As an emergency room physician, even before COVID-19, I often wore a mask at work. Like many things, mask-wearing is a skill that takes time and practice to learn.
Here are some solutions health care workers have learned for challenges associated with masks:
“Masks are uncomfortable.” Masks are uncomfortable. Sometimes they even hurt. Finding the right mask for your face, and the activity you are doing, helps. There are masks that sit right against your face and others that poke out like a duck-bill. Some fasten behind the ears, others tie behind your head. Health care workers experiment until they find one that fits. You can, too.
Practice helps. Wear a mask while making dinner or watching a movie. My kids and I are wearing masks for short periods of time at home so they will be ready when school starts in the fall.
“It is hard to breathe.” Although most people can maintain adequate oxygen levels while wearing masks, breathing through a mask can sometimes require extra work. It can also feel claustrophobic. Breathing through your mouth helps. So does slowing down or decreasing your activity.
If you find yourself feeling short of breath, sit down, slow your pace or speak more slowly. A mint or piece of gum can also help the dry mouth and bad breath that add to the discomfort and claustrophobic feeling.
“My glasses fog up.” Anti-fog wipes for glasses help. So does putting a drop of shampoo on your lenses. But the best trick is to change where your glasses sit. Try moving your glasses higher or lower on your face, or have them rest on the mask instead of your nose. Sometimes micro-adjustments are enough. Raising eyebrows, opening your mouth or wrinkling your forehead can change positions of your glasses or mask and solve the problem.
When fog builds, it sometimes helps to leave the glasses and mask alone. They will de-mist as they adjust to the temperature of your face and the climate.
If all else fails, learning to work wearing fogged glasses is also a skill. I have put in chest tubes and intubated people through foggy lenses. I would never advocate driving or putting yourself in danger by ignoring fogged lenses, but am glad I can manage in a pinch.
“How can I communicate without seeing facial expressions?” In the hospital we learn to watch the parts of the face we can see. It’s amazing how much can be communicated through eyebrows and foreheads. Eyebrows can communicate surprise, anger, concern or simply “hello.” People’s eyes also look different when they are smiling, even if you cannot see the smile itself.
Consider changing tone to express emotion. Using a more animated voice can be a good substitute for facial expressions. Medical workers also learn how to use other parts of their bodies to express emotion. A shrugged shoulder, open or closed hands, or outreached arms can communicate a lot. So does a flat hand put in front of you, signaling stop.
We also learn to be specific with words, and to use them to communicate what might have otherwise been unspoken. In this regard, wearing a mask is an opportunity to become more articulate.
It also is a chance to become a better listener. Because there is not as much facial expression to read, listening carefully matters more than ever.
“It’s harder to hear what people are saying.” For deaf or hearing-impaired people who read lips — as well as blind and sight-impaired individuals who rely on auditory and facial clues — masks present specific challenges. The CDC and other national organizations have recommendations that can help. For the rest of us, wearing a mask sometimes requires the speaker to talk louder. It also necessitates more careful listening.
In the emergency room, I project my voice more forcefully when wearing a mask, but also listen more intently. If I do not hear something the first time, I ask for it to be repeated, expecting not just that the speaker will increase the volume, but that I will have to focus on what is being said.
“Wearing masks is depressing.” Until COVID-19, I never imagined wearing a mask outside the hospital or understood that mask wearing was a skill I had learned and could share. Masks remind me of the pandemic — something I wish I could forget when I leave the ER.
But wearing masks can also be an act of solidarity — and a kind effort we make on behalf of one other. Learning this new skill may also mean that we are more articulate — and better listeners — when the pandemic is over.
Marion Bishop is an emergency medicine physician who works in northern Utah. Her views are her own. You can find more of her writing and learn about her ER experience during the pandemic at marioncbishop.com.