Do medical masks stop swine flu?

The use of medical masks in Japan has reached absurd levels. In my own area of Aichi, there are no reports of swine flu yet, but nevertheless most shops have sold out of masks. Mask-maker stocks are even soaring.

There's double irony in that not only is the flu not a big deal, but the masks probably aid in spreading whatever germs are out there. Why do I say this about the masks? Well, putting aside the fact that masks don't really help, I've never seen anyone in Japan use the masks correctly. People wear them almost like a fashion statement. They take them on and off and fidget with them the same one might do with a scarf. Women fold them up, put them in their purse, then take them out and use them again. Men pull them up and down for convenience whenever speaking to someone else.

You know, if you are sick already, the mask basically serves as a germ collector. So every time you touch it, you've got a heavy concentration of germs on your fingers. You then leave them behind on the door nob or light switch. And if you are not sick, well after having handled a door nob, how about stuffing your fingers into your mask to scratch that sweaty area under your nose? It's really ridiculous.



If this isn't bad enough, putting a mask on a young child is even more absurd. Kids love the play with these masks. They pull them back and let them snap into place. They take them off and twirl them around on their fingers. Kids and masks definitely don't mix.

Then there's the dental assistant I know who informed me her boss makes her reuse her mask for a second or third day. Never mind the fact that these masks shouldn't be used for over a three hour period. Shikata ga nai (it can't be helped), the masks are too expensive. So it goes, whatever it takes to make us feel secure, I suppose.

Here's a video that's unintentionally quite funny about just how you should wear a mask and wash your hands. Study it carefully.