7 Common Facemask Struggles And What To Do About Them

If you've had to pull down your facemask to lick your fingers so you can get the plastic produce bag to open at the grocery store, you are not alone.  But there may be a fix.

I'm doing my best to mask up for you as you are masking up for me, but there are times when I struggle. Like in the grocery store when I need to put avocados in a plastic bag, and I can't, for the life of me, get the plastic bag to open without licking my fingers. One time I swear I stood in the produce section for five minutes trying to get that clingy plastic sleeve to give me some daylight, but I did nothing but watch my fingers slide down each side of the plastic seventy-five times before finally giving up and sliding my mask down so I could lick my fingers and create some moisture to get a grip on the bag and open it up.  A problem we did not have a year ago.

There are probably hundreds of daily facemask struggles that are never talked about, but because you're busy and can't be here all day, we'll whittle the list down to seven and come up with a few solutions that will hopefully keep us all safe, happy, and semi-sane.

7 Common Facemask Struggles And What To Do About Them

1.  You can't lick your fingers to open an impossible produce bag.  Rather than continuing to rub to create friction on the bag, wait for the timed vegetable mister to start up and use some of those sprays to wet your fingers.

2.  Your voice is muffled and people can't understand what you're saying.  Aside from carrying around a microphone and amplifier, this is a tough one.  But pulling the mask away just a smidge seems to help.

3.  Your breath is bad so you chew gum, and then your eyes water from the mint fumes.  Breath mints can battle the breath problem as well as gum, and you can keep the fumes in check if you keep your mouth closed.  Easier said than done, I know.

4.  You have cause to blow.  Whether you want to blow a bubble, blow a kiss, whistle, or exhale to relieve stress, blowing is a challenge and the air is a boomerang.  To avoid feeling deprived because of this lost ability, I've started treating myself to hard candy.  Sucking on a Werthers helps me forget that I can't blow effectively.

5.  A sneeze catches you by surprise.  There is no good way to sneeze behind a mask, and reflexes tell you to take the mask off so you can sneeze freely.  But since that defeats the purpose of the mask, you've got point-two seconds to create six feet of separation and bury your face into your elbow.

6. You need to drink through a straw.  The worst is when you are so excited to get a drink of Diet Coke that you forget you have a mask on and discover the barrier the hard way.  The straw goes in and takes the mask with it and you get a mouth full of cotton.  But usually eating and drinking are allowed without a mask, so the only trick is remembering that.

7. You can't breathe.  Again, this is a tough one, but it's a matter of trying different masks until you find one that works.  The best one I've found for breathability is the 32 Degrees Cool facemask from Costco.  It's cool, and the air seems to get through better than most.

Sometimes I look around and can't believe I'm living in a world of face coverings, but at the same time, if mask-wearing allows us to get out of the house and buy avocados I'll do it, even if getting the plastic bag open is a struggle.

We've adjusted to a million things in the past year, and the facemask is a work in progress.  How long do you think we'll have to wear them?  That seems to be the biggest unknown of all.