My wife, who is immuno-compromised under the best of circumstances, recently spent a week in the hospital. It could be very bad for her if she were to get sick again. She’s supposed to stay home and avoid people for the next few weeks; if she does need to go out, such as to see the doctor, or if non-family people come in, she’s been told to wear a mask. Which she has.
So, immuno-suppressed and trying like crazy to avoid other people’s germs would be my first guess.
My first thought is that the person probably has allergies. And I expect that’s because I worked with a man who sometimes wore a mask, especially during grass-mowing season.
According to my parents - who visited there a couple years ago - it’s the unbelievable levels of air pollution.
People with suppressed immune systems do just that - some organ transplant recipients, certain cancer patients, and so forth. Yes, it is inconvenient and bothersome, but so is landing in intensive care because someone else’s toddler sneezed on you.
I was astonished by the high proportion of the population I saw wearing masks on a recent trip to Taiwan. It even seemed like 1 in 10 high school students seen on the metro was wearing one, and many others of all ages too—though I noticed no sniffling or coughing that would evidence a flurry of colds. No pollution issues there that I could discern.
In many of my other Southeast Asian ports of call on this trip, including the cities of Vietnam, it seemed to be a prophylactic measure to avoid air pollution, and entire families on motorbikes would be wearing them.
Yup. This. People generally care that much about getting others sick. So if you are immune compromised and have to go out, the mask might help protect you.
This.
Americans who wear a face mask in public usually have some kind of immune deficiency, usually a cancer patient or someone who’s just had an organ transplant. I used to see people around wearing them who probably had AIDS, but haven’t for many years.
My first guess: Immunocompromised. (I’ve worked in the medical field for years–just an office droid but that’s the larger setting.)
Or maybe someone with a cold, dragging themselves to work.
Or somebody who’d refused the yearly influenza shot most health care centers give out–to everybody. These special folk are instructed to wear masks whenever they are near patients during flu season. (And that could be in the cafeteria–full of outpatients.)
Yes, more common on Asian folks. But not limited to them.
I’ve seen recent footage from Beijing. That’s not fog.
I assume they’re superheroes who are confused about which half of their face they’re supposed to cover with a mask.
But really, I’ve only seen it a few times and didn’t assume anything other that they probably had a pretty good reason to be wearing it
I think they are either sick with some kind of cold/infection or they have a pollen allergy. It’s not a big deal for me I see them everyday living in Japan.
They are one of the bad guys in a movie benignly disguised at the moment so that a later reveal will be more dramatic. So my only compelling thought is, “How the hell have I ended up in this movie?”
Nothing special.
TokyoBayer
Resident of East Asia for more than 25 years
My gf’s dad died a few years ago from cancer. At one point he was supposed to wear a mask when out and about due to his chemo compromised immune system. He refused to wear one; he just thought it was asinine.
I asked that he look at it from my perspective. If he caught something from me, I’d feel like an ass. He laughed and reviewed with me his situation. In a year or two at most he’d be dead (he was right). He’d rather live 8 months with his dignity intact than 12 months wearing a mask. He made 14 months. For his last xmas we all wore masks and he, mask less, laughed at us.
Michael Jackson.
If they aren’t East Asian, while I obviously know they’re probably trying to keep from getting other people sick the top of my brain assumes that they’re crazy germophobes.
The store I work at has a semi-regular customer who comes in wearing a breathing mask. Hers is a bit more business-like than the typical paper mask, more like what you’d wear around paints, solvents, or heavily dusty environments. She also rather prominently wears a medic-alert bracelet and a sign saying “fragrance allergic”. Is she a crank or is she really that sensitive? I have no idea. However, it’s a free country and she’s allowed to wear whatever she wants as long as she’s committing no crime.
Brings her own soap to use in the rest room as well. Well, sure - the stuff the store supplies is scented. Frankly, I’m relieved she washes her hands, it’s surprising how many people don’t.
It pretty much goes like this: “That is not a good look. Do you have ebola? You probably have ebola. They’re going to ask me at the counter if I’ve been to West Africa. Seriously though, that is not a good look. Ooo, maybe it’s swine flu. I swine flu still a thing? I don’t think it is. Why are you wearing that mask? Is it really ebola though? Not like I care. Oh, you’re leaving.”
I wear a mask when visiting friends with cats, although not out in public. I’ve known hay fever sufferers who wore a mask when mowing their lawn. (I’d probably do that myself if I had a lawn.)
So my first thought would be, allergies. I wouldn’t think about it enough to have a second thought.
Yes. I would assume they went for a medical appointment, got asked if they have symptoms, and were issued a mask.
Maybe if someone were immuno-compromised and wore one on rare trips outside?