C'mon Gene, when posting things like this, why aren't you citing where???
Here's a few contrapositions...
This is from an Anti-Mask State, no less, IOWA!!
Expert Sets Straight 5 Common Face Mask Myths
Myth #1: Wearing Face Masks Can Cause Fungal and Bacterial Infections – Like Pneumonia
First, let’s talk about bacterial infections. The way bacterial
pneumonia tends to develop is through aspirating – or breathing in – contents into the lungs. So, in terms of wearing a mask, the respiratory droplets you exhale that land on the inside of your mask that you then breath back in will not give you bacterial pneumonia.
If you have phlegm, you should find a way to safely spit it out. That way you aren’t at risk of breathing in large amounts of mucus or saliva into your lungs, which is how bacterial pneumonia develops.
Fungal pneumonia, otherwise known as pneumonia caused by molds, is extremely rare and mostly seen in people with low performing immune systems – like those with cancer, a transplant or other types of immune deficiencies. One way you could, hypothetically, end up with fungal pneumonia is if you find an old mask that’s really moldy and decide to use it. It’s very important to keep your masks clean and wash them after every wear.
Additionally, people who regularly wear masks for prolonged periods of time don’t have higher rates of pneumonia than the rest of the population.
From Reuters:
Fact check: No evidence mask wearing will cause bacterial pneumonia
Fact check: No evidence mask wearing will cause bacterial pneumonia
By Reuters Staff
4 MIN READ
A graphic shared on social media falsely suggests that wearing a mask will cause bacterial infections and hypoxia, a condition in which the body’s cells do not receive enough oxygen.
The post (
here) shows an illustration of lungs with a caption that reads: “Bacterial pneumonia. When you exhale your body is eliminating toxins and unhealthy bacteria. By wearing a mask the toxic matter is trapped on the fabric and you’re inhaling it all in, causing infections like bacterial pneumonia and hypoxia.”
Reuters has previously debunked claims that masks can cause bacterial infections (
here and
here)
A team of global health scientists and infection preventionists at the Meedan Digital Health Lab (learnaboutcovid19.org/) told Reuters there was “no evidence” to suggest face masks can increase the chance of developing pneumonia, “or any other bacterial, fungal or viral infection in the lungs”.
They added that masks are safe and effective for most people, though said there were some exceptions, such as “very young children (under two years of age in the United States) and people with health conditions that make it difficult to wear a mask (ex. certain pre-existing pulmonary or cardiac issues, mental health conditions, developmental disabilities).
“For the vast majority, wearing masks is an effective way to help reduce COVID-19 transmission without causing any major side effects, as long as masks are kept clean and used correctly,” they said.
While people do not develop pneumonia from simply breathing into their own masks, experts have advised people to ensure they regularly clean their non-medial face coverings in order to avoid contamination (p.10 here
here) . The World Health Organisation also advises that masks are not worn during exercise, as sweat can make a mask wet and promote the growth of microorganisms (
here).
The Facebook post also claimed that wearing a mask can cause hypoxia, a condition where a part of the body does not receive enough oxygen (
here).
The American Lung Association and The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center both say it is not true that wearing a mask lowers oxygen intake (
www.lung.org/blog/covid-masks and
here).
The Mayo Clinic non-profit academic medical centre has said that that wearing cloth masks presents no risk of hypoxia in healthy adult. “Carbon dioxide will freely diffuse through your mask as you breathe,” it says (
here).
As these sources note, healthcare workers have worn face coverings for extended periods of time without injury (
here and
here).
VERDICT
False. Correct use of masks will not cause bacterial pneumonia or hypoxia.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work
here .
