Is my mask making me sick?
The coronavirus pandemic turned many of us into mask wearers, while some protest masks because they make them feel unwell. Can wearing a mask make you sick? Here’s what I learnt.
Some countries have tried making wearing masks compulsory almost everywhere (like Germany and Ukraine), some have advised to wear them on public transport (like the United Kingdom), and some just outrightly ignore the existence of the virus (hello, Belarus)
At the same time, many people complain that they don’t like wearing a mask.
I understand the frustration: I once wore a mask for nearly 3 hours straight and, when I took it off, I had pronounced red lines on my face, as well as a face covered with sweat. I do not make a big deal out of this because I know that medical workers in Ukraine have to wear, not just masks, but full on PPE kits for 12 hours and more.
In fact, far from only accepting my fate, I had even been a proud mask wearer until recently. I would wear the mask outdoors everywhere (as the Ukrainian rules actually dictate, though everyone started ignoring them for the most part). According to my estimates, only about 2 in 10 wear masks in the streets.
The Ukrainians I asked in the streets also told me that they see no point in wearing a mask unless you’re in a shop or on public transport. So, no wonder my mum was almost verbally attacking me every time we were outdoors together:
“Take off your mask, you need to breathe in the fresh air!”
I vehemently argued with her that one should always wear a mask because there are many people in the streets and you never know who might get too close to you.
In parallel to this, another strange thing has been happening. For about three months — really, since the quarantine started — I have had a strange feeling in my chest. It goes away and comes back (especially after doing sports). I’ve had no explanation or answer to this other than this could be some complication or reflection from the pneumonia I had in March.
This discomfort remained largely unexplained to me. But after several attempts to resume running, I had to stop again after getting the same chest feeling again.
The longest period for which I stopped running was between mid-May and mid-June — for over a month. I ran again on June 16 but got the same chest sensation back.
And then, one day, my mum said something that struck me:
“You’re not getting enough oxygen, that’s why you get that feeling.”
And she recalled how years ago she had a job where she had to spend 30–60 minutes each day in a sterile room where she had to wear a surgical mask.
“My chest started hurting so I went to the doctors who — after thorough health checks — diagnosed me with сoronary artery disease and lots of other scary things. They prescribed me with medication,” she told me.
“But I didn’t take anything. I quit my job instead and gradually my health improved.”
Sounds like too obvious of an explanation maybe.
I then started looking this up. The World Health Organisation, of course, recommends wearing medical masks as they’re the easiest way to protect yourself and others around you from the coronavirus.
But other studies indicate different advice. While I cannot check the veracity of each study, especially the more recent ones as I don’t know what intent they have been done with, I found something else that looked interesting.
A 2005 study investigated the effect of wearing a regular surgical mask and an N95 respirator on health and wellbeing. I have a FFP2 respirator type, which gives you a very similar level of protection to N95.
The study concludes that “microclimate temperature, humidity and skin temperature inside the facemask increased with the start of step exercise, which led to the different perceptions of humidity, heat and high breathing resistance among the subjects wearing the facemasks.”
I personally do not feel difficulty in breathing that much during wearing but that might be because I have a high pain threshold and am generally very patient, especially when it comes to important things.
“High breathing resistance made it difficult for the subject to breathe and take in sufficient oxygen,” the study writes. “Shortage of oxygen stimulates the sympathetic nervous system and increases heart rate (Ganong 1997). It was probable that the subjects felt unfit, fatigued and overall discomfort due to this reason. White et al. (1991) found that the increases in heart rate, skin temperature and subjective ratings may pose substantial additional stress to the wearer and might reduce work tolerance.”
It also said that:
“Mean heart rate, microclimate temperature, humidity and skin temperature inside the facemask, together with perceived humidity, heat, breathing resistance in the facemask, and itchiness, fatigue and overall discomfort, were significantly (P<0.01) higher for N95 masks than for surgical masks. In other words, the subjective perception of breathing difficulty and discomfort increased significantly with increasing thermal stress. This finding agrees with the observations reported by White et al. (1991). The surface temperature outside the facemask was lower, and the temperature in the facemask microclimate was significantly higher, for the N95 masks than for the surgical masks (Fig. 3), indicating that the heat loss from the respiratory tract is more difficult to endure in N95 masks, inducing higher heat stress and perception of discomfort.”
So there is a chance after all that mask wearing affects our heart rates and inflow of oxygen.
I have not stopped wearing masks where they’re required — like shops and public transport. But I am now trying to get more fresh air in. I think it is also important to wear the right mask for yourself. If you’re wearing a respirator, sure, it might make you safer, but make sure you decontaminate it and don’t spend too long wearing it without a need.
Coronavirus is a serious thing but complications that come with the quarantine can affect our health just as much.
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