During these times of unprecedented uncertainty, stress, anxiety, and fear of disease I wanted to personally reach out to ease your tension and offer hope. The current times will go down as one of the most unique and stressful events in human history. One of the questions I’ve gotten repeatedly during the past couple of months is, “Should I wear a mask to protect myself from Coronavirus?”
The Hardship Caused by COVID-19 is Real
Public and private places are shut down as the challenges and uncertainty continue to plague the world. The fear of the effects of an economic downfall has become one of the biggest challenges right alongside a fear of the virus. Employment and financial challenges now plague millions of people as domestic disturbances and calls to suicide hotlines dramatically increase.
Coronavirus Mask Misinformation
To make matters there is misinformation being put out by the media and by the government in regard to wearing masks. Some businesses now are requiring that employees and customers wear masks. According to the research, this does not make sense.
Let me share with you the TRUTH and help you make an informed decision for you and your family.
Are Cloth Masks Effective in Preventing Coronavirus Infections?
In a systematic review of the effectiveness of masks against respiratory infections in health care workers in 2017 they state that single-use medical masks are preferable to cloth masks, for which there is no evidence of protection and which might facilitate the transmission of pathogens when used repeatedly without adequate sterilization.
But wait, the recent information from the government tells us to not use medical masks and to use the cloth masks???
Another study in 2015 on facemasks for the prevention of infection states that there is no clinical research for the use of cloth masks to inform their use and therefore disposable, cotton, or paper masks are not recommended.
Yet another study evaluating the effectiveness of surgical and cotton masks in blocking respiratory viruses concluded that neither surgical nor cloth masks effectively filtered SARS and Coronavirus due to the small size of the viruses found in previous studies.
The research on cloth masks as source control to prevent infection found that those wearing cloth masks were 13X more likely to experience illness than those wearing medical masks. They found that very poor filter performance and poor fit of cloth masks contributed to their very low effectiveness and it was concluded that cloth masks offer no protection from inhaling infectious particles near an infected or confirmed patient.
So why again are we being told to wear cloth masks?
Cloth Masks Can Actually INCREASE Risk of COVID-19 Infection
As I looked into the research further, I found that cloth masks actually increased the risk of infection. A study in 2015 of workers wearing different types of masks found that moisture retention, reuse of cloth masks, and poor filtration may actually result in an increased risk of infection.
It was found in another study that continued use of a mask increases oxidative stress and respiratory hypoxia that actually decrease the effectiveness of the immune system by reducing superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx). A decrease in these vital systems is associated with increased susceptibility to infection.
The research is clear, surgical and N95 masks used properly and for one time or sanitized after each use offer some protection from viruses. Cloth masks, sponge masks, and activated carbon masks that we are being told to wear offer little to no protection and may even be making us worse!
What you choose to do with this information is up to you, but I wanted to make sure you knew the truth and understand that the best protection you can ever have is investing in your health and building a strong immune system through the 5 Essentials of Max Living!!