Katelyn Hummel
Staff Writer
During a stroll down the street, it is not uncommon to see a pedestrian sporting various surgical masks in countries like Japan, but for Americans this is a fashion that turns heads and attracts attention. The question is whether Americans should make surgical masks just as common, or are these masks an unbreakable habit that does little in the prevention of germs.
When we see a person wearing a mask in public, we don’t perceive that that person is health conscientious. In fact, many subconsciously scoot away as if that masked individual is a contagious leper. Because of this fact, it is not a popular fashion statement in the US. But turning this habit into a trend could be beneficial to the health and lives of many.
In hospitals, some patients are on “droplet precautions” which is basically a less serious form of quarantine for patients with minor contagious bacteria or patients who have very sensitive conditions. Under these precautions doctors and nurses must wear a mask, disposable smock, gloves, and sometimes, disposable booties that go over shoes when entering a patient’s room. This prevents germs from being exchanged between the rooms of patient’s.
Likewise, patients allowed to leave their rooms cannot leave without a mask; this prevents the spreading of their own germs outside of their room. One cough leaves little germ vapors in the air that can be inhaled by another person, infecting them with whatever cold or virus the previous person had. Masks help prevent this spreading.
In Japan, the reasoning for wearing these masks is not to keep worldly germs out, but to prevent spreading their own bugs. This is not only a health conscientious choice, but a courtesy for others. If someone has a cold, a virus, or even a temporary cough, it is common for someone in Japan to wear a mask for that short time period.
To our culture, this may seem a bit extreme. We recognize that we encounter many people in our daily lives and it is not possible to keep ourselves from coming in contact with any germs. The likelihood that the people to the left and right of you in line at Wal-Mart are completely healthy with no germ that may be in opposition to your immune system is very low. Instead of taking precautions against such contact, or the spreading of their own germs, we just move on normally as if this is an unavoidable issue.
The truth is that if it became a trend to wear a mask when we are a little under the weather, it would make a difference. One person cannot solely prevent the spread of germs, but if everyone who was a little ill did, then there would be less illness, and a smaller risk for contracting any airborne, contact germs, or viruses.
