It's better to stay in doors and wait it out. The only mask ever recommended to wear was OSHA's 'respirators' (N95 masks and some medical masks). The N95 respirator was designed by 3M for handling particulates in the coal industry.
Even these were to be used as a last resort and not for over 20 minutes. OSHA published decades of research and published it. They found a mere drop of 1.5% oxygen intake is hazardous to your health. The more time you spend at this level, the more damage occurs to the organs of your body, including the 'auto-pilot' processes, and the brain.
There is no question all face masks restrict the flow of oxygen to your lungs. Very quickly moisture from your exhale clogs up the fabric mesh of the mask and the majority of air is then pulled in from the boundaries of the mask. Yet, air is pulled-in through the fabric mesh too along with condensation of moisture that has accumulated there. This condensation increasingly becomes quite literally, a Petri dish of pathogens.
I have only talked about oxygen depletion and have not talked about carbon dioxide (CO2) build up from exhale. When the lungs intake much more CO2 than the body can tolerate, Hypercapnia occurs. This is a build-up of CO2 in the red-blood cells. The deleterious effects of this can not be under estimated. Symptoms of CO2 poisoning are:
• Deeper breathing
• Twitching of muscles
• Increased blood pressure
• Headache
• Increased pulse rate
• Loss of judgment
• Labored breathing
• Unconsciousness (occurs in under a minute when CO2 concentration rises about 10%)
It's better to stay in doors and wait it out. The only mask ever recommended to wear was OSHA's 'respirators' (N95 masks and some medical masks). The N95 respirator was designed by 3M for handling particulates in the coal industry.
Even these were to be used as a last resort and not for over 20 minutes. OSHA published decades of research and published it. They found a mere drop of 1.5% oxygen intake is hazardous to your health. The more time you spend at this level, the more damage occurs to the organs of your body, including the 'auto-pilot' processes, and the brain.
There is no question all face masks restrict the flow of oxygen to your lungs. Very quickly moisture from your exhale clogs up the fabric mesh of the mask and the majority of air is then pulled in from the boundaries of the mask. Yet, air is pulled-in through the fabric mesh too along with condensation of moisture that has accumulated there. This condensation increasingly becomes quite literally, a Petri dish of pathogens.
I have only talked about oxygen depletion and have not talked about carbon dioxide (CO2) build up from exhale. When the lungs intake much more CO2 than the body can tolerate, Hypercapnia occurs. This is a build-up of CO2 in the red-blood cells. The deleterious effects of this can not be under estimated. Symptoms of CO2 poisoning are:
• Deeper breathing
• Twitching of muscles
• Increased blood pressure
• Headache
• Increased pulse rate
• Loss of judgment
• Labored breathing
• Unconsciousness (occurs in under a minute when CO2 concentration rises about 10%)
• Death
Long term damage includes:
• compromised immune system
• cardiovascular disease
• Diabetes
• Cancer
• Alzheimer's disease
• Accelerated Aging.