# What medical conditions make you unable to wear a mask? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [June 14, 2020, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-medical-conditions-make-you-unable-to-wear-a-mask/855669 "2020-06-14T21:11:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2020, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-medical-conditions-make-you-unable-to-wear-a-mask/855669/1 "2020-06-14T21:11:48Z")
Virginia’s reopening requires masks in public places but > [@The Governor](#): > > If you have a medical condition that prevents you from wearing a mask you are not required to wear one. You will not be required to carry medical identification or disclose your particular condition. What medical condition could possibly make it riskier to wear a mask than to get covid-19? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2020, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-medical-conditions-make-you-unable-to-wear-a-mask/855669/2 "2020-06-14T21:24:47Z")
The mask won’t stay on my face because I lost my ears and nose in a tragic cocoanut peeler accident. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2020, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-medical-conditions-make-you-unable-to-wear-a-mask/855669/3 "2020-06-14T21:27:55Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > The mask won’t stay on my face because I lost my ears and nose in a tragic cocoanut peeler accident. Staple gun. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2020, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-medical-conditions-make-you-unable-to-wear-a-mask/855669/4 "2020-06-14T21:31:23Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Staple gun. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2020, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-medical-conditions-make-you-unable-to-wear-a-mask/855669/5 "2020-06-14T21:34:47Z")
People with serious asthma have real problems breathing the warm moist air a mask can produce. A serious asthma attack could see them land in a hospital. The last place a person with breathing issues wants to land during Covid! Also there are people with emotional issues, think borderline autism like conditions, who just can’t handle it. A failed attempt could find them with worsening mental health issues just as therapists are unavailable, etc. There may be those with seizure conditions that might be risking a reaction. And a not small number of people are actual trauma survivors who were held captive, etc. Asking that person to wear a mask is a big ask. My attitude is, if I can imagine a circumstance, quite easily, wherein this behaviour _would_ be acceptable, then I just go right ahead and assume THAT’S what I’m looking at. Life’s a lot less distressing when you’re not so judgy. Not everything is as it appears. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2020, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-medical-conditions-make-you-unable-to-wear-a-mask/855669/6 "2020-06-14T21:42:34Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > What medical condition could possibly make it riskier to wear a mask than to get covid-19? Huh? This seems to imply that the point of wearing a mask is to avoid getting Covid-19. Do people still not understand that the main purpose of weaing a mask is to avoid _spreading_ Covid-19? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2020, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-medical-conditions-make-you-unable-to-wear-a-mask/855669/7 "2020-06-14T21:45:08Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Life’s a lot less distressing when you’re not so judgy. Not everything is as it appears. I have seen recent videos of people at the beach, in casinos and other large groups with a majority of them not wearing masks. This isn’t a matter of “political” correctness-This is about taking every damn step we can to fight a pandemic. If you endanger me, mine, my friends, my neighbors and the general public you had better have a damn good reason, because when I need to go out to get supplies and I encounter a fuckton of people going maskless, unless I see a large sign saying “ASTHMA CONVENTION” I _am_ going to get all “judgy”. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2020, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-medical-conditions-make-you-unable-to-wear-a-mask/855669/8 "2020-06-14T23:09:21Z")
Calm down, I wasn’t speaking about crowds of idiots, just individuals you may come across. But, you know what? Nothing we can say or do will stop them, so let them be. They can be the canaries in the mines, as far as I’m concerned. Someone has to test the waters. If they want to be the ones, let them. Think of them as volunteers for medical research, if it helps. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2020, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-medical-conditions-make-you-unable-to-wear-a-mask/855669/9 "2020-06-14T23:13:44Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Calm down, I wasn’t speaking about crowds of idiots, just individuals you may come across. > > But, you know what? Nothing we can say or do will stop them, so let them be. > > They can be the canaries in the mines, as far as I’m concerned. > > Someone has to test the waters. If they want to be the ones, let them. > > Think of them as volunteers for medical research, if it helps. And what do you call the innocent women, men and children they infect-NPCs? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-medical-conditions-make-you-unable-to-wear-a-mask/855669/10 "2020-06-15T00:39:25Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Huh? This seems to imply that the point of wearing a mask is to avoid getting Covid-19. > > Do people still not understand that the main purpose of weaing a mask is to avoid _spreading_ Covid-19? Not true for all. People with significant risk factors for COVID mortality can often be found wearing N95 masks to greatly reduce their risk for infection. My daughter is one such. The purpose of wearing her mask is for her to not get COVID. Sadly, her cystic fibrosis makes wearing such a mask difficult for her. But not more difficult than dying of COVID. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-medical-conditions-make-you-unable-to-wear-a-mask/855669/11 "2020-06-15T01:25:34Z")
One of our roomies has a badly broken nose that had been scheduled for repair including some sort of sinus cavity rebuild and wearing a mask in combination with glasses ends up being incredibly painful, so she is going out only for medical appointments/ER visits [she tripped and rebroke her nose and got a concussion about a month ago, and has been having issues since that sent her back as ordered by her primary care doc in Boston [she is hiding here in western NY by order of her primary because she is a high risk for covid person with an apartment in a neighborhood with an insanely high covid level] ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-medical-conditions-make-you-unable-to-wear-a-mask/855669/12 "2020-06-15T02:09:28Z")
Batman and Robin can’t wear their masks when they are being Bruce Wayne & Dick Grayson, or they would reveal their secret identities. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-medical-conditions-make-you-unable-to-wear-a-mask/855669/13 "2020-06-15T02:18:40Z")
COPD? Seems to me that would be an issue with covering their nose and mouth. I only have known one person with COPD and he gulped for air. Mouth wide open. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-medical-conditions-make-you-unable-to-wear-a-mask/855669/14 "2020-06-15T02:29:00Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > COPD? Seems to me that would be an issue with covering their nose and mouth. > I only have known one person with COPD and he gulped for air. Mouth wide open. My dad had COPD. If he hadn’t passed last fall, I can easily imagine wearing a mask being very difficult for him. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-medical-conditions-make-you-unable-to-wear-a-mask/855669/15 "2020-06-15T03:47:31Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Virginia’s reopening requires masks in public places but > > What medical condition could possibly make it riskier to wear a mask than to get covid-19? Narcissism? ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-medical-conditions-make-you-unable-to-wear-a-mask/855669/16 "2020-06-15T11:29:57Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Life’s a lot less distressing when you’re not so judgy. Not everything is as it appears. You seem to be assuming from my question that I’m being judgy. Judgy is for Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit. I am here for facts. > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Huh? This seems to imply that the point of wearing a mask is to avoid getting Covid-19. > > Do people still not understand that the main purpose of weaing a mask is to avoid _spreading_ Covid-19? So if I test negative, I can go anywhere without a mask, and it’s all good? ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-medical-conditions-make-you-unable-to-wear-a-mask/855669/17 "2020-06-15T12:23:49Z")
The idea is that you _might_ have it, so wear a mask to prevent spreading it. A negative test only shows you currently don’t have it but you could pick it up the day after your test. And it barely shows that because there are still massive false negatives with the active virus tests. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-medical-conditions-make-you-unable-to-wear-a-mask/855669/18 "2020-06-15T12:40:11Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Huh? This seems to imply that the point of wearing a mask is to avoid getting Covid-19. > > Do people still not understand that the main purpose of weaing a mask is to avoid _spreading_ Covid-19? Not that long ago, you weren’t even wearing a face covering due to your lack of understanding about them. So I’m finding it puzzling that your post has such a smug tone to it. If this was an easy issue for the masses to comprehend, we wouldn’t have had to school you back in April. You’re a smart guy and you didn’t get it. Please try to have more compassion for others is all I’m trying to say. I wear a mask to protect others, but I also wear it just in case I unknowingly walk through someone else’s cough or sneeze cloud. Because [research](https://healthnewshub.org/health-news-hub/top-news/cloth-mask-vs-surgical-mask-vs-n95-how-effective-is-each/) has found that wearing a mask can significantly reduce one’s viral load, which is correlated with the severity of illness. People need to understand that they aren’t totally protected by wearing a mask. But it simply isn’t true that masks don’t offer any protection. High viral loads can be deadly. If we can reduce the loads, then we have a better chance of fostering herd immunity without suffering from a high death toll. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-medical-conditions-make-you-unable-to-wear-a-mask/855669/19 "2020-06-15T12:45:17Z")
I’m sure it’s a tiny minority who actually have conditions that make them unable to wear masks for a few minutes in a store. If QtM’s daughter can wear one with cystic fibrosis, I’m sure lots of the maskless people could manage one as well. If your breathing is so at-risk, you probably shouldn’t be out and about much, if at all. The real reason most of those people aren’t wearing masks indoors would involve violating the no-politics rule of this forum. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-medical-conditions-make-you-unable-to-wear-a-mask/855669/20 "2020-06-15T12:46:00Z")
At work anyone entering my business must wear a mask, which must be worn until they leave. I’ve had a few people complain that they are unable to keep their mask on that long, and I’ve told those people I truly do not care, wear the mask or leave. The majority of the complainers have worn their masks. One woman called me a fascist and stormed out. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-medical-conditions-make-you-unable-to-wear-a-mask/855669.md?page=2)