As a physician, when people have come into the clinic with their cloth or surgical face masks on in the last couple of months, I have been observing people’s behavior and also my own.
- Most people are either wearing a cloth mask (homemade or otherwise) or a surgical mask.
- Much like the use of a dishrag to soak things up, saliva, sputum and droplet particles accumulate on the mask.
- Within an hour, the average in my clinic for people touching or adjusting their mask or face in the hour was 9 times per hour. This study found on average that people touch their faces 15 times per hour.
- People then touch other things with their hands.
This has happened with every person without exception. In the grocery store (or anywhere in public), I observe people with the same behavior and then touching all kinds of things, such as a freezer door handle, store products or the credit card machine at check out.
Here is my point. Masks are generally meant to make sure the sick don’t get their saliva, sputum or droplets out into the public so that others don’t get infected. But, with people touching their face and masks (that are dirty) 15 times per hour on average and then touching all kinds of other things, is it really going to make a difference to slow down the spread of this virus?
Do we shut society down again to some degree as they are doing here in Florida?
There is evidence to suggest that masks are not as protective as everyone thinks they are.
In this first study, which assessed if wearing a mask reduced the incidence of the common cold in healthcare workers in Japan found, “Face mask use in health care workers has not been demonstrated to provide benefit in terms of cold symptoms or getting colds.”
In this study comparing cloth masks to medical masks in health care workers and the incidence of chronic respiratory illness and influenza found that “penetration of cloth masks by particles was almost 97% and medical masks 44%” and “moisture retention, reuse of cloth masks and poor filtration may result in increased risk of infection.” I see so many people wearing cloth masks out in public, but this is deemed as good because they simply have a mask on. Cloth masks are essentially useless, but if I go into a store with one on, I suddenly am doing the right thing.
This meta-analysis “aimed to assess the effectiveness of N95 respirators versus surgical masks for prevention of influenza by collecting randomized controlled trials (RCTs).” It found that “The use of N95 respirators compared with surgical masks is not associated with a lower risk of laboratory-confirmed influenza.” This other study and this study concluded the same thing.
This review of 17 different studies found that “None of the studies established a conclusive relationship between mask/respirator use and protection against influenza infection.”
Lastly, A recent meta-analysis of scientific literature, including 11 randomized, controlled trials and 10 observational studies, found that there was no clear clinical or laboratory-confirmed evidence that masks prevent infection. The study actually warned that facemasks “…may even increase transmission if they act as fomites [objects or materials that are likely to carry infection] or prompt other behaviors that transmit the virus such as face touching.”
So if there is no difference in N95 masks and surgical masks for preventing the spread of infection, cloth masks are essentially useless and people are touching their faces 15 times per hour and then touching everything else, does it really make a difference?
Additionally, more studies are proving that asymptomatic carriers don’t really spread the virus . So why are all the asymptomatic carriers, that are a very low risk for transmission of infecting others being forced to weak a mask that science has proven conclusively works?
Here are some other links showing how the science is inconclusive.
Link 1, Link 2, Link 3, Link 4, Link 5, Link 6, Link 7, Link 8, Link 9, Link 10, Link 11, Link 12, Link 13, Link 14, Link 15, Link 16, Link 17, Link 18, Link 19, Link 20, Link 21, Link 22, Link 23, Link 24, Link 25, Link 26, Link 27, Link 28, Link 29, Link 30, Link 31, Link 32, Link 33, Link 34.
Many potential harms may arise from broad public policies to wear masks, and the following unanswered questions arise:
- Do used and loaded masks become sources of enhanced transmission, for the wearer and others?
- Do masks become collectors and retainers of pathogens that the mask wearer would otherwise avoid when breathing without a mask?
- Are large droplets captured by a mask atomized or aerosolized into breathable components? Can virions escape an evaporating droplet stuck to a mask fiber?
- What are the dangers of bacterial growth on a used and loaded mask?
- How do pathogen-laden droplets interact with environmental dust and aerosols captured on the mask?
- What are long-term health effects on HCW, such as headaches, arising from impeded breathing?
- Are there negative social consequences to a masked society?
- Are there negative psychological consequences of wearing a mask, as a fear-based behavioral modification?
- What are the environmental consequences of mask manufacturing and disposal?
- Do the masks shed fibers or substances that are harmful when inhaled? (questions credit: Dr. Tommy John)
People have been arguing that we should do everything possible to help people and that is it not about me or you, but everyone. I really get that. However, what goes into the mouth is far more important that what covers the mouth.
You can decide for yourself on this issue, and if you wear a mask, I fully support your decision. And of course, I will wear a mask to make you feel safe. However, this is America and people should be able to choose without being shamed and right now that choice is being taken away. When you take away someone’s freedom to choose, it becomes shaky ground especially when the science is not conclusive. Blaming others for not wearing a mask and getting others sick is a slippery slope.
Not to get political and while I am not a fan of Trump at all, I find it ironic that Florida, as a swing state, has so many recent cases and is the focus of the media now. It is easy to see how the media is politically motivated on this issue. Also, I find it absurd to blame our leaders (even if I’m not a fan of them) for our own personal failures in immunity. That would be like blaming Wendy’s and McDonald’s for my obesity. Also, people saying it is illegal to gather for church but it is ok to be in a rally against racism is hypocrisy at its finest. If masks do protect everyone, have everyone wear a mask and let’s open society up completely and let people go to church if they want.
One of my biggest rubs about mask wearing is being mandated by the powers that be to do something because “they” know best. Testing is woefully awful pumping out many false positives, numbers are being fudged, and hospitals are being incentivized to list this virus as the cause of death for more money. So many other problems in this narrative are present in this pandemic. Let’s be honest, people are dying from obesity related issues, already existent immune related issues and other comorbidities, not covid-19. Covid-19 is the just the convenient thing to blame since it supports the narrative of the mainstream media.
Spanish researches found covid-19 in sewage samples from march 2019. Why is this so critical? Because if this is true then the virus would have been active in the population ALL of last year. We had a very normal cold and flu season in 2018-19. What accounts for the difference between how awful covid-19 supposedly is and this year? Very simply…fear.
Fear crushes the immune system. Any negative emotion does (stress). Now that we have 40 million people out of work due to this virus, I suspect we will continue to see more people get sick because of the sheer amount of stress that 40 million plus people are now under because they can’t pay their basic bills. I would argue that fear is perhaps one of the greatest suppressors of immune function.
I have witnessed people in the clinic and even those close to me be paralyzed with fear about getting infected. Fear is the problem. The media told us to be afraid. By taking responsibility for our health and letting go of fear, we can remarkably enhance our immune function. This is why I constantly advocate for using The Sedona Method or tapping to let your emotions go.
Furthermore, the solution to this immune related pandemic is doing what is necessary to build strong immunity. I don’t mean this to sound uncompassionate, but if are overweight or obese, it is far more critical for you to lose weight than anything else. If you smoke, you must learn how to stop smoking. See Allen Carr’s brilliant book on The Easy Way to Quit Smoking Without Willpower. If you have an immune related condition or auto-immune disease, it still is your responsibility to get healthy by doing these things below.
The solution isn’t blaming others for not wanting to wear a mask as the issue or closing down society again.
People are sick, overweight and have low immunity in this country because they eat awful disease causing foods every day (dairy, gmo wheat, gmo corn, gmo soy, gmo refined sugar, gmo canola, pork, eggs, alcohol, artificial sweeteners), don’t exercise, don’t drink enough filtered water, are more disconnected from others now more than ever, are constantly stressed out, get very little sunshine, are filled with heavy metals and chemicals, don’t eat many vegetables and fruits, and sleep very poorly as a result of all that.
The solution to this pandemic is to establish good health habits and to let go of fear but this means we have to ALL take responsibility and that extends far beyond wearing a mask. This is how we “wipe out” a virus. We build impenetrable immunity and a strong terrain, an internal environment that is not hospitable to acute viruses.
