Introduction
The use of face masks has become increasingly popular in recent months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While face masks are an effective way to protect yourself and others from the virus, they can also have some side effects. In this article, we will discuss 8 side effects of wearing face masks. These include skin irritation, difficulty breathing, foggy glasses, headaches, ear pain, increased risk of infection, and more. We will also discuss ways to reduce the risk of these side effects.
8 Side Effects of Wearing Face Masks
The use of face masks has become increasingly popular in recent months as a way to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. While face masks can be effective in reducing the spread of germs, they can also have some unintended side effects. Here are 8 side effects of wearing face masks.
1. Skin Irritation
One of the most common side effects of wearing a face mask is skin irritation. The friction from the mask can cause chafing and rashes on the skin. To help prevent this, it is important to choose a mask that is made of a soft, breathable material and to wash the mask regularly.
2. Difficulty Breathing
Wearing a face mask can make it more difficult to breathe, especially for those with respiratory conditions. To help make breathing easier, it is important to choose a mask that fits properly and is made of a breathable material. It is also important to make sure the mask is not too tight.
3. Fogging of Glasses
Wearing a face mask can cause glasses to fog up, making it difficult to see. To help prevent this, it is important to choose a mask that fits properly and to make sure the mask is not too tight. It is also helpful to use an anti-fog spray on the lenses of the glasses.
4. Increased Temperature
Wearing a face mask can cause the temperature of the face to increase, which can be uncomfortable. To help reduce the temperature, it is important to choose a mask that is made of a breathable material and to make sure the mask is not too tight.
5. Increased Humidity
Wearing a face mask can cause the humidity of the face to increase, which can be uncomfortable. To help reduce the humidity, it is important to choose a mask that is made of a breathable material and to make sure the mask is not too tight.
6. Difficulty Communicating
Wearing a face mask can make it more difficult to communicate with others, as it can muffle the sound of the voice. To help make communication easier, it is important to choose a mask that fits properly and to make sure the mask is not too tight.
7. Increased Anxiety
Wearing a face mask can cause some people to feel anxious or claustrophobic. To help reduce anxiety, it is important to choose a mask that fits properly and is made of a breathable material. It is also important to make sure the mask is not too tight.
8. Self-Consciousness
Wearing a face mask can make some people feel self-conscious or embarrassed. To help reduce feelings of self-consciousness, it is important to choose a mask that fits properly and is made of a breathable material. It is also important to make sure the mask is not too tight.
Your face masks is working double obligation to guard everybody: It retains you from spreading your germs and might cease different germs from stepping into you. Nonetheless, if used thoughtlessly, the masks can even trigger undesirable unwanted effects. This is what they’re—and tips on how to forestall them. Learn on, and to make sure your well being and the well being of others, do not miss these Certain Indicators You’ve got Already Had Coronavirus.
“Sporting a face masks makes the exhaled air go into the eyes,” wrote Antonio I. Lazzarino, Medical Physician and Epidemiologist, of the College Faculty London, in a letter to the journal BMJ concerning the unwanted effects of face masks. “This generates an uncomfortable feeling and an impulse to the touch your eyes. In case your arms are contaminated, you might be infecting your self.”
The Rx: Resist the temptation to the touch your face, and wash your arms with cleaning soap for 20 seconds after contact with substances like door handles, elevator buttons, packages or anything the place germs thrive.
Discovering the proper match begins with utilizing the proper fabric. “Cotton materials is taken into account to have higher air flow and can lure much less of the moisture that builds up from respiration and sweating,” reviews CNet.
The Rx: Make certain it is “cosy, not tight,” says CNet. “Whilst you need your masks to suit snugly round your face to assist forestall respiratory droplets from escaping or coming in, you don’t need it to be so tight that it hurts your face. Additionally, if it is too tight, that provides you much less room to breathe properly.”
Whenever you exhale heat air with out carrying a masks, it dissipates into the ambiance. Whenever you do it carrying a masks, it tends to shoot straight up into your bifocals, fogging them up.
The Rx: Wash your glasses in soapy water and permit them to air dry. The movie ought to forestall fogging. “One other tactic is to think about the match of your face masks, to stop your exhaled breath from reaching your glasses,” reviews the AARP. “A simple hack is to put a folded tissue between your mouth and the masks. The tissue will soak up the nice and cozy, moist air, stopping it from reaching your glasses. Additionally, be certain that the highest of your masks is tight and the underside looser, to assist direct your exhaled breath away out of your eyes.”
“The standard and the amount of speech between two folks carrying masks is significantly compromised they usually might unconsciously come nearer,” wrote Lazzarino.
The Rx: Make sure to keep six ft away from somebody when speaking to them. Consider the size of a twin mattress, to offer you a way of the gap.
Do not consider your face masks as Batman’s cowl—some form of bulletproof overlaying that may shield you from the coronavirus. “(Masks needs to be worn) along with the evidence-based, sturdy suggestions which might be already in place round bodily distancing, frequent handwashing, and frequent disinfecting of generally touched surfaces,” Dr. Marcia Anderson, medical officer of well being on the Winnipeg Regional Well being Authority, tells World Information.
Strolling round with a unclean face masks is not doing you or anybody else any favors. They’re meant to cease the unfold of germs, not unfold germs themselves.
The Rx: Says the CDC:
- “They need to be routinely washed relying on the frequency of use.”
- “A washer ought to suffice in correctly washing a face overlaying.”
- “People needs to be cautious to not contact their eyes, nostril, and mouth when eradicating their face overlaying and wash arms instantly after eradicating.”
“Fabric face coverings shouldn’t be positioned on younger youngsters underneath age 2, anybody who has hassle respiration, or is unconscious, incapacitated or in any other case unable to take away the masks with out help,” says the CDC.
The Rx: Don’t use masks underneath these circumstances.
“When you have dry pores and skin, it is best to placed on moisturizer earlier than carrying a masks,” reviews CNet. “This may also help forestall pores and skin irritation from the place the masks rubs your face.”
The Rx: “When you have delicate pores and skin, you could wish to forgo the make-up underneath your masks altogether and to cleanse your face earlier than and after carrying a masks,” reviews Cnet. “To not point out, the muse can even rub off in your masks, resulting in decreased air filtration, making it more durable to breathe.”
RELATED: Dr. Fauci Simply Stated When We might Be Again to “Regular”
Based on the CDC, “fabric face coverings ought to—
- match snugly however comfortably in opposition to the facet of the face
- be secured with ties or ear loops
- embrace a number of layers of material
- enable for respiration with out restriction
- have the ability to be laundered and machine dried with out harm or change to form”
As for your self: To get by means of this pandemic at your healthiest, do not miss these 35 Locations You are Most Prone to Catch COVID.