Mask irritation (?)

We just returned from 4 days in Vegas— 13-17. We are retired from employment but not from life. However, as a result we don’t wear masks for 12-14 hours a day. But we did last Sunday-Thursday. It wasn’t a problem really once you adjusted to an octopus attached to your face like in a cartoon.
However, after returning and getting out of bed on Friday my nose (which in the following picture appears to unmask me as papa smurf or Doc from the dwarves longing after Snow White) felt to the touch like it did back in the day after getting too much sun without proper precautions. It was rough to the touch and although not blistered like a sunburn had that feeling like it was in the next step after sunburn; it was the feeling one gets when one wonders just when one would begin to peel.
I used lotion (actually my wife’s) on it several times a day.....and finally this morning (Sunday) it is BEGINNING to be less “stressed”. It never actually peeled but I haven’t uncrossed my fingers either.
Again, never had this problem before but only wore masks inside stores or in groups of people while at home but not over an hour at a time. We wore the paper baby blue masks exclusively as well as the occasional bandana. Minor irritation under my eyes was less severe; this area being just along the top border of the mask. I have facial hair and only noticed a slight itching where the mask touched the rest of my body.
After all this rambling I am wondering if anyone else has had this reaction. It is certainly not as severe as you see on faces of first responders that show bruises or near lacerations, but it IS troubling if an accepted inconvenience to taking precautions. And it may just be a one time thing. Thinking back, we did go into em Cortez with the perfume right in the face upon entry. That could be a factor.

 

Wore the same ones you show in pic. No problem for me. Wife had a little irritation under her eyes. We did replace them with new ones about three times a day. I brought down about 30 of them.

 

Maybe switch to a cloth mask in the future. I have not had problems with either type any time (other than adjusting the loops a bit so my ears won't be pinched too much)

 

Yeah, the cheap ones they give out at the casinos are, well... cheap. If you're going out in public with any reasonable frequency, it's worth it to just spend a few bucks on a cloth mask, which also has the benefit of showing a little personality. I'd been rotating through my Vegas Golden Knights masks, which were about $20 for three. Once they got knocked out I moved back to plain black, and then starting 1 October I'm switching to my "VOTE" mask.

 

Thanks. We did wear one mask each day and used two on one day. Appreciate the responses. Wife has some but minimal irritation.

 

I agree with trying cloth masks instead, as you can wash them and remove any possible irritants. My problem is breaking out under the mask which has been VERY annoying.

 

I wore several masks Wynn gave me last month. No irritation, but they were definitely cheap. They seemed to wear down quickly and start sliding down my face

 

It could be you are allergic to the material used in one or more of the masks you wore.

I have to wear a (cloth) mask while at work and the worst I'm getting are chapped lips.

 

Cloth masks here, too. My favorites are 100% cotton that I got from a company that makes t-shirts. They are soft and the ear loops are cotton, too. I have sensitive skin and I haven’t had any irritation from those.

 

Most of the morning shows have had dermatologists on regularly, talking about irritation and maskne and how to prevent and treat. There's a calundula cream by Boiron I want to try - walmart supposed to carry but mine doesn't. Might order online.

 

I googled it to see if the Lone Ranger had this problem and how he prevented it. So far haven't heard anything.

 

His mouth wasn’t generally masked but ok, anything could help...

 

Welcome to my world . In our office we have spritzers of Rose Water. HEB carries a couple of different brands. Wearing masks for extended periods is irritating. I bought Thayers in a spray. It definitely cuts down on the redness and irritation. I also bought a mask spritzer to spray inside of the mask -- sometimes it gets old smelling your breath inside the mask. But the mask spritzer is just for cloth masks -- but I'm a rebel and I spray it inside the cheapo disposables too.

 

All disposable facemarks are not created equal. Some have fibers that irritate the skin, and of course. some are just plan crappy. I would toss yours and either try another brand or use fabric masks.

I am also retired, so when I go to the casino and have to mask up for hours on end, I change my mask every couple hours. It seems to help.

 

I wear various masks and I think I also wear the one you show in the picture. I could be wrong, but Ii you wear it that way I consider it upside down to the way I wear it. I've never had a problem though I'm only wearing it about 4 or 5 hours a day because I'm at home most of the time. When I was in AC I wore it all day and didn't have issues either.

 

Some of those blue “paper” masks, especially the cheap ones, actually have plastic in them because it’s cheaper and easier to mass produce. If I wear them more than an hour or two it starts rubbing my nose raw as well. I keep a few of the blue ones in each car in case I forget, otherwise we use cloth and wash them after each day.

 

could it actually be sunburn? were you ever outside without the mask?

are you forming the top metal piece (assuming there is one) tightly to the contour of the top of your nose?
(which can be a pain combined with wearing glasses)
It's important for a tight seal up there, and also might prevent any up and down chafing.

Are you grabbing a new free mask from everywhere you go into that has them?
sometimes they start "fuzzing up", which is annoying. dump & replace.

my problem is the elastic on the ears all the time, chafing and fighting with my glasses..
the mask extenders recommended in the other mask thread help with the back of the ears, not so much the top.

most comfortable vegas mask out of 5 I've tried, the black ones cosmo gave, not as reassuring as a legit N95, but really easy breathing if you've got good distancing.

 

Did you spray the masks with anything? If so maybe a reaction.

 

If you had your mask off at some point and touched your nose, you may have trapped germs/bacteria underneath when you put your mask back on.