Why do so many Asians wear surgical masks?

I believe it is more of a courtesy thing. When they have a cold or flu they are keeping others from breathing their germs.

Yes I am visiting LA and I am surprised to see so many wearing it.

I’m like, bitch, your facial mask does t have a desmogifier.

I always thought it arose from the gas attacks on the train in japan in... the 90s?

It's kind of a big fashion accessory here in Asia, and I guess Americans following the trends back in their home countries have brought the admittedly bizarre fad over.

It's not just the Japanese, although they are most often seen there. When I went to China they wore them there too.

It arose from the SARS epidemics in Asia.

I was living in China during the SARS epidemic. I was told to wear a mask if outside. I found it very claustrophobic and it felt dirty.

It's to keep their breath from offending others. Lack of calcium in their diet means soft teeth, lack of protein means soft gums. Plus their phenotype is known for weak/small underdeveloped jaws, likely due to the lack of red meat in their diet historically, so flossing is almost impossible for them. Then you put them in America, where they are inundated with grains, which erode teeth, and sugar, which promotes plaque, and remind yourself that they only brush three or four times a week, if that, and you have a recipe for nasty breath.

But do those masks even keep out viruses? I can't imagine it would that effective.

I had an Asian neighbor, when I lived in my apartment.. back right after 911 and the anthrax threat, would leave her apartment wearing a mask and a full hazmat suit. It was bizarre.

Because they studied hard, got good grades, and went to med school?

Because they're surgeons, Rose.

I see at least one or two people daily wearing these... always Asian.

r2, your a fkin idiot. Asians are very practical people. And they know they won't spread their germs to others in densely populated cities. Most Americans are much too pretentious to entertain the thought.

I guess the masks make them feel better, a false sense of security for keeping out germs... like putting toilet paper on the toilet seat, before using.

[quote] I believe it is more of a courtesy thing. When they have a cold or flu they are keeping others from breathing their germs.

This is what I heard also. And I first noticed it in Japan back in the 1980s, long before SARS or gas attacks.

But it got me wondering, if people with colds wear face masks to avoid infecting others, why do people still get colds? Unlike what R14 says, I don't think it is all the unsanitary gaijin, running around unmasked, spreading our germs. According to the NHC, you're infectious before you even have symptoms.

So, yeah, so while it does stop the spread of germs once your symptomatic, it will never stop the spread of colds, Plus, it's a courtesy thing.

[quote] The common cold is infectious from a few days before your symptoms appear until all of the symptoms are gone. Most people will be infectious for around two weeks.

[quote] Why do so many Asians wear surgical masks?m

So they can’t smell your pussy, OP!

But come on, how likely is it that SO MANY PEOPLE at once have colds or viruses? I think it's just become so ingrained into their culture (wearing masks) that they don't think twice about it now.

What is the “dental hygienist” idiot talking about?

Who the fuck cares. This is such a dumb thread. Wearing a mask prevents the spread of germs, its not going to obliterate the flu or any other viruses altogether. I swear, some of you queens on this site are like dumb blondes.

When I lived in China, the masks were about countering the effects of pollution. Not that a cloth mask is going to do a damn thing when your city looks like the picture below, but they found some psychological comfort in it I guess.

And to the person upthread who mentioned not spreading germs: I highly doubt the Chinese give two fucks about spreading germs, considering they spit wherever they happen to be -- including inside train stations and restaurants -- and sometimes blow their noses without Kleenex. I know it's much different in Japan and Korea, but the Chinese are not know for their sense of a social contract.

R19 it sounded scientifically plausible. I found it somewhat interesting, but bizarre.

I always wear a balaclava and sunglasses when I'm outside to avoid the damaging rays of the sun but I've often worried about the UV that must hit my lips through the aperture for the mouth. I'm going to get a supply of surgical masks so my lips remain as young and dewy as the rest of my face.

It keeps them from inhaling fingernail and toenail dust at work.

Try this one, R23.

Don't want to make a spectacle of myself, R25 !

OP supposedly doesn't know the reason for the medical masks. OP would never dare set foot in asia because she knows that asians look down on black people and make no excuses for it. Hence her preoccupation. Seeing a theme here DL?

In such circumstances, I always think of my Dad. His ship was sunk in the Mediterranean in 1944 by a uboat. It must have been filthy, and he survived. Likewise my uncle in WWI, fighting in French trenches.

I think the masks are silly.

I always thought it was so they wouldn't catch cold or flu from other people.

R28/OP you are undoubtedly the sickest fuck i've ever encountered.

SHARSH

R27 wtf are you talking about, troll?

[QUOTE]Asians are very practical people. And they know they won't spread their germs to others in densely populated cities

The Chinese are the filthiest people on this planet, they don't give a shit about spreading their germs .

r33, Did I say Chinese. I said Asians. Asians include whole lot of countries in addition to China. Why don't you look at fkin map for Christ sake.

^True, Japan and S Korea are some of the cleanest, most practical places I've visited.

They hate foreigners, though.

I was recently in a small town in Norway and went up to the mountain. There was a group Asians wearing their masks. It was probably clearest air in this planet, it was a bit rainy day which is regular weather there, but they were wearing those dirty masks. I was weird. You can take water from stream and drink it, it’s crystal clear. Same thing with the air, very clear.

The strangest thing is that with so many wearing them no one has a definite answer. Nobody knows an Asian who wears one that they can just ASK them why?

^I've tried but I can't understand but can't understand them, and can't read their lips because they're hidden behind a damn surgical mask.

r37, I do and I've told you the guys the reason as well as numerous other posters on here. This must be a troll. End of thread.

R39, which one was your answer?

I know in Japan, they wear it coz they have a cold and don't want to pass it to others. That's what I was told when I visited the country when I was a child.

My dad was a child in London in the 40s and said it was common to see people wearing masks due to the smog.

As a frequent visitor to Asia, I can tell you that you see masks all over Asia. I agree with the poster up-thread that I first saw them around the time of SARS (2004-2006). Now you see them everywhere and it's more about avoiding common cold and flu germs on the crowded trains, buses, elevators, etc. Cities in Asia are generally very crowded with lots of people packed into tight quarters. Recently you see them as a way to contend with pollution, especially in Beijing, Shanghai, etc.

NOT trying t make this a race thing, honest, but it's common to see Asians in NYC wearing these masks. Strange, yes, but not unexpected. But if I, a white male, were to walk around with one I'm sure I'd get all kinds of crazy looks.

Wacko Jacko was a fan of the look.

I heard someone say the mask helped them breathe because the country they were in has such poor air quality due to pollution. Perhaps they assume urban cities in the US will also be polluted so they keep wearing the mask?

I always thought that the hands were the red zone for viral & bacterial contagion, rather than the mouth (unless you are kissing the contaminated or are standing within a foot of their mouth). Only if everyone hand sanitizers and wears gloves constantly then a strain of superbug will arise to wipe us all out. So.

[quote] Japan and S Korea are some of the cleanest, most practical places I've visited. They hate foreigners, though.

Is this still the case with younger people (I.e. Millennials and younger)? I thought this attitude was dying out.

During the 1918 flu pandemic that killed about 50 million there was this small town in the US, I believe it was in the mid-west. The mayor and the people of the town closed it off in that no one from outside the town was allowed in and no one from the town was allowed out. Well about half the town died of the flu. How, not from anything airborne, but from THE MAIL! No one thought to wash their hands after handling the U.S. mail, including the mail carrier. He died too.

I lived in Japan and I can exclusively reveal that they wear the masks to disguise the tentacles. Once every year for three days, every Japanese person grows tentacles from their mouths. They wear the mask as a courtesy to others during that time.

Wake up, don mask, go about your day texting on a touchscreen that acts as Petri dish.

Lol @ r50

This thread... oh my /// Yes pollution/dusty air, not wanting to spread and catch germs, etc. are surely some of the reasons (hygiene, consideration) but not all. Well I don't know/care about China and their hygiene (?). But in case of South Korea and Japan... several other reasons.

Looks are very important - harsh judgment from work, society, attitude from very self-critical to the constant humblebrag (?) "I look so ugly today". It's the thing - not looking good as best as you can with makeup/style is almost very rude, offensive, not polite to other people's eyesight or sth. Not all have this attitude but it's subconsciously prevalent, even when they just joke about it.

Some normal young girls in Japan said in interviews that they wear them because they feel so ugly. Not surprising. Excessive consideration about what others judge, excessive "semimasen"/politeness. Then even so many decent/goodlooking ones in South Korea use the mask as they use the sunglasses: because they feel their faces are not suitable, done or done perfectly for outside that day.

Or many just want to roam about freely/comfortably without others looking at them for their self-perceived ugliness/beauty, not fully made-up/ready faces or whatever. Many kpop idols/influencers do that (for comfort? like sunglasses). Naturally so many follow (not to mention all those Chinese/Southeast Asians following kpop/kbeauty).

Then young feminists hate many of their gross male mass in the street and don't want those men to eyerape/look at them.

So Asians abroad are likely do that in places like Norway due to either from the habit, comfort, self-consciousness among themselves - tour group/friends (less about what foreigners think/judge), its accessory status (it's also just a style) or a combination of bits of them all.

Ok incredible, they want to disappear behind the mask, kind of like wearing a burka can be for some women. That's quite an insight.

I lived in South Korea for a number of years about thirty years ago.

There were several health related reasons.

The Koreans' primary form of home heating was burning coal charcoals. It was like living in a coal mine - after breathing in that air for an extended period black streaks started appearing in mucus I coughed up. I think Koreans wore masks to limit their exposure to the coal dust in the air.

Also, Koreans wear those masks to prevent spreading germs when they are sick. That's a matter of courtesy and hygiene.

Last, the number of cars on the road increased so much over there that some days there was too much sulfuric acid in the air. The elderly and young children were warned to stay in doors due to potential damage to their lungs. I would imagine the Koreans between those two age groups especially wore those masks on those days.

I loved living in Korea, but fossil fuels did a number on the air quality as their economy improved. Taxis used to be the primary form of transportation until more and more people could afford their own car. The country is too small for the amount of traffic it produces.

[quote] Some normal young girls in Japan said in interviews that they wear them because they feel so ugly.

Link?

R57, it was something I saw long ago casually, sorry. Maybe other have seen it? I might try to search but I really have no idea where.

[quote] Why do so many Asians wear surgical masks?

Duh. To make it even harder to tell them apart.

I want to order some for raking leaves!

For r57 ...

Maybe it's because they regret having their teeth messed up ...