Why Are 600,000 Students Being Masked When Student Deaths Are Close to Zero?

By Woody Jenkins, Editor, Central City News • CENTRAL — According to the Louisiana Department of Health, a total of 11,519 people have died in Louisiana either because of Covid or at least with it in their system.

Amazingly, only 10 of those deaths have been among people under 18 years of age, and those had other co-morbidities.  

Yet, everyday, 600,000 public and private school students in Louisiana are being required to wear a mask for 8 hours — 4.8 million hours a day of wearing masks!

What are the dangers of wearing masks?

The Journal of Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology has recently published a study of the harmful effects of mask wearing by healthcare professionals. 

The study surveyed 343 healthcare workers in New York City hospitals working with Covid patients.  It showed 91.5 percent of those surveyed suffered adverse effects.  It concluded that, “A profound number of healthcare professionals who participated in this survey reported adverse reactions to prolonged mask use during COVID-19. Headaches, skin breakdown, acne, and impaired cognition were all recognized as common adverse effects.”

The study said, “Wearing masks for a prolonged amount of time causes a host of physiologic and psychologic burdens and can decrease work efficiency. Activity cannot be performed as long or as efficiently while wearing masks as compared to when masks are not worn. Additionally, the timeframe that an activity can be sustained is decreased when wearing masks and PPE. Prolonged use of N95 and surgical masks causes physical adverse effects such as headaches, difficulty breathing, acne, skin breakdown, rashes, and impaired cognition. It also interferes with vision, communication, and thermal equilibrium.”

“Headaches related to prolonged mask use can be attributed to mechanical factors, hypercapnia, and hypoxemia. Tight straps and pressure on superficial facial and cervical nerves are mechanical features causing headaches. Cervical neck strain from donning PPE, sleep deprivation, irregular mealtimes, and emotional stress are other sources of headaches among healthcare professionals during prolonged mask use.” 

“Tight fitting masks cause inadequate ventilation and increased levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) known as hypercapnia. As CO2 is a known respiratory stimulant, a buildup of exhaled CO2 between the mask and face will cause increased lung ventilation and respiratory activity. Symptoms of hypoxemia such as chest discomfort and tachypnea are also noted in healthcare professionals with prolonged mask use. Exhaled CO2 builds up between the mask and face, and increased levels of CO2 cause confusion, impaired cognition, and disorientation.”

“A hot and humid environment found in the facial region covered by masks, causes discomfort and hyperthermia. This may create a situation where the healthcare professional is unable to recognize dangers and perform manual tasks, and it also significantly affects motor skills. The moist environment and pressure from tight fitting masks also block facial ducts. This can explain the increase of acne with prolonged mask use.”

“Frequent PPE and mask changes may cause shearing and breakdown of the skin, and breakdown on the bridge of the nose and cheek bones can be attributed to tight fitting masks and goggles that put pressure on these specific areas.”

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Continuing to quote the study published in the Journal of Infectious Disease and Epidemiology: “Of the 343 participants of this survey, 59.2% (n = 203) primarily wear a N95 mask and 40.8% (n = 140) wear a surgical mask throughout their shift. Reported side effects include headache, acne, skin breakdown, and impaired cognition. The majority of respondents (91.5%, n = 314) report one or more of these adverse effects while 8.5% (n = 29) report none of these adverse effects. Some found specific brands such as 3M, Kimberly Clark, Halyard, Medline, and Argaman causing these side effects while others reported no difference from one brand to another.”

“The highest reported side effect was headaches with 71.4% respondents (n = 245) reporting this adverse effect. 15.2% (n = 52) stated their headaches occurred within 1 hour of wearing the mask, 30.6% (n = 105) after 1 hour of wearing the mask, and 29.7% (n = 102) after 3 hours or more of wearing the mask. 24.5% (n = 84) reported no headaches at all from prolonged mask use (Figure 2). The majority of survey respondents (71.4%, n = 245) have no prior history of headaches.”

“After removing the mask, headaches resolved in 14% of respondents (n = 48) within 30 minutes, 33.8% (n = 116) after 1 hour, while 28% (n = 96) needed medication for treatment to resolve the headache. Medications such as Tylenol, Motrin, and NSAIDs were used for those who needed medication to resolve their headache.

Prior history of sensitive skin was reported in 47.8% (n = 164) of respondents. 51% of survey respondents (n = 175) reported skin breakdown as an adverse effect of prolonged mask use (Figure 3). 18.1% (n = 62) reported skin breakdown within 1-3 hours of mask use and 44% (n = 151) after 3 hours or more of mask use. For those who had skin breakdown, the most common area was the bridge of the nose (42.9%, n = 147) and cheeks (28.6%, n = 98). Other areas of skin breakdown are chin (14.3%, n = 49) and behind the ears (32.1%, n = 110). To alleviate skin breakdown, 35.6% (n = 122) used lotions or creams such as bacitracin, aquaphor, Kiehl’s, aloe, Cetaphil, aloe, shea butter, Jergens, skin prep, and cavalon. 8.7% (n = 30) used dressings such as mepilex, duoderm, and band aid.

Acne accounted for 53.1% (n = 182) of participants with 11.1% (n = 38) reporting acne within 1-3 hours of mask use and 47.8% (n = 164) after 3 hours of mask use. A history of acne was reported in 35.3% (n = 121) of the respondents while the others reported no history of acne.

Impaired cognition was the least reported adverse effect with 23.6% (n = 81) reporting impaired cognition from prolonged mask use. Of those who experienced this side effect, 2.9% (n = 10) were cognitively impaired within 1 hour of mask use, 9% (n = 31) within 1-3 hours of mask use, and 16.6% (n = 57) after 4 hours of mask use.

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The study can be found at: https://clinmedjournals.org/articles/jide/journal-of-infectious-diseases-and-epidemiology-jide-6-130.php?jid=jide