anyone anything lol I'm trying not to catch anything form anyone else lol
There's no infection i have that anyone could catch, but someone else could have a flu bug in them that their body is fully able to fight off and they can pass it to me.
I've spent more than my fair share of time in the hospital

I was talking about the coughing you said you do often. Nobody knows whether or not you have something contagious, so they might freak out about this "sick person" coughing near them, and if you do pick something up, you then could pass it to others even if you don't get sick from it yourself (or before you get the symptoms/know you're sick). People still go to the parks sick, so it doesn't matter if their bodies can fight it or not, they will still be spreading it around. Hopefully, you won't get sick on or from your trip!

 

[DisneyDiana!]

Thank you for this really informative post. I'm newly diagnosed with asthma and I've been on steroids on and off for weeks. I take public transportation daily and I'm really worried about getting sick. I think what I might do is buy some 3M N95 masks and see how those do on my bus/train rides. Plus, it'll help with the cold weather.Amazon has a 20 pack that's super inexpensive. I'm wondering if I should just break down and buy the vog mask. I only intend on using it during my commute. Or maybe large public places. What do you guys think?

 

[kamik86]

i've always found that a bit sad actually, though i guess i can see the benefit it would have for other people.
I've had people pull their children away from me and say "we don't go near people like that"

Didn't read the whole thread but I could see in many cases avoiding someone that was wearing a mask.

If someone is wearing a mask my first thought is that they are either:
1) Sick and trying not to get everyone else sick but really had to go out for some reason (less in Parks but on a bus or something)
2) Immuno-compromised in some way that they are more worried about being sick then many others.

If the first is the case then I would like to not be near them to reduce the chances of me still getting sick. Just like I avoid sitting next to coworkers I know are sick in conference rooms.

If they are immuno compromised I wouldn't want to make them uncomfortable because they think I am sick. The weird weather we have had recently is playing havoc with my allergies so I have had light sniffles most of this winter. Not really a huge bother but enough where I am sneezing and blowing my nose enough to have some coworkers ask if I was getting sick.

 

[DisneyDiana!]

Broke down and bought the vogmask! I love how it had the filter on it so that it won''t fog up my glasses in the cold like the regular surgical masks do. I'll give you guys a review once it gets here.