As we go gaga over masks

TDT | Manama 

Saritha Suresh, a university student currently attending online classes said, “I go out once in a week just to buy the necessary things for home. (My family and I) wear the cotton masks which can be washed after using them. But I haven’t tried making my own funky masks yet.”

With so many Bahraini residents working from home, they find that they have fewer reasons to go outside. “I go out every few days just down the road to the cold store, just a five minute trip. Only to pick up small perishable items like milk or bread.

The rest of my shopping I do online wherever possible, otherwise maybe once a month I’ll go to the pet store or somewhere else that doesn’t offer delivery. I was going for daily walks when it was cooler weather, on quieter roads only,” said Zoe Salman who usually wears regular surgical masks. On days when she plans to be outside for longer or in a crowded areas, she takes extra precautions and wears the N-95.

“I haven’t made my own (masks) yet but might give it a try when my stock finishes.” She added when asked about whether she’s like to get creative with her masks. “Whilst working from home, I still go out almost every other day to do groceries and other errands that cannot be done online.

I haven’t tried making my own mask but I have purchased and tried using washable/cloth type. It’s cheap and ok for use but only for really short periods of time, say an hour or two. I prefer wearing a 3-ply mask, easier to breath and more comfortable to wear,” said Mary Mendoza Rosal.

Karen Colaco, who resides in Bahrain with her family spoke to Tribune about how much of a change the virus has brought with it. “How many times, in the past, have we gone in and out of the house in a day, let alone during the whole week.

The convenience of going to get the groceries on any given day, reaching home to realise you have one more errand left for the day and quickly going back out to complete it, without a second thought. Now we are forced to be more organised (for our own benefit) and cautious about the number of times we go out, in hopes of limiting the chances of contracting the virus or, in some cases, spreading it.

Personally, we make a conscious effort to stay indoors most of the time and it isn’t too difficult with restaurants, supermarkets and many other vendors providing services through online channels,” she said. She added: “Whenever we do go out, which is once a week or twice at the most, we wear disposable masks and always have a bottle of hand sanitizer in our bag.

It’s just about doing our part to ensure our safety and to be conscious of the efforts being taken by the country, nurses and doctors who are working round the clock to care for those affected. It’s nice to see new ideas coming out there with home-made masks that seem easy to make should you run out of usual disposable ones at any time.”

Colaco hasn’t tried to make her own masks yet but she’s sure that will be the norm soon enough. What the expert says Tribune reached out to Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) chief resident Dr. P V Cherian for his expert advice on the proper usage of masks. There are different types of masks. A surgical mask has 3 layers.

The outer layer is meant to hold and attract the virus. The middle layer is a filter for added protection. How to wear a mask It should cover the nose, mouth and chin completely with no spaces on both sides. Mask should not be worn while exercising or inside houses.

It can cause hypoxia, a condition where the person gets less oxygen in the blood and so to vital organs including brain. Surgical masks are recommended to be used for not more than six hours. Cloth masks also can be used. They can be washed in soap and water or alcohol based sanitizers and then reused.

N 95 masks are indicated only for health care workers who directly deal with COVID positive patients. Disposal methods It should be held on the side strings and disposed off in a bin with lids. Do not touch the front where the surface may be contaminated.

Wearing the masks without covering the nose and mouth and just letting it hang around your neck may cause contamination and infection. So the proper use of masks and removing are important. Smera, a resident of Bahrain, has started selling hand painted masks with customised patterns, unique illustrations and company logos.

Agi Joshua is another creative craftswoman who stitches her own cloth masks and even sells it to those who need it. She explained why she started selling these handmade cloth masks. “My main intension, was the environmental concern. All these disposable masks will end up in the soil, cultivatable land and sea, killing the vegetation and marine life.

Second was helping some tailors, and housewives to earn some money, so that they don’t have to depend on charity boxes,” she said. Joshua who is also a trained councillor and NLP practioner pointed out the psychological aspects of wearing designer masks with unique patterns and styles.

“The best way, to get adjusted to a change is to accept it wholeheartedly. The situation is demanding us to wear mask. So I made it colourful, with a tag line- MASK IS THE NEW FASHION STATEMENT,” she said.

Speaking about the materials she uses, she said that “we make masks, with professional cutting and stitching, using pure cotton material, and quality elastic, so that they can be washed and reused. We put two different colours on either side, so that one mask, will match two outfits.”

photos by Omar Alawadhi