Cranial Rectitis
Since the beginning of quarantine my essential business has had a “NO MASK, NO ENTRY” sign on the door. I average one to three people a week arguing about freedom/etc and I stand firm and tell (not ask) them to leave. Most of these people go back to their car and get a mask.
Today I had my first person say they have a medical reason why they cannot wear a mask. They said this standing in my doorway, so an employee got me and I (from a distance and masked) listened to them.
I then apologized, told them I was sorry for their medical situation, but explained that without a mask they were not coming in. I said that I felt it was too great a risk to me and my employees.
They left. Returned from their car, masked.
Apparently I have the power to cure whatever medical problem they had, and without even laying on my hands! Hallelujah!!!
If substantially all of the store owners and churches followed your admirable lead, we’d probably be done with this by now.
They may have been an epileptic. See above why they may not want to wear a mask. It’s possible that they are willing to take the risk of wearing it for a short time period in order to get essential goods.
epilepsy.com recommends epileptics wear masks whenever they leave home. For those whose symptoms during seizures mean they might endanger themselves or others, the site recommends accompaniment by someone who can remove the mask if necessary and keep the epileptic person from endangering himself and others during a seizure.
People with epilepsy should wear masks.
Well the above post has a viable solution. It’s a pain to have to always have someone with ypu, but ‘dem’s the breaks, I guess.
As we move forward, it seems more and more solutions/adaptations are being found to make it easier for everybody to mask up, whether they have relevant medical conditions or not. (I’m going to see about getting one of those UA masks.)
Asthmatic here. Not a brittle one, luckily, but I find that anything that “seems to” impede my breathing ability makes me just the tiniest bit panicky. I have trouble with turtleneck shirts for that reason. If the neck is too tight, I will tug at it constantly until it is no longer putting any pressure on my throat. This is even when I know darn well I really CAN breathe just fine. Getting used to a CPAP was a real treat.
Now, with a mask, I just get over myself and wear it - but I can genuinely believe that someone with a history of respiratory issues might tend to panic at even the hint of can’t-breathe. I could certainly not exercise heavily (or even walk briskly) while wearing one.
A convenience store / gas station nearby has a sign saying “We require masks. If you choose not to wear one, we will politely assume you have a medical reason”. Most “medical conditions”, I suspect, are “I’m too much of an asshole” but there are certainly some real ones.
My speculation there though is that if you truly cannot tolerate a mask, it’s quite likely that you have underlying health concerns that make COVID extra-special-risky and you ought not be out in public anyway.
A somewhat related anecdote re breathing panic: Dentists these days no longer have spit sinks, they have a suction tube they stick in your mouth. You’re expected to close your mouth around this and it sucks all the water / toothpaste / drilling debris / whatever out. I can’t deal with this. It sets off my can’t-breathe panic circuits because It is SUCKING AWAY MY AIR.
I’ve largely trained the dentist / hygienists to put it right at my lips, where I’ll pucker up and spit into it. Dunno if I would be able to tolerate it if I held the tube - quite possibly so. Then there was the day when a hygienist - who wasn’t aware of my panic - decided to “help”.
By PINCHING MY LIPS SHUT AROUND THE TUBE.
Yeah, she got yelled at.