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The Harm Caused by Masks
City Journal ^ | May 09 2023 | Jeffrey H. Anderson

Posted on 05/09/2023 1:44:58 PM PDT by Heartlander

The Harm Caused by Masks

A new study suggests that the excess carbon dioxide breathed in by mask-wearers can have major health consequences.

Evidence continues to mount that mask mandates were perhaps the worst public-health intervention in modern American history. While concluding that wearing masks “probably makes little or no difference” in preventing the spread of viruses, a recent Cochrane review also emphasized that “more attention should be paid to describing and quantifying the harms” that may come from wearing masks. A new study from Germany does just that, and it suggests that the excess carbon dioxide breathed in by mask-wearers may have substantial ill-effects on their health—and, in the case of pregnant women, their unborn children’s.

Mask-wearers breathe in greater amounts of air that should have been expelled from their bodies and released out into the open. “[A] significant rise in carbon dioxide occurring while wearing a mask is scientifically proven in many studies,” write the German authors. “Fresh air has around 0.04% CO2,” they observe, while chronic exposure at CO2 levels of 0.3 percent is “toxic.” How much CO2 do mask-wearers breathe in? The authors write that “masks bear a possible chronic exposure to low level carbon dioxide of 1.41–3.2% CO2 of the inhaled air in reliable human experiments.”

In other words, while eight times the normal level of carbon dioxide is toxic, research suggests that mask-wearers (specifically those who wear masks for more than 5 minutes at a time) are breathing in 35 to 80 times normal levels.

The German study, a scoping review of existing research, aimed “to investigate the toxicological effects of face masks in terms of CO2 rebreathing on developing life, specifically for pregnant women, children, and adolescents.” The latter two groups, of course, have been among those most frequently subjected to mask mandates in schools, despite Covid’s low levels of risk for them and the evidence that masks don’t work.

What can breathing too much carbon dioxide do to you? The authors write that “at levels between 0.05% and 0.5% CO2,” one might experience an “increased heart rate, increased blood pressure and overall increased circulation with the symptoms of headache, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, dizziness, rhinitis, and dry cough.” Rates above 0.5 percent can lead to “reduced cognitive performance, impaired decision-making and reduced speed of cognitive solutions.” Beyond 1 percent, “the harmful effects include respiratory acidosis, metabolic stress, increased blood flow and decreased exercise tolerance.” Again, mask-wearers are likely breathing in CO2 levels between 1.4 percent and 3.2 percent—well above any of these thresholds. What’s more, “Testes metabolism and cell respiration have been shown to be inhibited increasingly by rising levels of CO2.”

So, high blood pressure, reduced thinking ability, respiratory problems, and reproductive concerns are among the many possible results of effectively poisoning oneself by breathing in too much carbon dioxide.

The authors write that “it is clear that carbon dioxide rebreathing, especially when using N95 masks, is above the 0.8% CO2 limit set by the US Navy to reduce the risk of stillbirths and birth defects on submarines with female personnel who may be pregnant.” In other words, mandates have forced pregnant women to wear masks resulting in levels of CO2 inhalation that would be prohibited if they were serving on a Navy submarine.

Indeed, according to the authors, there exists “circumstantial evidence that popular mask use may be related to current observations of a significant rise of 28% to 33% in stillbirths worldwide and a reduced verbal, motor, and overall cognitive performance of two full standard deviations in scores in children born during the pandemic.” They cite recent data from Australia, which “shows that lockdown restrictions and other measures (including masks that have been mandatory in Australia), in the absence of high rates of COVID-19 disease, were associated with a significant increase in stillborn births.” Meantime, “no increased risk of stillbirths was observed in Sweden,” which famously defied the public-health cabal and went its own way in setting Covid policies.

As for countries where mask-wearing has long been common, the authors write, “Even before the pandemic, in Asia the stillbirth rates have been significantly higher” than in Europe, Asia, or North Africa.

“It has to be pointed out that this data on the toxicity of carbon dioxide on reproduction has been known for 60 years,” the authors observe. For this reason, they write, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has CO2 threshold limits of 3 percent for 15 minutes and 0.5 percent for eight hours in workplace ambient air. Yet the CDC has been perhaps the primary pusher of masks in the United States.

Nor is increased CO2 intake the only health danger that results from wearing masks. The study focused only on CO2, but the authors note that “other noxious agents in the masks contribute to toxicological long-term effects like the inhalation of synthetic microfibers, carcinogenic compounds and volatile organic compounds.” They add that “the increased carbon dioxide content of the breathing air behind the mask may also lead to a displacement of oxygen.” Masks are also uncomfortable and unhygienic, and they profoundly compromise human social interaction.

In light of all this, it seems indefensible to mandate—or even to advise—the wearing of masks, especially among the young. The authors write, “Keeping in mind the weak antiviral mask efficacy, the general trend of forcing mask mandates even for the vulnerable subgroups is not based on sound scientific evidence and not in line with the obligation in particular to protect born or unborn children from potential harmful influences.”

Public-health officials—and the executive-branch leaders who credulously listened to them—ignored centuries of Western norms, the best medical evidence, and common sense, deciding that their own novel and evidence-free course was the one that all of society should be forced to follow. We should never again indulge such an obvious and destructive misstep.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; Philosophy; Technical
KEYWORDS: bookmark; co2; masks
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1 posted on 05/09/2023 1:44:58 PM PDT by Heartlander
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To: Heartlander

So glad we used clip on face shields 99% of the duration time. Only place not accepted was hospital/ Dr. office and one other public location.


2 posted on 05/09/2023 1:49:07 PM PDT by rktman (Destroy America from within? Check! WTH? Enlisted USN 1967 to end up with this💩? 🚫💉)
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To: Heartlander

I still see people driving around by themselves in their cars with masks on. More power to them, but its hard to believe they’ve sat down and seriously analyzed whether its necessary alone in a car with windows rolled up.

Oh yeah, Heil Science:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FEADB8deeok


3 posted on 05/09/2023 1:50:03 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; not averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: Heartlander

But they project eager compliance with government mandates that prove your willingness to hate those who differ. The Nazi arm band, worn on the face.


4 posted on 05/09/2023 1:52:53 PM PDT by blackdog ((Z28.310) We're all Women now.)
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To: Heartlander

How many Republicans who currently hold public office told us to wear masks three years ago and or issued orders to that effect?

Honestly where the admission of guilt from these GOP COVID mask order issuers including Tate Reeves in Mississippi, Doug Burgum in North Dakota and Brad Little in Idaho among others.

I still recall a woman in Ohio not wearing a mask arrested and Republican Governor still Governor Mike DeWine defending the police for arresting her.


5 posted on 05/09/2023 1:53:25 PM PDT by Nextrush (FREEDOM IS EVERBODY'S BUSINESS-REMEMBER PASTOR NIEMOLLER)
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To: Heartlander
I seem to remember saying this three years ago only to be told that reducing your air intake was good for you, certainly prevented all viruses from getting to you and if you did not agree you should be arrested, thrown in jail and raped.
6 posted on 05/09/2023 2:05:07 PM PDT by Harmless Teddy Bear (Follow the money. Even if it leads you to someplace horrible it will still lead you to the truth.)
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To: Heartlander

Most people still willfully wearing the Mask are habitual worriers and somewhat superstitious by nature.
These folks will never feel completely safe without their Mask. They see it almost like a Good Luck Charm or consecrated Rosary beads that must never be removed from the neck.


7 posted on 05/09/2023 2:13:56 PM PDT by lee martell
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To: Heartlander

“Bacterial Pneumonia Caused Most Deaths in 1918 Influenza Pandemic”

https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/bacterial-pneumonia-caused-most-deaths-1918-influenza-pandemic


8 posted on 05/09/2023 2:16:15 PM PDT by Worldtraveler once upon a time (Degrow government)
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To: lee martell

Who cares…no worse than people who wear sun glasses on cloudy days .

,,,


9 posted on 05/09/2023 2:19:21 PM PDT by Mears (.)
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To: Heartlander

Was at the Shake Shack in Indy today - 1/2 of the help behind the counter were sill wearing Face Masks pulled over their noses


10 posted on 05/09/2023 2:20:00 PM PDT by EC Washington
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To: Heartlander

The side effects describe the liberal thought process.


11 posted on 05/09/2023 2:22:06 PM PDT by maddog55 (The only thing systemic in America is the left's hatred of it!)
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To: Heartlander

Look I am not buying this. There are professions that require mask wearing for hours at a time every day and this has never been a problem before.

*I* think this is just another attempt to blame evil consequences of the death shots on anything else. In this case, masks are perfect because everyone knows they are BS, most people despised being made to wear them, and in the future they can say “oh take the shot to stop the spread because masks are bad”.

Just my cynical 0.02 cents.


12 posted on 05/09/2023 2:22:20 PM PDT by CaptainPhilFan ( Bring back insane asylums)
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To: Secret Agent Man
Don't forget the dog walkers.

Fauci said when he took his run each day, he took his mask off until he was near a person...put it on...and removed after passing. So Covid was a predator...lol

13 posted on 05/09/2023 2:24:51 PM PDT by Sacajaweau ( )
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To: Heartlander

I was saying back when the mask nonsense first started in 2020 that we were not supposed to be breathing our own exhaust.

Especially little kids. I really, really hate seeing masks on little kids.


14 posted on 05/09/2023 2:25:08 PM PDT by Allegra
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To: Mears

I have one or two friends I wish I could convince to toss their Masks out the window, but I stopped offering advice they didn’t want to hear.

Sunglasses on cloudy days?
People used to assume those were Dopers, drinkers or wannabe Movie Stars.
Or..maybe they just have sensitive ‘tricky’ eyes.


15 posted on 05/09/2023 2:27:18 PM PDT by lee martell
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To: Nextrush
I still recall a woman in Ohio not wearing a mask arrested and Republican Governor still Governor Mike DeWine defending the police for arresting her.

Arrested?? For not wearing a nasty mask? Where?

16 posted on 05/09/2023 2:27:30 PM PDT by Allegra
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To: Worldtraveler once upon a time

And masks are fomites.


17 posted on 05/09/2023 2:28:53 PM PDT by mewzilla (We will never restore the republic if we don't first secure the ballot box.)
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To: Secret Agent Man

I still see people driving around by themselves in their cars with masks on. More power to them, ... .
********
Why “more power to them ...”? Those people are living in fear and probably vote accordingly.


18 posted on 05/09/2023 2:28:57 PM PDT by Socon-Econ (adi)
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To: Secret Agent Man

I have a co-worker who still double masks, blue mask over N95, won’t eat lunch in the break room, and instead eats in their car with a mini HEPA filter on the dash and windows up.


19 posted on 05/09/2023 2:32:04 PM PDT by matt04 ( )
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To: Heartlander

It used to pi$$ me off to no end that my dad, who had advanced heart failure, one of the symptoms of which was being short of breath, had to wear a mask visiting his doctors, including the cardiologist & pulmonologist. The first doc to give up the mask requirement was his ortho.


20 posted on 05/09/2023 2:36:33 PM PDT by Qiviut (I'm not out of control, I'm just not in their control. $hot $hills: Sod Off)
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