Masks do not cause suffocation, say doctors

Muscat: The doctors at the Ministry of Health have confirmed that news being circulated about masks leading to suffocation with carbon dioxide is untrue.

“Pictures and videos are being circulated on social media, a group of people claim that the masks deprive the body of oxygen, and that the person will suffocate with carbon dioxide that he exhales and then breathe it again, but this talk is false and incorrect,” Dr Hamed Al Kalbani, Resident doctor in the Department of Cardiac Surgery, Sorbonne University, Paris said.

“According to the Vanderbilt University Medical Centre, it has not been proven that prolonged use of masks causes carbon dioxide poisoning or a lack of adequate oxygen in healthy people.

For some people with severe chronic lung disease, the mask may make breathing more difficult, but not due to carbon dioxide retention. Healthcare workers routinely wear masks for long periods as part of their usual care (such as performing surgery), and no adverse effects have been reported.”

“As the World Health Organization says, the prolonged use of medical masks, when properly worn, does not cause carbon dioxide poisoning, nor a lack of oxygen,” Al Kalbani stressed.

Dr Nawal Al Rashdu, Director of the Education and Awareness Department at MoH said, “we advise people to avoid wearing masks while playing sports only because the amount of carbon dioxide is high, but at other times wearing masks is necessary and it does not cause any harm because carbon dioxide is coming out from the sides of the muzzle.”

Speaking about the main types of masks that medical staff and other people use, Dr Ahmed Al Kalbani said, “Medical (surgical) masks which is made of at least three filter layers of non-woven synthetic material reduce the risk of respiratory droplets being transmitted from the wearer to others and to the surrounding environment, and they also reduce the chances of the virus spreading from others to the person who wear it.”

“The second type are the respirator masks such as (FFP2), (FFP3), (N95), (N99) specially designed for healthcare workers who provide care to COVID-19 patients in facilities and places where aerosol-generating medical procedures are applied. And the third type are fabric masks and they can act as a barrier to prevent the transmission of the virus as a last solution,” Dr Al Kalbani explained.