The government of Canada has advice for us to wear ‘face masks’ to stop the spread of germs during COVID-19. I totally get this and advocate for the same. But I personally have asked some recent questions about whether ‘face shields’ are just as efficient as ‘face masks’ in stopping the spread? To me, ‘face shields’ (picture McSteamy from Grey’s Anatomy.. plastic shield over his face) seem much more comfortable to wear than a mask that makes me want to constantly touch… my face! (Discalimer – I’m not disagreeing with the recommendations for face coverings… I agree with these precautions for safety). But it seems the verdict is still out whether one is better than the other, but one answer seems clear – the recommendation to wear a facial covering is out there specifically when social distancing (6′) isn’t possible.
When it comes to understanding why wearing a mask/shield is recommended, I personally liked the ‘pee’ analogy best: Two guys are standing beside each other, naked. One guy starts to pee… this results in both of them getting wet. Now, imagine one guy is wearing pants (spoiler alert, the pants are symbolic for a face covering) and the other (naked) guy starts to pee… the guy with the pants on is only gonna get their pants a little wet. Now imagine they’re both wearing pants and so when the one guy pees, only he will get wet. #keepyourgermstoyourself. This made sense to me.
So, you tell me… what do you think about face coverings? Mask or face shield? What’s your preference? Below is a link to what the Government of Canada is saying about masks… while I continue to search the internet for the verdict on those McSteamy face shields ;).
Just food for thought, especially for our special needs community.
The ‘Pros-Cons’ picture featured here was from this article if you wanted to read more. https://www.businessinsider.com/who-homemade-face-masks-possibly-shields-help-prevent-coronavirus-2020-6
Note – while the face shield has more ‘pros’ listed, the first point listed seems worth noting.
