Huh, that’s one of the places I would have thought would have required masks even before covid.
My late first wife and I did about 5 years of weekly or more cancer clinic visits pre-COVID. No masking requirements whether in the exam area or the infusion center. Some patients did it on their own initiative, but it was rare.
During the height of COVID it was different; family / caregivers were prohibited inside the facility and masks were everywhere all the time, period. COVID (and general masking) was on the wane when we stopped going, so I can’t say how it is there now.
As to lingering signs, I’m in Colombia this week. Which country took COVID very seriously and had government-mandated draconian masking requirements for a year-plus that everybody abided by. Which requirements are long since rescinded.
This week in dense urban environments and on crowded public transit there are 99.99% no masks anywhere. I took a commercial inter-city bus today. The website and my emailed ticket said in bold text that absolutely nobody would be permitted aboard the bus without a mask. So I was ready. Of course nobody had masks. Not the staff, not the customers, not nobody. Just another forgotten leftover warning.
I have dealt with a couple of restaurant / bar waitstaff wearing masks. But they’re one in 100 and all their coworkers are unmasked, so clearly a personal decision.
My chemo place dropped mandatory mask usage in February of 23, I think, but all the staff including the front office staff continued to wear them until June or so.
My wife and I had a tour guide (in a minivan) who is always masked when he is working. His explanation was along the lines of “after two years of mandatory masking because of Covid I realized I was never sick during that time. I don’t like being sick so I continue to wear a mask”
I have two 10-year-olds. So, first through third-graders from 2020-2023. The kids did virtual school for a little over a year, them hybrid, then back in school but masked. From March 2020 to fall 2021, as a family we went from being sick every few weeks to not being sick at all. Two and a half months after they went back to in person masked school, we all got covid. But, we still haven’t been getting sick as often.
On the subject of misinformed medical personnel, a friend, who is in menopause, did the research and then asked her doctor about hormone replacement treatment. She was having numerous tough to handle symptoms that included insomnia–unable to sleep for more than a few hours, hot flashes, depressed mood, fatigue, achiness, and “brain fog”–difficulty with concentration and focus.
Her doctor said that she couldn’t take hormones because she had previously had a blood clot. (In her leg, related to being in a cast for a broken ankle.) She told her doctor that she had read that the chances of getting a blood clot were not increased if the hormones are delivered via transdermal patch. Her doctor said, no, it doesn’t matter how the estrogen gets there, it’s the higher level of hormones in your blood.
My friend reluctantly took that answer, went home and re-researched the issue. The next time she saw her doctor, she asked again, again explaining what she had read, and where she read it–no increased risk with the patch, and that these were medical studies in medical journals.
Her doctor still said no, and offered her an antidepressant instead. The doctor also offered to refer her to an OB/GYN, not because they might know more about clots and hormones, but because "they might know more about other ways to treat those symptoms. Grr.
So, now she’s having to visit a specialist to get what should be a routine prescription, because her doctor won’t listen to what she’s being told and go check for herself. She’s not being asked to to take a layman’s word for it, just to go check the literature!
Oh, boy. Doctors hate it when you say you’ve done your own research.
I’ve gotten the “What med.school did Dr. Google graduate from”
I think they get their hackles up.
I’ve learned to say it in a questioning form and smile sweetly.
If that doesn’t work it’s off to look for a new physician.
She’s extremely tactful. I’m sure she at least started by asking something like, “oh, does that happen if you get the patch?” But, she’s also willing to stand up for herself, so when she went in the second time, she was more direct. I don’t think it would have made a difference if she’d printed out the journal articles themselves.
You’re absolutely right that it gets their hackles up. I’m pretty sure I’ve been flagged as some kind of hypochondriac just because I’ll ask how they rule out X. Which is really a way of acknowledging their expertise–im not saying they shouldn’t rule it out, I’m just asking how they did. (It may be a challenge to some, though, if they don’t have an answer.)
On Joe’s behalf I thank you.
a) the maskless medico: Joe’s a kind, gentle, easygoing person; Being adamantly assertive with an authority figure (however brainless) is not in his usual playbook.
b) and his complete remission is now entering year three. Sometimes good things do happen to good people.
I expect that doctors are in the habit of pushing back against “I’ve done my own research” because, the vast majority of the time, when patients do their own research, it’s Ivermectin-for-covid levels of idiocy. I’m not saying that’s the case for your friend (I’m not a doctor and have no idea about estrogen and blood clots), but it’s probably been the case for countless other patients that doctor has dealt with.
Well, my doctor now and my previous doctor are both patient, informative, and able to say when they don’t know something. My previous doc, Dr. Q would sometimes respond to my questions by saying she would look up what the lastest research said, or she would check with a colleague, etc., and send me a message with what she found out.
I feel pretty certain that either of those doctors would look into it if I brought something like that up.
I also don’t believe that the “vast majority of the time” when someone says they’ve done their own research, or have questions based on what they’ve read, that it’s stuff like ivermectin for Covid. I think they don’t like it if a patient self-diagnoses and won’t accept the doctor’s professional opinion, after it’s been explained. But I think that’s a fairly small fraction.
Doctor took it pretty well this summer when I tried to tell him my kid had snail parasites (schistosomiasis). He (almost certainly correctly) diagnosed common hand, foot, mouth disease.
My goal was purely to make sure the doctor had all of information. I don’t know enough to tell the difference between worms and HFM, but I assume the doctor does, I just want to make sure he knows about the recent fresh water exposure so it’s at least in his head as a possibility.
Because this was some random doctor at an urgent care, I don’t know how he’ll react, so I use the tactic of segueing from a joke, “Doc Google says my kid’s got snail parasites!” to a serious question, “they were swimming in a lake a few days ago, though?” Because like others, I (and more my wife) have experienced doctors who refuse to even consider additional information after they make an initial conclusion.
If it had been our regular doctor, who I know, I could have just straight asked, and known she wouldn’t disregard the additional information.
I’m not a doctor either, but I do know how to find reliable sources, and I can often spot flaws or bias. And evaluate competing opinions This particular issue is an example of the reason why you sometimes need to do your own research. There were some flawed studies back in 2001 that scared everyone–doctors and patients–away from estrogen and progesterone to treat the symptoms menopause. That, even though it is considered a first line treatment for those symptoms by the doctors who are experts in this area
I work from home for F/T job. During early Covid, I would go to the grocery store once ever two weeks & I wore a mask because I didn’t want to die. Once we got some choice in masks I went for the fun ones. I had one that looked like a scruffy, unshaven face with a stubby cigar dangling from the lips, an eagles beak, a set of dripping blood smiling fangs that I wore in Oct. Hey, they were seasonally appropriate.
I had signed up for a civic duty temp position in early 2020 that ended up happening in late summer 2020, that of census taker. I did use the supplied ones when I was door knocking as they were more professional looking than my fun ones. However, they were too small; they pulled my ears & were double-layered white cotton which means they were basically pressed up against my mouth & would get quite wet from exhalations. Luckily I could remove it on the walk/drive to the next house so it wasn’t that bad.
Fall of '22 cases were on the rise again & they came out with the discovery that regular masks weren’t all that good & that N-95 were much, much better. I was contracted to do a late night event setup inside. I would be working physically close to my team & we were required to wear a mask so I went out & got myself some N-95s to keep me safe & Covid-free. This was probably the first time I had to wear a mask for some length of time & it was a full 8-9 hrs that we were there each night. It was the second or third night, my arms were screaming at me, & I was having a hard time catching/keeping my breath. I was repeatedly walking away from others, pulling the mask away & taking a huge deep breath. I couldn’t stop yawning. Aww @#$%& I’m almost sure I’ve got Covid, but it was only about 20 mins to quitting time so I kept my mouth shut & didn’t say anything until I could get a test because if you even stated you think you might have it you were tossed out for more days than we had left.
10 mins after I got into my car & removed my mask I’m breathing easier. Go home & flop into bed & when the alarm went off in the morning, I was tired but no longer exhausted & my arms no longer ached, & then I put it all together.
- The arms ached from carrying/holding heavy pieces that we were installing.
- The constant yawning was because it was around/after 2am & I was dead tired
- The rest of the difficulty breathing was because I was both tired & the N-95 mask made it just hard enough to breathe that it was becoming labored. For S&G I did take a test; nope I didn’t have it.
So yes, I found some of them physically uncomfortable & didn’t like wearing them but I also am not a Covidiot; I did wear them in public & I got vaccinated fairly early & boosted at appropriate time, too.
Good on ya for doing the right thing by the standards of the times.
Spain is reinstituting masking in medical facilities.
Good job keeping it on despite the discomfort. Not all N95, KN95, etc. are identical. They all (except fake ones) filter to meet or beat the requirement, but some of them are easier to breathe while wearing. I know it’s been shared a few times in the quarantine forum, but here is a spreadsheet that lists information about lots of different masks
Obviously this doesn’t do past you any good, but for others, and in the future, it is possible to get masks that are effective and fairly easy to breathe in. If masks annoy you, all of them will annoy you, but perhaps some less than others.
The two standards also differ a bit in how they’re worn. On the one hand, the N-95 standard requires the straps that go around the back of the head (which I personally prefer), while KN-95 allows the shorter ones that just go around the ears. On the other hand, KN-95 has stricter standards for how well the edge of the mask fits against the face.
And lots of people prefer the KF94, which is the Korean standard. These are most often the “boat shaped” masks, that fit some people best.
Back on topic, I don’t know how many times I’ve been told by a doctor that I needed to drink 8 glasses of water per day.
Oh, boy. Been told that before.
These people all know I’m on dialysis. It’s frowned upon to drink too many fluids. I have to watch the water I drink and time it where I’ll need it. But still it’s always right up front.
Uh …wrong.
After having 5 UTI’s in one year, I am listening to my dr. When she says 70 ounces a day.