Hello! Your local air quality expert here chiming in... (please read this post with a lighthearted tone so that I don't come across sounding like a b*tch)
Masks do more to protect other people from YOU than they do to protect you from THEM. The basic blue medical ear loops masks are not designed to filter out airborne particles that are small enough to get trapped in our airways. The exception would be if you're wearing a dust mask (the kind that resemble an athletic supporter)
That being said, I wear a mask on airplanes and here's why: I get fewer disgusted looks from other passengers when I cough. Even though I know that I'm not contagious, they don't know that, and so to be courteous and protect them from the imaginary cooties, I wear a mask.
The type of mask that would truly protect you is the heavy, custom fitted ventilation mask. I really doubt that's the kind you are wearing in public.
If you're concerned about being in places where other people may be leaving their germs, then you may want to consider:
a) sequester yourself from everything and everyone thereby missing out on ENJOYING what life has to offer
b) take reasonable precautions such as carrying a hand sanitizing solution in your purse
c) don't touch things like drinking fountains, doorknobs, elevator buttons etc.
d) avoid touching your face/mouth/eyes after coming in contact with things of questionable sterility
Last but not least, and I mean this with the utmost sensitivity and sincerity, if you really are missing out of life because you feel like you can't go anywhere without a mask or something, there's no shame in looking into whether you may have OCD. Sometimes being overly germ conscious isn't just part of the territory of having CF--it's part of a separate isssue. I was diagnosed with OCD about 18 months ago and have done really well now that it's being treated.
