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

[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.