Wait, Stop! Don’t Toss Those Masks Just Yet

You know that pile of pandemic masks you were about to toss in the trash?

Don’t!

Multiple studies have proven the value of masks in slowing the transfer of COVID viruses. And now that Mayor Adams has removed the last of the City mask mandates, if you are one of the nearly 20 million Americans with seasonal allergies, there’s still good reason to wear one. Lenox Hill Hospital family medicine doc Eric Ascher wants you to know that a mask that covers your nose and your mouth definitely reduces your risk of breathing in the tree, grass and weed pollens that send your immune system into overdrive producing antibodies that active cells which release histamine triggering the familiar Spring sneezes and itchy eyes.

Two years ago, when Israeli researchers asked a group of nurses with seasonal allergies whether wearing a mask made a difference, the answer was, “You bet!” Their enthusiasm was based in large part on the specific mask they were wearing. As NYU Langone Health allergist Purvi Parikh explains, pollen particles are in the range of 10-100 micrometers. In one recent Centers for Disease Control study, the famous N95 surgical mask–actually more accurately a respirator–blocked 99% of even smaller particles that would otherwise assault your nose. The more comfortable cloth masks? 51 percent. Not perfect, but as all agree, still protective, although serious allergic reactions such as coughing, wheezing and a tightness in your chest require serious medical attention, not just a better mask.

That’s the good news. The other side of the picture is that how well any mask works depends, as we’ve been told repeatedly for nearly three years of the pandemic, on how well you keep it securely in place–no gaps, no slips. You already know you need to wear it when you need it, which this Spring means whenever you’re outside in that lovely fresh–but allergic–air. And clean counts. In hospitals, there are precise chemical and physical way to clean the N95 surgical masks. Unless you run a lab in your apartment kitchen, out here in the Real World, your job is to wash your cloth mask frequently and maybe even use a new one every few days to avoid putting a pollen polluted covering right back on your face.

Moving up and past the nose, more than half of the people with pollen problems will have red and itchy eyes. No mask for that, of course, but sunglasses can help, especially if you are wearing contacts. Again, the physical barrier’s not perfect (think gaps at top, bottom and sides) but it’s still somewhat protective.

But there’s one possible year-round allergen: the mask itself. Generally this allergy is due to just one material which can set off symptoms ranging from skin rashes to swelling of the throat and maybe even difficulty breathing. Solving that one’s easy: Switch masks. Unless the problem isn’t an allergy at all. Wearing a mask may also dry your nasal tissues which is uncomfortable but not allergic. Or what looks like an allergy could be plain old acne triggered by sweat and bacteria clogging mask-covered pores. Or a rash may be caused by the constant friction of the mask rubbing against your face. No surprise that these last two have been more common among health care professionals wearing high-grade, close-fitting masks day, night and in-between during the pandemic. If they happen to you, your best bet is a visit to your friendly neighborhood dermatologist.

On the way, be sure to pack a pack or tissues in your pocket for the inevitable a-choo.

Sorry about that.