Despite claims to the contrary, wearing a facemask will not lower your oxygen levels.

[Shawnster]

Viewer Linda W. emailed, asking, “I keep hearing that a person’s O2 stats lower if they wear a mask. Can you verify this?”

 

Cardiologist Dr. Payal Kohli said the claim is not true.

 

“It's absolutely not true that wearing a mask is going to limit how much oxygen is getting into your bloodstream,” said Dr. Kohli. 

 

https://www.wkyc.com/mobile/article/news/verify/verify-face-masks-do-not-lower-oxygen-levels/283-007cdb1e-86eb-4257-91a4-13f5320ce1f9

 

 

[Dustparticle]

Before I read this article, I will take my mask off so I can breathe while  eating chocolate too.

[Brother_Bliss]

Had to share this. I have a lot of uneducated gullible conspiracy theorist Facebook contacts that keep posting misinformation about how "harmful" wearing a facemask is (which, for the record, is not harmful at all).

[ChocoBro]

When I went into the boxing gym there were pros that would train wearing a mask. They would do so to purposefully decrease the flow of air into their lungs, leading to less oxygen being able to enter their bloodstream.Yes, it does affect the oxygen and CO2 levels. If you are an athlete or exercising with a mask on, your body may get less oxygen to convert glucose into energy, meaning that athletes can expect to fatigue faster when exercising with a face mask.

I can't believe the rubbish some doctors are putting out there. And I can't believe that people just pass all of this on as factual when it is clearly illogical and could be detrimental to some. 

So sad.

[Mykyl]

1 hour ago, ChocoBro said:

When I went into the boxing gym there were pros that would train wearing a mask. They would do so to purposefully decrease the flow of air into their lungs, leading to less oxygen being able to enter their bloodstream.Yes, it does affect the oxygen and CO2 levels. If you are an athlete or exercising with a mask on, your body may get less oxygen to convert glucose into energy, meaning that athletes can expect to fatigue faster when exercising with a face mask.

I can't believe the rubbish some doctors are putting out there. And I can't believe that people just pass all of this on as factual when it is clearly illogical and could be detrimental to some. 

So sad.

The doctors are correct. They are not putting out rubbish.

 

Boxers train using altitude masks. They are designed to reduce airflow. A completely different type of mask. Its also still up in the air if it actually does any good. It may in actual fact be detrimental to them. That however is up for debate and its a debate I have no interest in.

 

Nobody is being asked to wear altitude masks. Please double check what your saying. If the local boxers were wearing normal masks then the benefits they may have felt was entirely psychological.

 

https://boxingscience.co.uk/altitude-training-for-boxing-2/#:~:text=Altitude Masks claim to simulate,anaerobic thresholds and oxygen efficiency.&text=The mask works by restricting,session quality%2C intensity and volume.

Edited July 15, 2020 by Mykyl

[Bluebell]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/53108405

Coronavirus: 'Deadly masks' claims debunked

We've seen lots of posts alerting people to this potentially harmful side-effect - called hypercapnia - where there's too much carbon dioxide in the blood.

But it's highly unlikely you'll suffer it wearing a cloth or gauze face mask.

"This simply won't happen unless there is an air-tight fit and you rebreathe your air," says Prof Keith Neal, an infectious disease expert.

 

Masks won't deprive body of oxygen

Another theme in misleading posts surrounding the use of masks is that they limit the amount of oxygen getting into the body

"Thin paper or cloth masks will not lead to hypoxia. Surgeons operate for hours wearing them. They don't get these problems," says Prof Neal.

 

There are some situations in which face masks might not be advised:

• children under two whose lungs haven't fully developed
• people with respiratory conditions who may struggle to breathe
• people should not wear masks when exercising

Edited July 15, 2020 by Bluebell

[Pjdriver]

My own is experience wearing a mask is that after a few minutes indefinitely don’t feel I’m getting enough oxygen. As soon as I take it off I notice a big difference. I know I’ve heard several people said they feel the same way. 

I think it might depend on your current health. I have cardio vascular disease. But I breath fine without the mask......just sayin....”your mileage may vary”.  
 

Edited July 19, 2020 by Pjdriver

[Old]

27 minutes ago, Pjdriver said:

My own is experience wearing a mask is that after a few minutes indefinitely don’t feel I’m getting enough oxygen. As soon as I take it off I notice a big difference. I know I’ve heard several people said they feel the same way. 

I think it might depend on your current health. I have cardio vascular disease. But I breath fine without the mask......just sayin....”your mileage may vary”.  
 

I am somewhat the same, I find myself sucking air like a fish when I have worn a mask for a whilebut  if active, no problem just sitting. I have congestive heart failure so it comes as no surprse.