My friend’s father has COPD and tried to wear a mask when he went out of the house to shop at the supermarket, but he says he can’t get his breath. Now that the markets are requiring masks, he is freaking out. He’s worried that the stores won’t believe he has COPD and that other shoppers are going to give him a dirty look. He hates to be a bother and refuses to ask neighbors to shop for him. I suggested getting a note or card from his doctor saying he has COPD, but he’s afraid of going anywhere near a medical facility at this time. Is there any type of mask that he could use?
He’s dead if he catches COVID-19, so he shouldn’t be going out in public, period.
He needs to get over the idea of “being a bother.”
If he got a N95 or similar mask, those absolutely cause more labored breathing. But quite a few people here are using bandanas or large handkerchiefs, sometimes folded over with elastic (so it looks like a surgical mask) or just in the Old West bankrobber style.
Its kinda strange, anecdotal follows. I had a big COPD problem a couple of months ago, hospitalized, but I’m OK. I wear a face mask when I go anywhere but I notice a feeling of…what to call it, breathing paranoia? That is, I feel like I felt when I had a potenetially fatal problem BUT! if I take a big deep breath, no problem. I have the mask on, have the feeling of not being being able to breathe well, but I can.
The moment I remove the mask, I’m perfectly OK.
I’m wondering if that might be something like the thing that happens when I’m in the shower and cold water flows on to my head, I get a total “can’t breathe!” panic when that happens.
What is the friend’s father using? A large bandana folded on the diagonal and tied like an Old West bandit complies with CDC (and presumably all local) guidelines to have a face covering.
N95 masks with “easy exhale” valves are defeating the intent as they allow the wearer’s exhaled mists and moisture to freely escape, and as mentioned above, they add resistance to breathing in, which is not a good thing with COPD.
Facemasks are of dubious benefit at the moment. He really should either use a delivery service or swallow his foolish pride and bother his neighbors. If he can’t do that, just wear some loose (like the above suggested cowboy style bandana) or easily breath through fabric as a covering to appease the grocery store manager.
If he has COPD so severe that he can’t breathe through a mask he needs to STAY HOME.
A bother? Ask him how much more bother he thinks it will be if he’s bedridden, or in an ICU, or hooked up to a ventilator, or dead. Because he’s at enormous risk from this new virus.
He needs to stay isolated and have someone else do his shopping. He probably won’t like it. Too bad. He won’t like catching covid-19, either.
Bah! What’s with these seniors behaving so irresponsibly?
Some people don’t have choices, you think they have.
Except it doesn’t sound like the person in the OP doesn’t have a choice. The OP says, “He hates to be a bother and refuses to ask neighbors to shop for him.” In other words, he could ask the neighbors for help, but chooses not to.
^ That.
The man has neighbors but doesn’t want to be a “bother”.
Here is the line "He hates to be a bother and refuses to ask neighbors to shop for him. "
He needs to get over that, or order by phone or from Amazon. or you go shopping for him.
The fact that he has COPD does not allow him to spread Covid on other people.
Yep.
Order by phone or Amazon.
He doesnt have a phone or a computer?
He has a son, why isnt the son doing the shopping?
Yeah, he should get family, or friends, or a boyscout, or a paid service to deliver to him. He’s at high risk, and shouldn’t be going out exposing himself. And he also shouldn’t be breathing on other people.
Here in Hawaii, you are exempted from wearing a face mask if you have an underlying medical condition. But while authorities here have been pretty lenient about enforcement on restrictions, I could envision a scenario where you’re stopped by cops every few minutes about your lack of a face mask. Better just to stay home.
EDIT: I’ll have to check, but I think the face mask being required while out in public doesn’t even start until tomorrow, but a lot of businesses still open such as supermarkets now require it.
I now regret my answer about the face mask. Dude really needs to ask for help. It is foolish not to.
Re “asking for help”: Depending on where one lives, grocery delivery services may either not exist at all, or be so overwhelmed that you can’t get a slot like here: We could not get a delivery this time around so I went for curbsite pickup and even that took 2 weeks. After we got that pickup, I tried for another… after multiple tries in 24 hours I finally got another slot, 2 weeks out.
Re a mask: I’m a lifelong asthmatic and get very twitchy if anything even “seems” to impede my breathing; I can’t wear tight turtlenecks, and the time I tried using a manufactured mask for some household work a few years back, I couldn’t tolerate it at all. I was getting oxygen, but the faint increase in breathing effort made me slightly panicky.
I got several masks made of a knit fabric from Decent Exposures. It’s a thick fabric, 2 layers, so should do an adequate job of reducing (not eliminating!!!) particulates from my breathing. and the occasional minor cough. A solid coughing jag… well, no civilian mask is going to do much about that. Anyway, if Dad absolutely needs to go out, he might try doing one of those “no-sew cut up a T-shirt” type of masks - mine is very breathable.
With COPD, Dad is likely coughing a lot more than others even ignoring the whole COVID thing. It’s just bad manners to go into a store with that kind of coughing without wearing a mask - if I were a store manager, to be blunt, I’d ask him to leave.
Dad may not want to bother the neighbors, etc. but yeah, he needs to find some other way than going to the store himself.
He’s not necessarily “appeasing the grocery store manager”, but rather the state, assuming the mask requirement is based on a state declaration.
I own an essential business. My state’s governor requires masks be worn in my building. Personally, I think it’s a great idea. I’m not tasked with enforcement, other than the fact that I can be fined/shutdown for permitting noncompliance.
Enter my building without a mask, despite signage on the door telling you not to, and I’ll call the police. They are the ones in charge of enforcement. Got COPD? Talk about it with 5-0.
With my COPD I don’t find these problematic https://blog.japanesecreations.com/no-sew-face-mask-with-handkerchief-and-hair-tie though sliced through some old socks to make more comfortable ear thingies. I insert a sheet of paper towel if going someplace like a busy pharmacy but it is too hard if walking about.
Whether he should be venturing out at all has a lot to do with his age, I’m under 65 so not considered as high risk with my lung disease as my over 65 partner with diabetes.