The New York Post reports:
Wearing a mask is not dangerous, and it won’t affect your breathing.But this is a strawman argument---at least as to my questions concerning mask-wearing.
A doctor put this to the test, recording himself and monitoring his blood oxygen level — as he layered on six masks.
As mask-wearing suggestions and mandates have become commonplace to stop the spread of the coronavirus, a medical myth has spread that sporting a mask stops oxygen from getting into the bloodstream, possibly causing brain damage.
“Getting asked ‘Does wearing a face mask lower your oxygen levels’ repeatedly by patients today!” Dr. Maitiu O Tuathail of Dublin, Ireland, posted on Twitter last week. “I managed to get six face masks on + it had no effect on my oxygen levels!”
Maybe normal oxygen levels do pass through to the blood but this says nothing about how much more strain is put on our systems to get the job done.
Further, it says nothing about how much additional carbon dioxide and ethanol we breathe in because of mask-wearing. It fails to explain what, if anything, such additional toxin loads do to our lungs if such gaseous waste reenters our system.
And it fails to explain the government exemptions from mask-wearing of those who have certain medical conditions. If there are no consequences to normal breathing from wearing a mask, why are there exemptions?
The so-called experiment is absurd and does not at all justify the claim that "Wearing a mask is not dangerous, and it won’t affect your breathing."
The demonstration proves nothing. For example, a 2014 study whose results were peer-reviewed and published in the Medical Science Monitor found that "SpO2 [oxygen saturation] showed no difference between the smoker group and the non-smoker group."
That there was no difference in oxygen saturation between smokers and non-smokers does not mean the conclusion can be reached that smoking is not dangerous, and it won’t affect your breathing.
The above six-masked experiment is a goofy, failed demonstration at a very basic level.
-RW
UPDATE
Also see: Effects of Masks on Cardiopulmunary Exercise Capacity
And what about duration. Wear six masks for six monthes for six hours a day and then check you blood oxygen and vitals.
ReplyDeleteThis is genuine prop-aganda!
ReplyDeleteDavid
Doctors never cease to prove to me they are mechanically stupid. Filtering causes resistance to flow. It's basic engineering. There will be a pressure drop across the mask (filter). Maybe it could be chalked up to specialization back decades ago but today this information is online for anyone who looks.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with the people commenting on here is that they are using logic & common sense. That is no longer allowed in this country. If the criminal Fauci and his legions said tomorrow that eating your own feces once a day, millions of dutiful fear crazed zombies would do it.
DeleteLet’s say that masking is effective in protecting people from C-19 and similar bugs and does not adversely affect the health of the masked. We still do not need to be masked. Even based on the pumped up stats they are giving us for infection rates and more importantly death rates, C-19 is the equivalent of past flu seasons when no masking, anti-social distancing and LD’s were needed.
ReplyDeleteHe’s in a temperature controlled environment and not exerting any effort. And if six masks don’t inhibit oxygen then how on earth do they protect?
ReplyDeleteThe doctor is an idiot. He can put 100 surgical masks on top of each other and it still won't matter because air goes AROUND the mask. Surgical masks are not filters, they are spittle shields, totally useless against airborne viral diseases.
ReplyDelete