Ask the Rev. Doctor Maria: May 27
The Rev. Dr. Maria Evans is serving as the Interim Rector at Christ Church in Rolla. She is also a pathologist, board certified in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology, a laboratory medical director, and has served on hospital infection control committees for over 30 years.
During the coronavirus outbreak, The Rev. Dr. Maria is offering her expertise to help us understand and make our way through this unprecedented experience. If you have a question you'd like to ask The Rev. Dr. Maria, send an email to [email protected].
I keep seeing that there are adverse effects from breathing your own carbon dioxide while wearing a mask. Should I be worried?
This is one of those claims that has a kernel of truth wrapped in a fair bit of bull... um, I mean baloney. (I needed to check to see if I was wearing my clergy shirt or my lab coat for a second!)
It's true that there are adverse and toxic effects (hypercapnia) from breathing in too much carbon dioxide (CO2); in large amounts it can be fatal. However, given the composition of most masks, about the worst thing that can happen is you can get a headache if you are wearing one continually for several hours. We know that based on multiple studies of workers wearing N95 masks on job sites.
Think about it for a minute. Cardiothoracic surgeons and neurosurgeons often scrub into cases that can easily last 4-5 hours, and there's never been a reported case of any fatal or long term adverse effects in those professions--and those are surgical specialties with very little room for error.
I'll be the first to admit that, especially with warmer weather starting to come our way, masks feel hot and confining, and can certainly precipitate symptoms of anxiety. For some, that feeling of "not being able to breathe freely" can even trigger a panic attack. We might start hyperventilating in a mask. Yet, what's the time-honored treatment for someone who is hyperventilating? It's to breathe into a paper bag and breathe their own CO2!
All that said, if you are experiencing feelings of confinement or anxiety wearing a mask, there are a few things you can do to literally and figuratively give yourself some breathing room:
The Rev. Dr. Maria Evans
who doubles as
Maria L. Evans, MD, FCAP, FASCP
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