AF the Virologist: A great way to “stick it to the man” and rebel is to mask. They want you to fit in, rebel by protecting your and other people’s health by masking. Survival of us queer folk especially will piss the fascists off. Help by wearing a well-fitted n95 or better.

A great way to “stick it to the man” and rebel is to mask. They want you to fit in, rebel by protecting your and other people’s health by masking. Survival of us queer folk especially will piss the fascists off. Help by wearing a well-fitted n95 or better.

I recently upgraded to a flow mask & though it took some adjusting, I really like it now. I previously used an Ellipse p100 but it bruised my nose if I wore it for long periods of time. But it fit snugly & worked well. I have 3M auras for lower stakes situations (like walks in the park).

Supposed to be flo mask. My phone autocorrected. 🙃

One thing people might consider is getting professionally fit tested in your mask. I haven't found a reusable respirator that fits me but my 3M Aura N95 passed the (too quick for total comfort but better than nothing) fit test I paid $80 for. Here's one option www.mobilehealth.com/patient-resp...

Respirator Fit Testing for Individuals | Mobile Healthwww.mobilehealth.com Get fit tested and cleared to work with respirator fit testing from Mobile Health. With our 6,500 clinics, respirator fit testing has never been easier.

Oh yeah, fit testing is definitely the ideal situation.

my partner swears the Flo mask is leaky even though we got her the one that was designed for her nose bridge. I wonder if there's something I am doing wrong

Sorry! I somehow missed your reply the first go round. And yeah unfortunately not all masks fit everyone. I never tried the envo masks bc they looked massive and I didn’t think they would fit my face right. It really sucks bc it gets expensive quick trying a bunch of styles. ☹️

Mine is the right one for my nose bridge, but I don’t feel like the nose part is sufficiently sealed unless I strap it painfully tight, so I can understand! I’ve been meaning to test some kind of cushion inside the gasket around the nose bridge.

good tip thanks

It totally depends on your face shape and how you move your face. It's great for some and doens't work at all for others. I can't use one. The problem is they cost so much money so you have to rick $ to even find out if it will work for you. I need to find someone to donate mine to.

Check that the piece of black foam that goes inside is in place before putting it on, mine had fallen out and I didn't notice until it felt like that.

The Ellipse doesn’t let me wear my glasses with it comfortably (which I desperately need)— I’ve been looking to switch to the Flo Mask m though! I’m glad you’re liking it now, it’s so good to know! 🌻

I use the Flo mask almost exclusively, and the little glasses divots work well!

That’s very encouraging thank you!!!

Yeah i wear my flo with glasses, too.

it's punk to wear masks when the establishment blares on all octaves that we don't need them, while science and people dying says otherwise

Exactly! And don’t forget the powers that be are trying to make them illegal.

i have not been politically engaged since my hospital visit so excuse the question im asking with a incredulous look on my face: this is really happening? [i don't doubt it, i just didn't know]

Yeah a few states are pushing to make masks illegal. North Carolina and I think there’s one other. It’s mostly in retaliation to the protests (they used this as an excuse).

that's horrible. i hate to hear that. wtf

It hasn’t passed yet, but it’s starting. Extremely bullshit.

Yes And one of our aldermen here in Chicago just proposed an ordinance imposing extra criminal penalties on mask-wearers, with no medical exceptions

Oh my god.

Really begging 3M to make an all black N95. I hate taking risks, so I’m now modifying my favorite KF94 black masks with nose guards & face stickers.

Yeah i really wish there were more options, period. I was hoping for different fashionable options and colors- even with the p100 respirators. But people quit masking as much so makers decided it wasn’t important. 😕

Based on fittesttheplanet on Twitter I use the wellbefore kn95 pro, but they have thw worlds worst retail website and are often mostly out of stock. 🤷🏻‍♀️

And 3M and other mainstream PPE companies are fully bought in to *not* pushing routine masking against their own business interest.

Flomask now has a few different colors for the mask shell, although the filters are still white.

I bought a few packages of those, but stopped buying them since the inside fabric was scratching my face.

Any nose guards you recommend?? I’d love to use my KN95s more since they’re easier to take on/off but I always get a little air leak around the nose bridge

I custom cut these latex strips on the weekend to prepare for the week ahead. Note that I have a “low nose bridge” so less needed to close the glasses fog gap. a.co/d/hqCMS2n

Thank you!

📌

(not a nose guard rec/can be rough on the skin for too long but i’ve been using fabric tape on the inside of my masks to help seal the nose bridge part)

Yes, I use fabric tape to seal the chin portion (that’s what I call face stickers)

I use ones from Airpop, their travel masks are pretty good.

I'm not sure if you've seen them, but BNX makes a trifold black N95. The seal isn't quite as good as a 3M Aura, but it's still a pretty good seal and I find them very comfortable to wear, even in the summer when it's hot and humid. bnx.com/products/bnx...

They can even be used to commodify a Pride greensupply.com/products/rai... www.lytecordz.com/products/kn9...

Rainbow Prism KN95 Masks, Rainbow Print KN95 Face Masksgreensupply.com In stock and shipping now, these rainbow prism print KN95 masks are perfect for any occasion when you need to stay safe. In stock and shipping now.

Oh heck yeah.

All I have right now are bad cloth masks, but I still wear them. I can’t afford to replenish the disposables, which is why I don’t have 95’s unless I get a dono. Does anyone in the comms here have a good recc for a reusable one?

I personally have used the Ellipse p100 which is a fairly affordable option compared to the others. It comes in too sizes: s/m and l/xl. My child & I use the small while my spouse uses the larger size. In the US, you can get them ~$30. Reshared in case other people have more options.

There are other options like the flow mask ($90) (fits my small face comfortably) and envo mask (last time I checked around $50 - haven’t personally tried bc the shape looked like it would be too big for me). I’m sure there are more but those are the three I could immediately think of.

When you say "flow mask" is that the same as my flo mask? I really like it because it has a low nose bridge option which many other masks don't.

Yeah it was just an autocorrect.

I thought it might have been but I wanted to double-check that there wasn't another mask with a similar name.

*two sizes. I think that one was just a brain glitch.

Thank you! I’ll look into that one, sounds like a solid option as far as my budget ability goes.

The biggest reason I upgraded is bc I have really sensitive skin & it bruised my nose after long periods of time. Otherwise it fit really snug. My child & a friend of mine still uses that model so it’s definitely not an universal experience.

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