Binghamton Health Care Providers Are Encouraging Surgical Mask Use [POLL]

You know the feeling; your throat gets scratchy and you feel a little "blech". The next thing you know, your off work. What would you say if I could give you a way to cut your risk of getting sick by up to 99 percent? Would you care what it involved?

I got a virus, though not a cold, late last week and by Monday it was in high gear, so I was out of work and in the doctor's office. They had surgical also called antiviral) masks at the front door to wear in case patients are contagious. I was, so I put one on.

You have to ride a virus out, unless it's the flu, so I bought my symptom treaters and went to another doctor appointment for a wellness issue. They also had masks at their front door. Interesting. Curious as I am, I asked the doctor about it and she explained that it is a highly effective way of stopping the spread of viruses. Almost 99.8 percent with some masks.

Whoa! That's pretty good. But is it worth the looks and embarrassment? To me, yes. Especially since one of my co-workers is pregnant and it would be horrible to not wear one for her benefit. So, this morning I walked into work and immediately started getting "the look"

You know, the one where people think you are nuts. And, at lunch, as I walked downtown, some high school kids saw me, pretended to cough, and say "ebola." It was still worth it.

Japan is worlds ahead of us by wearing surgical masks. You see them do it all the time! It is for two reasons:

1. to stop the spread of viruses

2. to lessen hay fever and pollen allergies substantially. (Pollen is filtered out of the air you breathe by the masks.)

So, I will continue to wear the masks and I hope you will too. Ignorance is not bliss in this case, it ends up making others sick!

I have to ask: