FACE MASKS MYTHS

The most important infection prevention measure is DISTANCING. The virus travels through the air, remaining suspended for a few seconds when in particulate form, traveling at least up to 6 feet away, even from quiet breathing, so the closer you are to someone, and the longer you are around them, the greater the risks of catching the virus or transmitting it. The recent reports of how airborn (think ‘fog’) and thus how long they can be suspended are conflicting. Most studies show that air samples, after covid positive patients had left a location, did not show any residual particles. That having been said, you should not be near Covid positive people if you can avoid it and if you can’t protect yourself.

The general rule of thumb is 6 feet apart (although recent data suggests that particles can travel even farther) and less than 15 minutes in an enclosed room, of course depending on size and ventilation.The second most impactful safety measure is wearing a mask.

Below are some of the most common myths and misinformation about face masks and their effectiveness.

MYTH: I feel fine. I don’t need a mask.

FACT: The CDC reports that more than 40% of virus transmissions happen before people feel sick. A person can be infected for up to 2 weeks before symptoms develop and spread the virus for up to 48 hours before symptoms arise. These are the “silent spreaders”

MYTH: I don’t need to wear a mask if I physically distance. 

FACT: To be crystal clear, it’s not either a mask or remain 6 feet apart from others. It’s both. Wearing a mask and physically distancing at least 6 feet apart is for everyone’s protection, including yours. Of course you must also take every situation into account. For example, sitting on a beach with a breeze, 6 feet away from your neighbor, a mask is probably overkill.

MYTH: If I am outside, I don’t need to wear a mask.

FACT: Although the likelihood of transmission is much lower outside, especially with a breeze, the chances are not zero. Ventilation and airflow are very important in reducing the likelihood of transmission, especially indoors. As the weather cools, outdoor activities will become less frequent and people will be huddling together more and more making activities more risky.

MYTH: There’s no scientific evidence that masks work.

FACT: Many legitimate scientific studies have been done showing the absolute benefit of wearing a mask. Recommendations made early on in the pandemic have changed as our understanding of viral behavior and transmission has changed. They work. There is no question. Even homemade cotton masks help a great deal. Some snug ones work as well as N95 masks do.

MYTH: Wearing a mask causes you to inhale too much carbon dioxide, which can make you sick. 

FACT: Wearing a cloth mask will not cause dizziness, lightheadedness, and headaches (also known as hypercapnia or carbon dioxide toxicity). Almost all the carbon dioxide passes through the mask, it does not build up inside the mask.  If you feel dizzy or get a headache, you may be dehydrated since wearing a mask doesn’t make it as easy to drink water. Furthermore, wearing a mask tends to favor mouth breathing which is much more dehydrating than nasal breathing. If you have a severe lung condition, that little bit of extra CO2 may put you over the edge but people that are sick are on home oxygen already and are pretty ill. There is even some evidence that re-breathing a small amount of CO2 may actually improve lung function in most people.

MYTH: The only mask worth wearing is a N95 respirator.

FACT: Cloth masks work. Including homemade masks. In fact, multi-layer cloth masks, if layered, can be just as effective as an N95 mask, and supplies of those should be reserved for healthcare workers.

MYTH: Masks only help if someone has symptoms.

FACT: You may have COVID-19 without knowing, since symptoms can take 2-14 days to develop, and wearing a mask will help you from spreading the virus. And if someone else is not masked and spreads infected droplets into the air, your mask serves as a barrier that limits the likelihood that you will become infected.

MYTH: Masks need to be replaced daily.

FACT: Homemade cloth face coverings can be reused if washed. You can launder in washing machines as long as they are able to retain their shape. Leaving masks in the heat of a car on the dash where direct sunlight can hit it will also kill the virus in about 48 hours. It’s good to have a few masks on rotation. I use an N95 or surgical mask for many days, even weeks, but usually on rotation.

MYTH: Masks should only be worn in large gatherings.

FACT: If you leave home, wear a mask. You take your wallet, then take your mask. You should wear a mask in public places like grocery stores, pharmacies, restaurants, healthcare offices, public transportation, essential businesses, hairdressers, etc. You don’t need to wear a mask when you’re outside and physically distancing from others (walking at a park, hiking, etc.) because there’s enough air to dilute the virus decreasing the opportunity for transmission. 

MYTH: Wearing a mask will weaken my immune system.

FACT: Simply not true. Wearing a face mask does greatly reduce the spread of infectious droplets from entering your mouth or nose when you’re around individuals who may be sick, but it doesn’t prevent all microbes from entering your body. If surgeons had weakened immune systems after wearing masks for hours, none of them would live past 50 (and I’m in that age category, but just barely).

MYTH: Wearing a mask can result in getting pneumonia.

FACT: There is no evidence of masks leading to fungal or bacterial infections of the upper or lower airway, as happens in pneumonia.

MYTH: I won’t be able to breathe when I wear a mask.

FACT: We’ve been wearing masks in healthcare for decades. Surgeons who wear a mask for long periods of time, sometimes 10 or 12 hours, do not pass out in the operating room, nor do they become poisoned from CO2. The feeling many get of being unable to breathe in a mask isn’t related to oxygen intake. If you have problems with anxiety while wearing a mask, we recommend practicing for short periods and slowly increasing the duration. The more you wear a mask, the less you notice it.

MYTH: The virus is so small, there’s no way a cotton mask will screen it out.

FACT: Although technically true, the fact is that you are never exhaling viral particles on their own. The virus is suspended in droplets from the respiratory tract that become airborne when an infected person coughs, sneezes, talks, or wipes bodily fluids on a surface. These droplets are larger than the virus, and the cloth mask is able to stop the majority of them from being inhaled by your nose and mouth. This is also why hepa filters, used regularly on planes, are also helpful in enclosed spaces. Now, masks made of synthetic materials, like those used for “gators” can actually aerosolize the droplets, making things worse, so wear a proper mask.

MYTH: COVID-19 isn’t real or not that bad. It would be better for us to all catch it and move on (i.e., gaining herd immunity).

FACT: Herd immunity means that enough people have recovered from the virus and developed immunity so that it doesn’t spread anymore, but this strategy would have a high death toll and will likely take years to develop, if it happens at all. A disease that can permanently damage or kill someone should not be ignored or treated in such a cavalier manner. You DO NOT want to catch this virus. Your taking unnecessary chances with your health, not only now, but potentially for the rest of your life.

MYTH: COVID-19 cases are going up, but deaths are low, so we need to stop freaking out.

FACT: Cases and deaths do not elevate at the same rate. We see about a week’s difference of cases being found to hospitalization as well as another 1-2 weeks before the number of deaths rises. This will change if hospitals are overwhelmed and not able to provide the intensive care needed to keep some of the infected people alive. Our treatment strategies and successes have also improved, keeping hospitalizations and death rates lower. Wearing masks is crucial to keeping infection rates low.

MYTH: A mandate requiring masks is unconstitutional.

FACT: Under the U.S. Constitution’s 10th Amendment, state governments have the authority to regulate public health and safety and to take emergency action, including mandating wearing a mask along with mandating closure of high-risk environments like gyms, schools and other places where people gather. Wearing a mask shows that you are concerned for the health of others. Wearing a mask not only helps you, it protects everyone around you.

MYTH: Outbreaks are fake news. Media is only reporting them at beaches and churches, not from protests or riots.

FACT:  There is no question that media outlets have biases and may not portray the news broadly or equally enough however, Covid-19 is NOT fake news. Cases did occurr as a result of the social unrest and protests seen earlier this year but many more cases resulted from gatherings which were and are more risky, like being at church gatherings, funerals, parties and at places like bars, dance clubs and malls where social distancing and mask wearing has not been carefully controlled.

MYTH: Masks are about keeping you afraid.

FACT: This is a ridiculous notion. Many people are afraid and in many cases, overly paranoid, but this is because of the whole situation. The virus, the social unrest, the politics, life… As far as Covid is concerned, we understandably were cooped up at the start of the pandemic, terrified by images of mass graves in China, refrigerated trucks for all the dead in New York and people being turned away from hospitals in Italy where the numbers skyrocketed early on. Many people got “used to” being afraid. We see it when someone is driving in a car alone wearing a mask or riding a bike with a mask. We need to be safe but not isolated. We need to be careful but not cooped up. We are social creatures and need one another. 

Masks don’t make you afraid. They make you and those around you safer. They make you more responsible and freer to be out and about.

Wearing a mask is not a symbol of oppression or a political affiliation. It is a symbol of respect. For ourselves and for one another.

DISTANCE when appropriate.

MASK UP. Wear a useful one and wear it properly.

WASH YOUR HANDS and use sanitizer when necessary, just watch the chemicals.

DON’T TOUCH YOUR FACE.

VENTILATE.

VACCINATE.

GET HEALTHY.

Stay safe and be well. 

AC 😎✌️🌱❤🐖🏃🏻🧘🏻‍♂️🌎😷