As mask mandates lift around the country, and the number of vaccinated Americans continues to climb, you may be wondering if it’s time to toss your collection of face masks, which have served to help protect you from the virus for more than a year. While it may not be required to wear masks everywhere, you should know that a face mask can actually protect you from much more than COVID-19. Read on to discover a few illnesses that can be prevented with the use of a face mask. You might just be convinced to break out the mask this flu season!
The Flu
Influenza may not be as much of a threat to us now as it was one hundred years ago, but the CDC says that it still puts 140,000 to 810,000 people in the hospital each year and kills as many as 61,000. Luckily for us, the 2020 flu season was particularly mild, and experts believe that masks may be the reason why. In fact, a report in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases says that face masks could reduce flu transmission by 60 to 80 percent. That’s good enough reason for us to keep our face masks around!
Allergies
Do you get debilitating allergies? Try wearing a face mask. Even mild seasonal allergies can be reduced with your trusty face mask, which can help block your nose and eyes from allergens like pollen. Face masks also pull double duty when it comes to allergies, in that they can protect against allergens and infectious agents. Why is this important? Because allergens inflame your nose, which makes your nostrils much more susceptible to infection-causing pathogens.
Common Colds
Like most allergies, the common cold isn’t particularly deadly – but, this innocent-enough illness definitely takes its toll. Adults get an average of two to three colds per year, and a standard cold can easily endure for 10 days or more. Another fun fact? Colds are the most common reason that you might call out of work. Protect yourself from the mild coronaviruses that cause the common cold by masking up when you feel a cold coming on or visit someone who is feeling under the weather.
No matter your lifestyle, Oxford at Iron Horse Apartments in North Richland Hills, Texas goes out of our way to provide our residents with a unique selection of in-home activities and information that better their physical and mental health.