A friend ives in the Face Mask Capital of the World. with his German wife. He tells me they must don the symbol of the New Normal when “in stores, waiting rooms and public buildings” or face fines of up to €10,000.

“Do you find it difficult to breathe?” I asked him.

“The breathing side doesn’t really bother me since I wear the mask under my nose,” he replied.

It surprised me to hear that such a compromise would be deemed acceptable. ”Technically speaking, no,” he says, “but so far nobody’s given me any trouble. [My wife], however, was reprimanded once in a shop by an older woman.” 

Not only does this hack avoid the negative health consequences of mask wearing; it also encourages nasal breathing which provides definite protection against airborne invaders. 

For example, let’s start with the nose hairs: “Nose hairs trap dirt, viruses, bacteria and toxins until we blow them out, sneeze, or swallow,” reports Popular Science. But those difficult to trim nose hairs are just the first line of defence against the coronavirus and any other pathogens. 

Backing up the nose hairs we find the cilia: ”Our nostrils are lined with tiny hairs called cilia that protect our body from roughly 20 billion foreign invaders per day… They are quite busy keeping our lungs clear of airborne bacteria and viruses like COVID-19,” writes Ed Harrold, a faculty member of the Medical Wellness Association.

The Merck Manual agrees: “Usually, the mucus traps incoming dirt particles, which are then moved by the cilia toward the front of the nose or down the throat to be removed from the airway. This action helps clean the air before it goes to the lungs.”

Filtering the air, however, is only one of many health benefits derived from nasal breathing 24/7 (more in future posts). Sadly, proper breathing doesn’t seem to be a part of my Canadian government’s $88 million dollars propaganda budget for COVID-19 ”health advice.”