CONTRIBUTED BY STACI HAWLEY
When I first moved to Japan, I was stunned by the amount of people wearing face masks. Was there some recent communicable disease outbreak that I had not heard of? What was I catching as a result of being mask-less?
It’s no surprise to find out that in Japan, as well as other Asian countries, people take serious personal responsibility for their ailments. It’s done precisely for the prevention of nasty germs. To keep you and me from getting sick. Now that’s all around nice.
And now for the real question that burns inside you. I’ll ask Dr. Praske :
“So Dr. Praske, what exactly would this face make prevent- and do you think it actually works?”
It would help prevent the spread of any upper respiratory illness that’s typically spread by aerosolization (for example: influenza and the various viruses that cause the common cold). It would be most useful in crowded enclosed public settings, but would probably not be effective in the household because of low compliance- also some viruses are spread by droplets which can be picked up off of surfaces and therefore the mask would not be effective for these.
There you go. It does work. Now could you deal with that fashion faux-pa?
I can’t even imagine this back home. Although I did have a dentist who wore one. But I could still smell his nasty wretched coffee breath. If we did use them stateside, would we adorn them with our favorite football team- name brand or a color that matched our outfit. Hmm..
It’s not as popular back in the states, as you can check the unavailability at Amazon.
So if you think you want to start a trend, and prevent germs- you can stock up on them at your local 100 yen store. I have used mine for changing diapers and chopping onions. Not really. But, there are several styles, as well as the “cloth” that you can place inside (to save on purchasing masks). See below:
And two styles, for your coughing pleasure:
So next time you are at Family Mart- peruse the personal hygiene aisle. You’ll find all sorts of treasures to keep you shiny and healthy.