“Waaa but I can’t breathe in a normal mask”

No Karen, you don’t know what Not Being Able to Breathe actually feels like.

You’re being stupid and selfish. Wear a REAL god damn mask.

-sincerely, an actual asthmatic https://twitter.com/shattered_earth/status/1280373218369392641

Things that have prevented me from breathing properly:
* walking outside during winter
* walking while talking on the phone
* severe allergies
* being in an enclosed space with smokers

Things that don’t restrict my breathing in any significant way:
* wearing a cloth N95 mask

Also: if you don’t like wearing a proper face mask? If you think it’s uncomfortable?

You’ll HATE a respirator.

WEAR THE MASK, KAREN

Breathing is something the majority of people take for granted, becase you don’t know what restricted breathing feels like

I’ve never been able to take breathing for granted. I‘m aware of shortness of breath daily. I LIVE with it

You’ll be fine wearing one to Walmart. Trust me

This thread brought to you by WHY CANT AMERICANS GET THEIR HEADS OUT OF THEIR BUTTS AND DO ONE SIMPLE THING TO PROTECT OTHER PEOPLE FROM A DEADLY VIRUS HOLY SHIT GUYS ITS NOT THAT HARD

Some clarification since I've had a couple people ask me if I really can breath with my cloth ask.

To be clear: YES, while wearing a mask you will notice you have to put in a bit more effort than normal in order to breathe. This Does NOT mean you are suffocating.

To give you some comparison: On a scale of 1-10, 10 being breathing perfectly & 1 being suffocation, on a "good" day I waver between 9-10 (usually 9)

Wearing my medical-grade heavy cloth mask takes me down by maybe a point, to 8-9. I can breathe, but there's some small effort.

With any of the triggers I've listed earlier in the thread has the potential to drop me closer to 5. I have to put significant effort in to breathe. It feels like my lungs are full of cotton, or like someone's squeezing them tightly with their hands. I need medication to help it

Imagine you have 50lb weights attached to you & you need to run across the bottom of a neck-deep pool at full speed. THAT'S trying to breathe with asthma.

Meanwhile someone on the shore has ankle weights and is complaining about how hard it is to move and you're like

Wearing a mask can feel like a struggle to you because you've *literally never had to put effort into breathing before*. You've always just... done it. So anything that makes you put ANY effort into it, even a little bit, can feel oppressive.

But believe me, wearing a face mask that was designed for humans to wear will *never* be as oppressive to your lungs as an actual medical problem that targets said lungs.

Like asthma. Or, ya know, COVID-19

So please

For the protection of not only yourself, but everyone else around you, PLEASE

Just wear a Real Mask.

Please.