The Accessory That Could Keep You From Getting Sick (That You Probably Aren't Using)
It’s commonly used in other countries — so why don’t Americans hop on the bandwagon? (Photo: Getty Images)
When you’re on a crowded airplane, train, or bus, or in a people-packed store, it’s always abundantly clear if there’s someone sick around. You hear the sniffling, you see the sneezing, and you’re probably giving this not-so-considerate individual the stink-eye for daring to go out in public and spread germs.
It’s enough to make anyone want to walk around wearing a surgical mask (or wish that the sick person was wearing one).
But while the practice of wearing a surgical mask to fight the spread of illness is common in some East Asian countries, it’s still fairly rare in the U.S. The custom began in Japan during the early 20th century when a massive flu outbreak turned deadly, and people began covering their faces with scarves in an (ineffective) attempt to ward off the flu. Another massive flu outbreak in the 1930s prompted a rise in usage of surgical masks as a way to prevent the spread of the illness, and it grew from there.
Subway riders in Tokyo don surgical masks — but why don’t we do it in the States? (Photo: Getty Images/Rolf Brenner)
The practice makes sense. So what’s stopping us from breaking out our own masks when cold and flu season hits? It’s a cultural issue, says pop culture expert Jean Twenge, Ph.D., author of “Generation Me.”
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She points out that many East Asian cultures place more importance on the needs of others. “People wear surgical masks primarily to prevent others from getting sick, so it makes sense that this practice would be more common in collectivistic cultures,” Twenge tells Yahoo Health. Americans, on the other hand, tend to be more individualistic and, well, vain, which makes us more hesitant to go out in public looking like a wannabe surgeon.
Sick masks did briefly rise in popularity in the U.S. during the 1918 flu pandemic, but fell out of favor after the epidemic dissipated, says board-certified infectious disease specialist Amesh A. Adalja, MD, an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
While sick masks are often worn in other cultures to prevent others from catching your illness, they’re also effective in keeping the mask-wearer healthy. “Routine [wearing of] masks can prevent larger droplet-sized particles from gaining access to your mouth and nose, which is useful for respiratory viruses that spread via these droplets, like the flu and common cold,” Adalja tells Yahoo Health. (However, he notes that routinely wearing a surgical mask won’t prevent you from contracting illnesses that are spread via airborne particles, such as measles and tuberculosis.)
So, should we all have sick masks at home, just in case? Maybe. Adalja says the masks can be “substantially effective” at helping to ward off the cold and flu if they’re used properly — especially if you touch your face with your hands often, which most of us do.
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If you’re interested in trying it out, Adalja recommends using a mask in situations where you can’t avoid exposure to sick people, like taking public transportation during flu season or caring for a relative with a contagious illness. However, he stresses that nothing beats good, old-fashioned hand-washing and making sure you’ve gotten all your necessary vaccinations.
While it’s unlikely that sick mask use will become as widespread here as they are in Japan, at least one company is hoping to increase the product’s popularity in the U.S. In fact, Jody Vitelli, founder and CEO of mask-maker Tutem Masks, tells Yahoo Health that U.S. sales of her company’s quirky-patterned masks are “steadily increasing.”
Vitelli created the company after becoming frustrated that she was often seated next to sick people when she traveled — and consequently becoming ill. Tutem’s masks are now available at many airports and, while Vitelli acknowledges she’s fighting an uphill battle, she says there’s a growing interest in their use.
“We’re trying to change the culture,” she says. “You need a pretty big lever for that, but people are becoming much more accepting of this than ever before.”
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