Excessive Mask Wearing Makes You Dumb

I've been saying for the longest time that I felt excessive mask wearing was bad for our brains. According to some articles I read, too much CO2 affects cognitive ability; in other words, it makes you dumber. For those of us who have to wear masks at work for extended periods of time, we are only making ourselves dumber and dumber. This would be especially true for Essential Workers and other professions who worked thru the pandemic while having to wear masks for extended periods of time..

I make this post because excessive mask wearing is leading to a whole other pandemic in my opinion of dumbed down people.

Did you know that elevated levels of carbon dioxide or CO2 can play havoc with our cognitive ability? In today’s world it becomes all the more alarming because we spend 90% of our time indoors; in rooms with poor air quality and ventilation. Until a few years ago it was common knowledge that carbon monoxide and other VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) caused problems like asthma. CO2 was ignored and was not considered a gas that could be harmful. Yet many types of research conclude otherwise.

So what is the reason behind the impairments of the cognitive ability? According to medical research increased level of CO2 in the blood decreases the cerebral metabolism of oxygen. In simple words, the brain becomes oxygen deprived and has an impact on our thinking abilities. It is a well documented fact of what high levels of carbon dioxide can do to the brain.

I'm not saying masks are bad, in fact, I think they are good. However, EXCESSIVE mask wearing for extended periods of time on consecutive days has got to be bad for your brain in my opinion. Even though masks are ventilated they still trap some C02. I couldn't find any info for the exact amount of C02 trapped by a mask vs the amount that escapes a mask at any given time. I could only find that excessive C02 causes a condition called Hypercapnia

Hypercapnia: Elevated levels of carbon dioxide in the blood that can cause dizziness, shortness of breath, headache and, in extreme cases, hyperventilation, seizures and possible death.

It feels as if it's a dilemma because mask wearing definitely helps, but it also makes you dumber in the process of potentially saving your life, in my opinion. I have read several counter articles which say that wearing a mask is totally safe and that the levels of trapped C02 are minimal but I wonder what period of time was used to determine this. 1 minute, 1 hour, etc? Now, we're gonna have to keep wearing masks even if we've been vaccinated.

AM I a rambling old man or is there something to my assertion about excessive mask wearing? What say you, ATS?

medium.com...#:~:text=According%20to%20medical%20research%20increased,impact%20on%20our%20th inking%20abilities.

I actually felt a bit dumb wearing a mask in church this morning.

Plenty of oxygen comes through when you inhale, and plenty of C02 escapes when you exhale.

/thread

a reply to: lostbook

Medical face masks are designed to be worn for minutes at a time and discarded and replaced after use. They're designed to be used around a minimal amount of people per mask and are effective when used under the same parameters doctors and nurses use them under.

There's a reason why doctor's offices and hospitals use the protocols they do, they are effective for those exact situations. Otherwise, you're doing nothing or in fact worse harm than nothing at all.

The way masks have been used during covid is ineffective at best, harmful at worst.

a reply to: dug88

Thanks for this. Very honest and to the point

originally posted by: dug88
Medical face masks are designed to be worn for minutes at a time

Surgeons disagree.

a reply to: LordAhriman

Yet surgeons change masks and gloves between patients, surfaces are cleansed with cavicide between each individual person touching them. Which surgeon wears the same mask all day between a dozen or more patients the way a cashier touching your groceries does or a person making your coffee or food?

Hell, surgeons change gloves and masks multiple times per surgery during the same surgery with the same patient. Let alone between patients.

There's a reason why gloves and, pre-covid, masks used to come in like 100 packs.

originally posted by: dug88
Hell, surgeons change gloves and masks multiple times per surgery during the same surgery with the same patient. Let alone between patients.

Between patients, of course. Some surgeries last half a day or more, and are so tedious that there isn't a minute to spare, and the same mask and gloves are worn for 12+ hours. Only the smartest surgeons are tasked with these jobs, and I don't think CO2 is making them any less smart.

originally posted by: LordAhriman

originally posted by: dug88
Medical face masks are designed to be worn for minutes at a time

Surgeons disagree.

I'm not a surgeon, so what's that to do with me?

Answer:. NOTHING!

I think you have it backwards. Dumb people wear masks excessively.

a reply to: lostbook

This thread goes into more detail on how the CDC advised people to NOT wear masks during Obama's H1N! Swine Flu Epidemic.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

As you pointed out, re-inhaling a little Carbon Dioxide makes you dumber and less resistive. Face Diapers are perfect for poisoning your blood over time.

The latest studies also indicate that within HOURS, your mask becomes filled with nasty dangerous organisms. There's an (recent) ATS thread on that subject too.

a reply to: LordAhriman

Some surgeries last half a day or more, and are so tedious that there isn't a minute to spare, and the same mask and gloves are worn for 12+ hours.

Wrong.

They work in teams. A conjoined-twin operation can be broken down into many stages, like the initial incision, the work around the bones, separation of the blood vessels, and reconstructive plastic surgery. A different team of surgeons scrubs into the operating room for each stage, most of which take only a few hours to complete. That way, most of the surgeons don’t end up working for more than four or five hours in a row.

Source

My understanding (I'm not a surgeon, but I do ask questions) is that there are usually stages during operations where the patient can be stabilized enough to allow the surgeon to take a break. It simply isn't healthy to concentrate so hard for long at a time... not to mention it brings up the possibility of making mistakes. I do know, from my experience as a research engineer, that continual concentration can be just as draining on the body as physical labor, and moreso on one's mental acuity. Thus, I do not begrudge any surgeon working on me the opportunity to take a break along to maintain mental acuity.

As for the CO2 level buildups... I find it absolutely amazing! It wasn't that long ago when talking about Global Warming that people were scared to death that the air was so poisoned by CO2 levels of 0.04%. Now many of the same people are claiming that carbon dioxide isn't a big deal. Which is it?

Carbon dioxide levels of 0.1% are safe; that's what one normally gets when one is sitting indoors in a building with good ventilation (greenhouses also use levels up to 0.1% to enhance and accelerate plant growth). Levels of up to 0.2% can cause drowsiness; that's what one experiences when sitting in a small conference room that isn't adequately ventilated. Up to 0.5% is considered mild hyercapnia and can cause several mildly debilitating but also short-lived symptoms (headache, dizziness, mental confusion, etc.). Above that is considered a major health risk.

Now, the last time I looked, things like drowsiness, dizziness, and mental confusion were considered mental issues that indicated one was not mentally performing at 100%. Perhaps that has changed; could someone clue me in if so?

Now, I don't know what the CO2 level beneath a mask is; I would assume it is below 0.1%. Understand, however, that exhaled breath contains about 4% carbon dioxide as opposed to normal atmospheric levels of 0.04% (more during periods of physical exertion or strong mental concentration) and has an O2 concentration of 16% as opposed to 21% in fresh air (less during periods of physical exertion or strong mental concentration). Most of that does indeed filter through a properly worn mask, but not all. It is physically impossible to create a filter that works without any pressure differential, and that means it is physically impossible for a mask to allow for truly free breathing. Some amount of exhaled breath will remain in the area behind the mask and be re-inhaled.

There is also the effect of a surgical mask becoming saturated with moisture with time. After all, that's its purpose: to trap moisture droplets. Those do not magically disappear; they form a layer of moisture on the fabric of the mask. The amount of moisture will decrease the ability of the mask to allow air exchange, as water surface tension will tend to block off the open portions of the weave. So after a certain amount of time, the ability of the mask to allow for air exchange is decreased.

When asked, I advise people to simply remove the mask at every opportunity to allow their lungs to rest from the load and re-saturate their blood with oxygen. My personal SWAG is that masks worn for a couple hours at a time during light exertion is not overly dangerous, but anything beyond that is bringing up questions. Under heavy exertion (exercise or physical labor), I would be concerned about anything over 30 minutes. Of course, that will vary due to the health of the individual; due to low blood flow, my personal limitation stands at around 2 minutes even at light exertion levels... medical conditions are a thing.

I see no harm in posing the question of health effects due to increased CO2 levels, considering that we live in a society where many have somehow decided that breathing in public is an assault and have therefore adopted face masks as a new standard. After all, I thought we were supposed to "follow the science"; does that not include actually doing the science?

TheRedneck

a reply to: carewemust

Believe this is the thread you're referring to...

Shocking Results Came Back - Parents Sent Their Kids' Face Masks to A Lab for Analysis.

a reply to: lostbook

Been saying this for a year and a half already.

The Redneck

He prides himself on being wrong constantly but you know that.

a reply to: LordAhriman

Between patients, of course. Some surgeries last half a day or more, and are so tedious that there isn't a minute to spare, and the same mask and gloves are worn for 12+ hours. Only the smartest surgeons are tasked with these jobs, and I don't think CO2 is making them any less smart.

I've watched you be wrong over and over again.
But this time you stink to high Heaven. Unbelievable
how any one could be a member of this site. And still
be so far off base in your compliance to every narrative.
I can only imagine it to be cement inside your head.

I'm shocked.

a reply to: dug88

Those protocol are designed to prevent cross contamination, nothing more. They are for the protection of the patients not the mask wearers.

This is basic knowledge, you should know things like this already. Didn't you watch PBS as a kid or get told this in school?

You could probably find this out simply from watching CSI.

a reply to: lostbook

People have been dumb long before wearing a mask.



No intelligent people were injured during the making of this video.

a reply to: lostbook

or maybe threads like this makes people dumb.

a reply to: Randyvine2

Ignore the trolls pal, one or two of them so obviously agents of conformity that you learn to just skip past whatever regurgitated nonsense they’re peddling as opinion.

a reply to: LordAhriman

What you think and the truth are very rarely correlated. Unfortunately can’t draw any connection between your mask wearing and stupidity, you were exhibiting that behaviour before the cult of the mandated mask.