Nobody fucking believes me that putting on a mask helps the wearer stop coughing and sneezing.
Coughing and sneezing are generally caused by the body trying to clear irritants. And very frequently, this irritation is exacerbated by dusts and pollens in the air. So by wearing a mask, you can cut down on the thing that is further triggering your cough and sneeze. Further, masks also condition the air and make the air you're breathing in moister, which reduces further irritation of the lungs.
If you were dusting, and the dust was making you sneeze, you could put on a mask and make the sneezing stop. (Note: a startling number of people also refuse to believe this, even though it's really obvious that "keep the dust out of your face" reduces "sneezing because there is dust in your face".) If you're already irritated, you can end up getting triggered by a lower threshold of dust.
When I have a cough, one of the first things I do is mask up, even when I'm entirely alone. Because if I'm not actually sick, the mask will often cut the coughing to zero (especially if my cough is asthma-based). And if I am sick, it'll cut it dramatically (and reduce post-nasal drip, which causes more coughing).
I have convinced exactly one person of this. Yes, masking is uncomfortable. (It helps a lot if you have a comfortable mask, though.) But also, so is coughing a lot, which also happens to spray gross stuff into the air.
For your own sake, put on a mask and stop complaining about how uncomfortable you are because you keep coughing.
I promise, it really works.
