SFO777

How about "hey man, I understand you're sick but how about covering your mouth when you cough?"
Had a similar idiot recently at the LAX SkyClub work station counter.. I moved but not before telling him exactly that.

Proudelitist

Those masks are meant to prevent you from infecting others when you are sick, not to prevent you from getting sick. They are to contain exiting spittle.

downinit

I have noticed that many Americans love to make fun of Japanese people for wearing masks so often in public, viewing it as paranoia. However, the reality is that in Japan, it is incumbent on the sick person to wear the mask to avoid infecting others, so it is actually a very gracious and kind gesture. I really wish this obvious common-sense custom would catch on in the rest of the world. FA should automatically issue these masks to anyone who coughs more than a couple times on a flight. It is horribly wasteful and inefficient for 99 people to wear a mask 24/7 to protect themselves against the one person who is hopelessly oblivious to the world around them.

Flying with a cold is often unavoidable as we are almost all constrained by time and money, but people should at least have the decency to cover their mouth and keep a steady supply of cough drops to minimize the issue. Unfortunately, our culture is based on the principle of Me! Me! Me!, so any requirement for people to consider the well being of anyone else would be widely derided as communism and fascism.

osubeavers01

Gynob001

Myths:
First class passengers don't catch flu
Masks will protect against flu virus
Keeping a hand kerchief or nap[kin to cover the mouth will contain the flu virus
If X number of viruses are leased and Y number of passengers are in the economy class (Y being a higher number), the chances that any one catching the virus is high; however, if X number of virus are released and s (s being a much smaller number) being the number of first class passengers, the number of virus particles per passenger is high.
It takes 3-5 days for the symptom to show up. It is unlikely to catch the virus on the way to airport and show symptoms in the flight. Likewise, you cant blame the passenger for spreading cold if you get exposed to others during the 3 to 5 day incubation period.
Sneezing/coughing could travel up to 20 feet. It can travel up to 200 miles per hour. So, you could catch a cold even from the economy class.

RaginPlainsman

Or when you are hungover. Friend of mine had a late night before a morning flight and she felt a little queasy while boarding her return AS flight. She asked the FA to use the lav and after he asked why and she told him (not the hangover part, just the queasy part), she was denied boarding and had to fly later that day.

But now I am going to go pack a couple of masks on my carry-on!

PaperGlider

Hi Gyno,

Did some myths get listed together with some statements as facts?

Wouldn't a higher viral load be directly correlated with a higher likelihood of inoculation/infection? If that is true, then the sick potentially could reduce the 20 feet spread by wearing a mask while coughing/sneezing.

I notice that hospitals have masks for the sick to use in the waiting rooms. So, I would prefer the sick wear masks if they have to be in public places to control and reduce the likelihood of infecting others.

divrdrew

Remember that not everyone who coughs / sneezes is contagious. If it is bacterial and they have been on antibiotics for over 24 hours, generally they are no longer considered contagious. I still find it quite inconsiderate to not use some sort of barrier, whether it be a mask, napkin, etc. If I fly and I have a cough, I always carry a number of paper towels / napkins and cough into those. Won't stop all the little airborne buggers but will stop a lot of them.

alangore

It's not good courtesy, but airline rules leave us no choice. We have to fly sick, or pay walkup.

bocastephen

Those drug store face masks are useless for healthy people - they don't filter anything on the way in, just catch most of the debris being coughed out by someone who is sick. Honestly, an open letter on FT is not as effective as telling someone who is sick and hacking away without making any attempt to cover their coughing to knock it off and cover their damn cough. No need to hold back on being a little testy about it either.

The only way to filter inbound contamination is by one of the 3M N-rated masks - I keep a N-100 mask in my carry-on just in case I encounter a jerk like this, but it won't stop anything entering through the eyes or other vulnerable areas especially with such obvious direct exposure.

HMPS

Many hospitals/medical centers have masks and gloves available for you to use right at the entrance. What quality are those ?

Single_Flyer

They are not high quality. Those are also for the person that is sick to wear, not the healthy individuals. Not sure how much the work to be honest.

Even when healthy, I wear a mask when traveling. I know it doesn't prevent much in terms of keeping me from getting sick (still, something is better than nothing), but it does keep my sinuses from getting dried out (which is not only uncomfortable but opens you up to infections).

I wish these masks were on every airplane. JAL does actually provide them, maybe others need to catch on.

dmodemd

I had one like that across the aisle from me in FC. I avoided him as much as possible, pointed air jets his way, turned away from him. I felt I had been successful until he did me a favor by pulling my bag down from the overhead bin for me. Hmm... how do I get my sanitizer out and de-sanitize my bag without him being offended...
Oh... he was coughing a lot so the FA asks him if he wanted a lozenge... and he said "why? is my coughing bothering you??".

James Moore

Those masks don't do what you think they do. Wearing then on a flight is about as useful as, well, something else complete useless. They have a specific job, and stopping airborne virus particles isn't it. Wearing them in public is just theater.