So lets run through a few myths and a truth.
Thats why you dont let children put plastic bags over their heads.
But a mask is not a plastic bag.
Its from the physical effort of having tobreathe harderto get enough air through the mask material.
Even cloth or surgical masks can sometimes feel uncomfortable when they get damp or warm from your breath.
But thats not a health risk.
Not at all, she said.
I have healthcare workers who wear N95’s all day, she said.
They dont run into those issues.
So Im not quite sure where [the concern about hypercapnia] comes from.
Myth: you could get sick from breathing your exhaled viruses
This is a weird one.
It turned up inPlandemic, which claimed that a mask activates the viruses you breathe out.
Not only does that make basically zero sense, it presumes that you are breathing out the COVID-19 virus.
If thats the case, yourealreadysick, so how could the mask pose a further danger to you?
But just in case I was missing something, I asked Popescu about this, too.
Maybe there was some grain of truth that inspired the myth?
Could masks possibly exacerbate viral illnesses in some way?
Thats not how it works.
Myth: Masks cant block viruses
Viruses are very, very small.
Not just microscopic, but so small that typical microscopes cannot see them at all.
Clearly, its not going to stop viruses from getting through individually.
Ive heard people liken the phenomenon to bees through a chain link fence.
But thats not an accurate description of whats going on.
Viruses dont fly around like bees.
The virus that causes COVID-19 leaves our bodies as part of respiratory droplets.
Think about someone sneezing in a beam of sunlight.
Youd see millions of tiny bits of mucus/saliva/god-knows-what glimmering as they spewed forward and floated gently to the ground.
Those are respiratory droplets.
Cloth masksdostop respiratory droplets.
You dont wear a mask for your protection.
Masks work best to minimize (not completely stop) the spread of thewearers germs.
My mask protects you; your mask protects me.
So to wear your mask responsibly, it’s crucial that you be aware of its limitations.
Wearing one is still probably better than nothing, though.
But masks arent a substitute for the other good practices, like physical distancing.
Keep your distanceandwear your mask, and youll be doing your best to keep others safe.
