LogFAQs > #947984388

Kyuubi4269 posted...

Hot take - It's worse to breathe because water doesn't penetrate and water is a breeding ground for microorganism so it uses your breathe to keep viruses alive on your face.

That was actually one of the points raised back when scientists were debating whether or not recommending masks was a good idea. The potential benefit of keeping a barrier between external virus sources and your respiratory tract was was obvious, but there were concerns that trapping the virus on that surface would actually increase risk. Subsequent research - including a lot of empirical transmission rate data from regions that were already using masks extensively - revealed that that wasn't a major concern, though (or at least that it didn't outweigh the benefits of having a barrier, since mask usage yields a net reduction in transmission rates and infection severity).

There isn't actually any physical reason for it being harder to breathe with a mask. There have been ample pseudo-studies done with people using pulse oximeters to monitor their O2 saturation throughout entire days of wearing masks, and they never give any reason to believe that the person's breathing has been compromised. If wearing a mask makes breathing more difficult, it's either because of an anxiety response to having it there (which is not altogether illegitimate, but people need to stop trying to pretend it's anything more than that), or because the mask is contaminated with mould or other respiratory irritants (which shouldn't be an issue if it's being cleaned frequently enough and one doesn't do stupid things like putting undiluted essential oils on them).

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