- It seems quite intelligently written Archived Message
- Do face masks pose a risk to the healthy? - margo May 13, 2020, 2:52 pm
Posted by Shyaku
on May 14, 2020, 5:06 pm, in reply to "Do face masks pose a risk to the healthy?"
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The author seems to have done some better-than-average internet research on hypoxia and possible negative effects of mask wearing. First point: I am not sure an N95 was ever supposed to be worn for longer than, say, an ICU shift, or part of a day on a construction site where near a lot of sawdust. Second point: I may be missing something, but it is not very clear to me why wearing an N95 mask would lead to hypoxia. Yes, exhaled breath is humid, and humidity could build up on the inside of the mask cutting air flow, but this presumably takes time if you are not panting, and at least in the old days, when supplies of masks were reasonable, they should be cheap enough to change out if you need to. Third point: Many of the effects cited (like growth of tumors) are longer-term effects. In fact starving a tumor of oxygen in the short term retards tumor growth, only in the long-term it leads to adaptation as described in your post. Fourth point: I would say that if you are infected, quarantine would be the appropriate treatment rather than N95 mask-wearing, and if you have any pre-existing condition you may prefer a surgical mask or one of those face cloth masks to an N95. Not sure the situation if you are infected and in a hospital environment, ie around other people. Maybe the infected person, who may already be hypoxic, only wears a surgical mask? Fifth point: Discomfort maybe comes from the tight fit. They are definitely uncomfortable, and the times I have worn one it felt *great* taking it off. So yeah, everything in moderation. If you are being forced into one of these 8+ hrs/day every day, I would say you are doing the right thing thinking about whether it is ever meant for that. Regards, Shyaku |
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