I was interested to read about the Enovid. We make a point of using a neti pot to perform nasal irrigation with saline as part of our decontamination after being exposed to crowded places (like medical offices or the grocery store) after reading about it being demonstrated to reduce infection severity (https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaotolaryngology/fullarticle/2768627 and https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/01455613221123737). We do this even when we've worn a good mask because there's always the chance we've had a leak, especially if we'd had to undress or, as when seeing a dermatologist, I've had to hold my breath and remove my mask for facial exam.
I note that you don't mention how you handle your used masks to avoid introducing viruses from the outside of the mask into your living space. I realize that the literature on viral survival on surfaces basically gave up early in the pandemic when no one could agree on what to test for, but the notion that a virus is magically rendered inert when touching any surface other than the nasal mucus membranes is simply ridiculous. Putting an outside-contaminated mask into, for example, a plastic bag or container just provides, as it moves around, an opportunity for the virus to move to the inside surface and there to be available to inhale. It makes me crazy to not have credible data on how long this might be possible. Absent useful data, we keep a set of big yogurt tubs with holes drilled in them (so the moisture can dry out) and a used mask goes into one to be aged a week or two before being reused. I generally have a set of about four I cycle through, but we add more to the rotation if we've had to be out a lot. And then, after handling a used mask, wash our hands thoroughly without touching anything in between.
Finally, I find it useful to focus on air exchange rather than the simple "outdoors." We have a bike trail near my house that goes through the woods along a creek bottom where there is never a breeze, especially in winter. It's very heavily used by runners and bicycles, and I question how much virus-laden air turnover is really happening there. I don't have a CO2 monitor, which could help answer that question, of course, so I simply mask up, even if outdoors, if I don't feel the air is moving enough to provide rapid viral dilution.
no subject
I was interested to read about the Enovid. We make a point of using a neti pot to perform nasal irrigation with saline as part of our decontamination after being exposed to crowded places (like medical offices or the grocery store) after reading about it being demonstrated to reduce infection severity (https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaotolaryngology/fullarticle/2768627 and https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/01455613221123737). We do this even when we've worn a good mask because there's always the chance we've had a leak, especially if we'd had to undress or, as when seeing a dermatologist, I've had to hold my breath and remove my mask for facial exam.
I note that you don't mention how you handle your used masks to avoid introducing viruses from the outside of the mask into your living space. I realize that the literature on viral survival on surfaces basically gave up early in the pandemic when no one could agree on what to test for, but the notion that a virus is magically rendered inert when touching any surface other than the nasal mucus membranes is simply ridiculous. Putting an outside-contaminated mask into, for example, a plastic bag or container just provides, as it moves around, an opportunity for the virus to move to the inside surface and there to be available to inhale. It makes me crazy to not have credible data on how long this might be possible. Absent useful data, we keep a set of big yogurt tubs with holes drilled in them (so the moisture can dry out) and a used mask goes into one to be aged a week or two before being reused. I generally have a set of about four I cycle through, but we add more to the rotation if we've had to be out a lot. And then, after handling a used mask, wash our hands thoroughly without touching anything in between.
Finally, I find it useful to focus on air exchange rather than the simple "outdoors." We have a bike trail near my house that goes through the woods along a creek bottom where there is never a breeze, especially in winter. It's very heavily used by runners and bicycles, and I question how much virus-laden air turnover is really happening there. I don't have a CO2 monitor, which could help answer that question, of course, so I simply mask up, even if outdoors, if I don't feel the air is moving enough to provide rapid viral dilution.