I feel like a broken record, but I keep seeing people put dangerous posts, encouraging others not to wear a mask, despite the fact that people lost their lives to this pandemic, including three people personally I know. Let me repeat, THREE PEOPLE I PERSONALLY KNOW LOST THEIR LIVES. If you don't believe the internet, believe me. . . . . This is from Dr. Megan Hall, who demystified the fears if wearing a mask, and why you SHOULD WEAR A MASK: "From Dr. Megan Hall... Hi friends! I have seen numerous posts and heard people complain they “can’t breathe with a mask on” or they won’t wear one because “oxygen levels drop dramatically while wearing a mask”. Also, “a mask doesn’t protect you from breathing in the virus” but in the same sentence argue they won’t wear one because they are “re-breathing their exhaled carbon dioxide”. I’m not sure how one can even make sense of this theory; if you really believe the virus is penetrating the mask and you’re breathing it in, how do you also believe your exhaled CO2 is getting “stuck”? Viruses need a vector to spread, COVID-19’s vector is respiratory droplets, those droplets aren’t readily getting through a properly worn mask. As a follow up to my previous post about wearing face masks, I did a little experiment. I wore each mask for 5 minutes and checked my oxygen saturation (shown as the percentage below) along with my heart rate (HR, in beats per minute) using noninvasive pulse oximetry. Keep in mind, immediately prior to this, I had been wearing the surgical mask for 5 hours. Results: No mask: 98%, HR 64 Surgical mask: 98%, HR 68 N95 mask: 99%, HR 69 N95 plus surgical mask (which is how most healthcare providers are wearing masks): 99%, HR 69. There is no significant change in my oxygen saturation (or HR) in any scenario. Though maybe inconvenient for some, you can still breathe. As a physician, I urge you and ask you to please wear a mask to protect yourself and those who cannot safely wear a mask (many of my patients because they are under 2 years old). Unless you are face down with a knee on your neck, I’m confident you can still breathe." #masks4all #wearyourdamnmask #dontbeignorant #dontbeinconsiderate . . . https://www.instagram.com/p/CB3ZtPtJSOv/?igshid=1gftsj313iacx
