My first experience wearing a face mask didn't end up too well, and I'm pretty sure it left me feeling quite ill afterwards.
It started off ok, I took one of my new pack of 50 disposable masks, put it in a clean plastic bag in my shopping bag. I didn't wear it down the street but there was hardly anyone around and most seemed to be keeping a good distance. I put my mask on as I entered the shopping centre, as I was going to pick up a parcel from Big W and Woolies was asking people to please wear a mask.
I was fine wearing it, and didn't feel that I couldn't breathe but found it restricted my vision, especially when I needed to get my ID or phone out of my bag. When I looked down all I could see was the mask, I couldn't see my bag at all, I had to turn sideways to see my bag. All in all though the mask wearing experience was fine in the store so I thought I'll walk the two blocks home wearing it. Well it didn't turn out that way.
I get to the first traffic lights, press the button, all fine. Then I look down and couldn't see the ground in front of me. That's when everything changed.
This is how I described it to a friend in an email to her.
QUOTE I went down the street this afternoon and collected the thermometer,
it's so tiny, I think it was meant for children, but if it works, it
works I suppose.
Not long home and it's hard to see because I have a visual migraine
with all the jagged lines going over my line of vision. And I feel so nauseous.
It was the most people I've seen with masks on so far , most of the
staff at Big W was wearing one.
The breathing felt ok but it was hard to see down, ie it was obscuring
my vision of the floor and where my feet were and hard to see
something in your bag.
I had planned to walk home wearing it but I got really dizzy near the
traffic lights and couldn't see down to where my feet were, I felt
nauseous like I was about to throw up and felt I was about to fall because I
lost the visual clue of being able to see the ground I was standing on
or even the ground in front of me or where my body was in relation to
my surroundings.
I felt myself not knowing where my body was and lurched a bit to one
side, feeling I was going to fall and be violently sick.
I decided to take it off and I was okay then but still felt nauseous
walking the rest of the way home. Pretty sure this was the cause of
my visual migraine. All in all I wonder if I am one of those people
who have problems wearing masks. I might google it later.
Been home for awhile now and still feel nauseous and still have those jagged lines in my vision.
END QUOTE
Is it just me or has anything like that happened to anyone ?
I know I used to get travel sickness and sometimes get nauseous when things are moved around. Like when my friend rearranged my desk in my computer room so it wasn't straight but was on the diagonal in the corner. As soon as I walked into the room I suddenly felt dizzy and nauseous.
Same thing happened when we went to Aldi in a neighbouring town. Their Aldi was a reverse of how ours was set up and I felt the same thing, dizzy and nauseous.
I'm sort of scared to wear the mask again, outside of a store, or anywhere near traffic. I came so close to falling, and felt really embarrassed
