Are Masks KILLING Us?
The dilemma: TO mask, or NOT to mask?
It’s an uncertain world right now. The information regarding COVID related issues has become political, unnervingly polarized, and outright confusing! The staff at Ferguson Life Health Centers would like to share education over rumors and opinions regarding the mask conundrum.
There are Pro’s and Con’s to wearing a mask. Those individuals that are continually exposed to unhealthy environments should definitely wear a mask. That being said, they must balance the need of supplying fresh, healthy air into their lungs as often as possible. They also need to protect themselves from cross contamination by disposing of used masks properly, and hand washing immediately. Below are (10) good points to understand regarding the wearing of masks.* Print it out and refer to it if need be. With all the publicity regarding masks, it’s easy to get confused.
#1: Oxygen is Good for Human Beings and Carbon Dioxide is Bad!
☐ Oxygen makes up 20.9% of our atmosphere, while carbon dioxide only makes up 0.04% percent of our atmosphere. BOTH are important elements when it comes to creating chemical reactions and that’s why BOTH are critical for life.
☐ Humans need to breathe oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide as a waste product.
☐ Oxygen is 20.9% of the air we breathe in, but only 16% of what we breathe out.
☐ Carbon Dioxide is 0.04% of the air we breathe in, but 4% of what we breathe out (a hundredfold increase)
☐ Face masks cause a fraction of previously exhaled carbon dioxide to be inhaled upon each breath, therefore raising carbon dioxide levels in the blood.
☐ Inhaling high levels of carbon dioxide (hypercapnia) can result in headaches, vertigo, double-vision, an inability to concentrate, tinnitus, and seizures.
☐ Masks restrict air flow and therefore restrict oxygen, which can lower the functioning of our immune systems.
#2: How Does SARS-CoV-2 Spread?
☐ COVID-19 is the disease purportedly caused by SARS-CoV-2.
☐ SARS-CoV-2 spreads mainly through respiratory droplets from infected individuals who ARE symptomatic (coughing, hacking, or sneezing) and in close, sustained contact with others. Some spread might be possible before people show symptoms, but is not the main way the virus spreads.
☐ According to the CDC, “the virus is thought to spread mainly from person to person. It may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has SARS-CoV-2 on it and then touching their own mouth, or nose, but this is not thought to be the primary way the virus spreads.”
☐ The virus does not appear to spread through regular breathing from asymptomatic people (experiencing no symptoms) in typical social interactions.
#3: How Effective is a Mask?
According to OSHA:
☐ N95 masks: Are designed for CONTAMINATED environments. That means when you exhale through N95 the design is that you are exhaling into contamination. The exhale for the N95 masks are vented to breath straight out without filtration, which means they don’t filter the air on the way out. For this reason, some places have banned these masks (ex. Disney, airlines)
☐ Surgical masks: These masks are designed and approved for STERILE environments. The amount of particles and contaminants in the outside and indoor environments CLOG these masks quickly. The moisture from your breath combined with the clogged mask will render it “useless” if you come in contact with COVID and your mask traps it. Therefore, they should be changed or thrown out every 20-30 minutes in a non-sterile environment.
☐ Cloth Masks: No filtration from viruses. As you exhale, cloth masks trap carbon dioxide the most. The moisture caught in cloth masks can become mildew ridden over night (must wash daily)· Dry coughing, enhanced allergies, and sore throat are all symptoms of a micro-mold in your mask.
☐ The more effective a mask is at blocking normal airflow, the greater the problem with decreased oxygen and increased carbon dioxide a person is likely to have (see reason #1 why this is bad).
☐ “A potential danger to wearing a mask on a daily basis, especially if worn for several hours is when a person is infected with a respiratory virus, they will expel some of the virus with each breath. If they are wearing a mask they will be constantly rebreathing the viruses, raising the concentration of the virus in the lungs and nasal passages. People who have the worst reactions to Covid have the highest concentrations of the virus early on, which leads to the deadly cytokine storm in a selected number.” Dr. Russell Blaylock (well-known writer on medical issues) April 2020.
#4: Six Feet Apart and Wearing a Mask?
☐ If social distancing works, why the masks? If masks work, why the social distancing?
☐ There are no clinical trials proving that a six-foot social distance prevents infection from Covid.
☐ The World Health Organization previously only recommended three feet, even with Ebola when it was discovered in 2014 that some virulent strains could be transmitted by coughing, since Ebola transmits via water droplets, just like SARS-CoV-2.
#5: Face Seal Leakage and Redirection
☐ Most people wearing masks do not have a proper tight seal around their nose and mouth, which means most masks are improperly fitted.
☐ The airflow ejected by someone who coughs or sneezes with a mask on is redirected through leaks, to the sides, down the front, and upwards (why glasses get fogged when wearing a mask).
☐ The redirection of this air could create “viral hot zones” on a person’s face, centered around the eyes, cheeks, and chin underneath the mask.
☐ When exhaling viruses without a mask, they would generally be exposed to sunlight or would land on surfaces which were not conducive to their continued existence. With masks, the viruses are being concentrated inside the mask and on our faces, where they might easily be re-inhaled.
#6: What is the Actual Risk of Airborne Transmission?
☐ “Super-spreader” events (many people get infected at a single event) are unique and shouldn’t be used to justify a draconian imposition of universal face-masking.
☐ Increased volume increases the amount of aerosols, so an infected person singing or talking loudly in face-to-face contact with others runs the risk of spreading the virus to them.
☐ Most super-spreader events have occurred indoors and have involved groups of people in prolonged contact with each other.
☐ According to Dr. J.O. Lloyd-Smith, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and expert on the role of super-spreaders, most people who have been exposed or infected with Covid and don’t display symptoms do not transmit the virus.
☐ The immune system of the person is an important factor in the spread of the virus. Healthy people are less likely to spread the virus, while unhealthy people may shed more virus, and for a longer period of time.
☐ Sunlight is a potent killer of this virus, often destroying it within a few minutes. Why are we being advised to stay in our houses when the best thing we could do is go out in the sunlight for a few minutes?
#7: People With Underlying Health Conditions are Most at Risk, Not Healthy People
☐ According to the CDC, patients with underlying health conditions are six times more likely to be hospitalized and twelve times more likely to die than those with no underlying health conditions.
☐ The most common underlying health conditions that contribute to Covid-19 mortality are heart disease, diabetes, and chronic lung disease (mostly COPD).
☐ Over 40% of US deaths (and possibly more) are from 0.6% of the population (those living in nursing homes and long-term care facilities). ☐ People with underlying health conditions have a 19.5% chance of dying from Covid and an 80.5% chance of surviving.
☐ Healthy people with no underlying health conditions have a 0.04% chance of dying from Covid, and a 99.96% chance of surviving.
#8: Can a Mask Become a Virus Trap?
☐ Airborne pathogens like influenza or Covid are transmitted in aerosol droplets when we cough or sneeze. The masks may well trap the virus-laden droplets, BUT the virus is still infectious on and in the mask. Merely handling the mask opens up new avenues for infection.
☐ If we assume the mask has prevented some viral particles from escaping, even from a sneeze or cough, we now have a highly contaminated item which individuals are treating as if it is free from danger.
☐ By virtue of the mask being over a person’s face for hours a day, the mask itself has become a highly contaminated surface, especially on the inside portion of the mask where a virus can be kept viable by the continued exhalation of warm, moist air ( another problem is a simple reach inside the mask , perhaps to scratch an itch on the cheek or nose, now makes it likely that the person’s finger is loaded with viruses)
#9: The Myth of Asymptomatic Carriers
☐ If you are “asymptomatic,” that means you have no symptoms, either fever, coughing, sneezing, or hacking, which might put others at risk for respiratory droplets.
☐ It’s probably more accurate to say one is “pre-symptomatic,” meaning that they might develop in the 2-14 day latency period observed in Covid-19, however, there are no “asymptomatic” carriers, meaning infected individuals who are carrying around the virus unknowingly for days or weeks.
☐ If you are exposed to coronavirus and have even a mild reaction, your immune system has now produced antibodies to the virus and you have cleared the virus.
☐ The World Health Organization (WHO) has said, “It is rare that an asymptomatic (or pre-symptomatic) person actually transmits onwards.”
☐ “We know that wearing a mask outside health care facilities offers little, if any, protection from infection. Public health authorities define a significant exposure to Covid-19 as face-to-face contact within six feet with a patient WITH symptoms that is sustained for at least a few minutes (and some say more than 10 minutes or even 30 minutes). The chance of catching Covid-19 from a passing interaction in a public space is therefore minimal. IN MANY CASES, THE DESIRE FOR WIDESPREAD MASKING IS A REFLEXIVE REACTION TO ANXIETY OVER THE PANDEMIC.” -The New England Journal of Medicine
#10: Children Do NOT Need to Wear a Mask to Return to School
☐ “There is zero science for having children wear masks or have spacing in schools.” -Dr. Scott Atlas, Covid Task Force
☐ Studies seem to suggest that children are not significantly impacted by Covid-19. If they do contract SARS-CoV-2, it usually doesn’t develop into anything more than a mild cold, and they do not seem to spread the infection.
☐ The pattern repeats again and again: If you have a strong immune system (which is likely to be strongest when you are young), the virus does not seem to present significant risk.
☐ The co-morbidities which seem to be associated with greater risk of death (heart disease, diabetes, and respiratory problems) are rare in the school age population.
☐ Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in an interview to CNN in June 2020, “Children tend to have milder symptoms or even no symptoms when they are infected with Covid-19 and the idea of keeping schools closed because of safety concerns for children might be a bit of a reach”.
* Dr. Judy A. Mikovits and Kent Heckenlively, JD - Case Against Masks: Ten Reasons why Mask use should be Limited
To summarize the main points discussed above, HEALTHY people are less likely to spread the virus and the virus does not appear to spread through regular breathing from asymptomatic people (experiencing no symptoms) in typical social interactions.
No one has the right to judge another person that is or isn’t wearing a mask. Everyone’s circumstance is different and their belief is a personal freedom to be celebrated as an American. We are here to help you stay healthy and answer your questions.
Please keep up the good work for your families and community by staying healthy! UNLEASH YOUR INNER SUPERHERO by coming in for your adjustments, infrared sauna sessions, iv appointments and taking your supplements.
Yours in Health,
Dr. Ferguson