Ugly Mask Update

[attackfish]

Allergy Face Mask by ~Attackfish on deviantART


Not only was the mask I talked about in my previous entry ugly, it was really uncomfortable.  It had a seem right under my chin that rubbed all the skin off, and the elastic irritated some old scar tissue of mine behind my ears. So I bought a bundle of cotton fabric, nylon thread, and some cheap beads, and made this instead. It holds the same carbon filter as the mask I bought, and I cannibalized pieces of that mask, such as the metal nose piece and the buckles for the ear straps, for this one.

I'd like to thank penguin_attie for suggesting I make my own mask. It's the perfect solution. I didn't like the idea of hiding my assistive equipment for a number of ideological reasons, but the other mask was ugly, and kind of frightening (and uncomfortable) so now I still have my visible assistive device, and it gets to be pretty too.

Comments

[amyraine.livejournal.com]

That is gorgeous. I don't know how much of a market there is for pretty assistive equipment but I know I'd buy that. Maybe you should go into business.

Some time ago I had a discussion on an unrelated blog about the illegality of face covering in most areas due to scares over secret terrorists and the like. We weren't talking about people with medical needs, we were discussing those who wore face covers for religious reasons, but do you ever get problems from police, security, store managers etc. over your mask?

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

I deeply dislike sewing, and find it extremely frustrating, but I wish somebody else would go into business doing it.

Campus police at my college are a relatively liberal bunch, especially for cops, and I made sure they knew me because of my seizures, and I brought them all homemade cookies last time I had a seizure and they got me an ambulance, so no problems there. Most of the time, I come off as odd rather than threatening, because I'm white, blonde, under 5 feet and frequently on oxygen, but I've had store personnel and the like tell me that if I'm sick, I should leave, and treat me like a plague carrier. Explaining that genetic diseases aren't contagious, and that it's me catching something from them, or reacting to an allergen that is the concern tends to go over like a lead balloon.

And I have to wear it in airports and on planes. Airports are hell for me for many reasons, but the people convinced I'm going to blow up a plane are definitely high up there. Actually, whoever thinks a terrorist would cover their face for that kind of thing has clearly not thought it through. Covering your face gets you noticed and remembered too quickly.