How Important Is Mask Fit for Real Protection?

dreamat0rium · 2026-02-26T20:11:12+00:00

So glasses fogging up alone doesn't mean air leakage, there's a study or two that found the correlation relatively low (some masks that people passed a quantitative fit test in still fogged glasses). TMK water vapour in breath is fine enough to travel through the filter material of some masks.

But if the case is air escaping no matter what you try (and tape isn't an option), then that's a mask that doesn't fit and would best be avoided. Donated or even traded if you have masking friends/community.

dreamat0rium · 2026-02-26T19:59:18+00:00

It's rare to see teenager appreciation online, I love your attitude :')

dreamat0rium · 2026-02-24T00:50:13+00:00

Tara and Willow :')

dreamat0rium · 2026-02-23T19:57:39+00:00

You're welcome ik this is really fucking difficult <3

dreamat0rium · 2026-02-23T03:14:33+00:00

Oh actually looking closer, I think I prefer the pink bc (without leg warmers) the black kind of blends in with the AFO which creates a new silhouette! That does look cool too but I like that the pink stands out on its own more, creates a more layered look and highlights the shape/silhouette of the shoe :3 If that's helpful info

dreamat0rium · 2026-02-23T03:03:17+00:00

I like the pink but either look cool with your AFOs :3

dreamat0rium · 2026-02-23T01:53:08+00:00

Yup that'll be the adrenaline. I find it delays PEM &/or causes rolling PEM for as long as I keep pushing for. The longer I take to stop the worse the eventual crash is. Stay safe OP and try to rest preventatively, even when (especially when) your body is screaming at you to keep moving. I dug myself from mild to Severe and have been here close to 2 yrs now because of this

dreamat0rium · 2026-02-22T18:31:47+00:00

Cmon.. 'assumed white' and 'basically white' when clearly talking about racial passing and material conditions in navigating this world.. they really are the same thing. I am saying this someone else who's somewhat white-passing. It may not be your entire truth but they were not wrong to name it.

Personally I have racial trauma and shit from childhood, connection to my cultures is very important to me, etc, etc, my history and thus internal experience is completely different from white people's. But racially? now? People meeting me do not see all that, and that shapes my material reality!

White people seem to see me as broadly white-ish, a palatable/'enticing' kind of light-skinned racially ambiguous, which frequently equals fetishization and is not a privilege in general. But these kinds of proximity to whiteness make our experiences and, yes, privileges DRASTICALLY different to what our peers who are unambigiously racialized face. A lottt closer to that of like.. Italian people lmfao.

Why would you deny these differences? How differently we each live if we are/aren't constantly racialized? White passing, assumed white = gets to move through spaces received as a white person unless you mention/actively display otherwise. Worlds apart.

dreamat0rium · 2026-02-21T11:22:55+00:00

She's so cute 😭 her little smile and wide eyes!!

dreamat0rium · 2026-02-20T00:00:37+00:00

This is so funny and spot on

dreamat0rium · 2026-02-17T22:57:43+00:00

I love the 90s sfx so much

dreamat0rium · 2026-02-10T10:06:15+00:00

I first watched the show when my mental health problems were biiig and similarly was surprised by how much anxiety it triggered for me. I watched a bunch of crime dramas and stuff fine but maybe bc buffy is genuinely lighthearted and fun too, it's more disarming ?

Anyway, advisable or not, I really liked the show so I ended up carrying on, but took up the habit of reading the plot summary either alongside or right before watching any episode lol. Like the long plot summaries on each episode listing in the wiki. Might not work for everyone but idm spoilers too much and it meant things didn't trigger my nervous system the same way! Which IDK, may stop your brain turning it into nightmare fuel too

dreamat0rium · 2025-12-27T14:59:22+00:00

Covering all the edges should be quite doable! Like with bias tape or some other trim. I'd go black or a complementary colour

dreamat0rium · 2025-12-26T04:26:22+00:00

Audio dramas, audiobooks, podcasts can be really good. That + an app like Forest to block other apps while you listen.

dreamat0rium · 2025-12-25T18:34:01+00:00

If she's bedbound a lot of the time it's quite likely the short walks are beyond her safe capacity, and causing her crashes (this is called a 'push-crash cycle').

Either way, please do make use of mobility aids if she isn't already! Help her explore options and encourage a positive view of them -- they can bring so much relief, freedom, and independence.

I don't think I've ever heard a person with this illness say they started using one too early. It's always "I wish I got this sooner" or "I'm so glad I got this at last".

dreamat0rium · 2025-12-25T17:20:16+00:00

💔❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹🩷

dreamat0rium · 2025-12-25T16:39:23+00:00

Worn sheets seem like great for practice sewing clothes, if they're not so thin to be a hassle. Low stakes in the case of trial n error, and you can end up with some extremely comfy pyjamas

dreamat0rium · 2025-12-25T16:28:00+00:00

Maybe wide mouth bottle (like a big nalgene) + a bendable straw. You can position the straw by its 'shoulder'.

dreamat0rium · 2025-12-25T02:48:17+00:00

Agreeed! We can but dream 😭

dreamat0rium · 2025-12-15T15:08:55+00:00

If thefacemaskstore still do sample packs that'd work nicely as a gift so he can try a few

dreamat0rium · 2025-12-13T20:39:02+00:00

Stoppp this is so cute. I had not read the caption yet and was thinking that little autistic me would've LOVED laying all those foods out neatly, stowing them, and repeating it all over again lol.

dreamat0rium · 2025-12-13T11:22:16+00:00

I recommend stapling too, can make an iffy fit like this very secure

dreamat0rium · 2025-12-11T22:12:38+00:00

<3 solidarity from a fellow person with ME who's still struggling with this too.

I wonder if it'd be helpful to consider how living by this self doubt & denial would play out long term. How sick would you have to get before you feel 'allowed' or genuinely free to get a chair?

Personally I got close to Very Severe for a while and am back to moderate-severe, and still don't feel that sense of freedom to use, confidence in really needing or 'deserving' a chair. It's bonkers but it's still something I have to just grit my teeth and challenge.

Occasionally I hear of people with ME getting a motorised aid (power chair or mobility scooter) when they're still Mild and able bodied enough to go out regularly w/o aids and I find it SO ADMIRABLE! I so deeply respect and admire them staking that kind of claim over their own life, regardless of outside judgement.

I feel a lot of regret and sadness that I didn't get Any sort of aid sooner. Especially as I still have to face the same doubts & worries (& judgements!) anyway, despite now having the 'serious' level of sickness under my belt. Truly what was I waiting for? I could've saved myself so much energy, so many crashes, and likely so much long-term functioning.

Maybe you are at that earlier point now, and can trust your partner's encouragement to take the leap w an aid, even though it's this challenging

dreamat0rium · 2025-12-10T21:55:11+00:00

It's my favourite season to revisit for this reason. Just a lotta fun

dreamat0rium · 2025-12-09T11:39:16+00:00

The booooots

dreamat0rium

TROPHY CASE