Still worried that wearing a mask will cause low blood oxygen levels?
Wearing a mask can be anxiety-provoking, but many experts explain that it's normal and keeps your lungs healthier.
Wearing a mask can be uncomfortable, it's an unavoidable thing. It can fog up your glasses, cause pimples on your face, dry eyes, and make you uncomfortable. Face masks also present a unique set of challenges for people with hearing impairments or cognitive or intellectual disabilities. So, some would say: what if wearing a mask hinders breathing and consumes oxygen to dangerous levels?
Researchers at McMaster University decided to study mask suffocation rumours circulating on social media that tend to focus on masks and hypoxemia (lower-than-normal levels of oxygen in the blood).
In a letter published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in October, the researchers looked specifically at hypoxemia. They studied 25 people over the age of 65, none of whom had heart disease or respiratory disease (which can lead to lack of oxygen or difficulty breathing). distribute identical masks to 13 men and 12 women: a three-ply, flat-shaped, disposable, non-medical mask, and provide them with instructions on how to wear the mask properly (to ensure the mask covers the nose and mouth), and Illustration of a portable pulse oximeter, a clip-like device used to measure blood oxygen levels.
While resting and performing daily activities, participants wore blood oxygen probes and measured blood oxygen saturation. Every 20 minutes, they monitored blood oxygen saturation before wearing the mask, after wearing the mask and after taking off the mask.
"In this small crossover study, wearing a three-ply non-medical mask was not associated with lower blood oxygen saturation in older participants," the study reports.
In general, older adults have a lower baseline blood oxygen saturation. In the study, the average oxygen saturation was 96.1% before wearing a mask, 96.5% when wearing a mask, and 96.3% after wearing a mask. While wearing the mask, none of the participants had an oxygen level below 92%. According to the Mayo Clinic, a blood oxygen saturation level below 90% is considered a low state.
"These results do not support the claim that it is unsafe to wear non-medical masks in community settings," the researchers said.
The McMaster researchers are not alone in trying to stop the spread of disinformation. The World Health Organization and the American Lung Association also released statements trying to clear up misconceptions about oxygen and masks. Last July, a doctor in Ireland wore six masks and measured his own blood oxygen saturation in a video to prove that masks had little effect on blood oxygen saturation.
Before the outbreak, there were many medical professionals wearing masks on a regular basis without any problems. The American Lung Association put it bluntly: "We wear masks in hospitals all day, and these masks are designed to let us breathe, and there is no evidence of hypoxia."
Jonathan Parsons, a pulmonologist and director of the Asthma Center at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, has also written an article explaining why masks must not affect oxygen levels, and that it is a preventive measure against the new coronavirus. An important tool for diffusion.
He said that some people might feel panicky when they wear a mask, there might be a definite sense of anxiety. "Some people may feel anxious or claustrophobic when wearing a mask, just like getting into an elevator or a CT scanner and panicking," the letter reads. "This can be difficult to overcome, especially when you're in it. However, there are some things you can do to calm yourself down: Breathing slowly for a long period of time may stabilize your emotions, and your lungs are getting exactly what they need, no matter how you feel."