Some masks better than others
- Thread starter Phil C. McNasty
- Start date
It's a good question. Since everyone is masked inside of all the public places and the cases are rising, I'd say that the odds are pretty decent for the ocular infection- especially in the situation like the TTC. Of course we will never know because our local "experts" are preoccupied with the entertainment and not the good citizens rubbing against each other on the city buses. Btw, still no standards on the masks- NINE MONTHS into the pandemic. Trust the science, eh?
Still can't...(blah blah blah)
I can't believe anyone would insult your intellect and scientific prowess. Show them Phil, hold up your CPSO Certification as you did your passport and show the Terb world what a stable genius you are!
OK let's compare Ontario.But you are cherry-picking US numbers. Look at France, Italy, Spain for example, they have had mandatory mask laws since the summer and their number have shot up since then.
Or look right here in Ontario, the ironic thing is new cases skyrocketed almost the exact week mask laws came into effect (see red line).
I think I know why it happening, I'll post my theory later today when I have more time
Toronto I believe mandated masks in early to mid June, and province wide it happened late June to early July can not remember the exact dates.
Now how do you look at that chart and come to the non factual conclusion that and I quote "new cases skyrocketed almost the exact week mask laws came into effect"
By almost the exact week do you mean 3.5 months later?
The spikes in cases in Ontario did no start happening until mid to late September and there are numerous reasons why it happened which has been explained to you numerous times, unfortunately you just do not understand scientific facts and rely more on your personal opinion and anecdotal evidence/facts.
I highly doubt your new theory would be anywhere close to the truth either.
BTW you really do need to go and understand what transpired in countries such as Italy, Spain, France or UK and why it happened, before you irrationally compare them to Sweden again while purposely ignoring comparing Sweden to it's Nordic bordering neighbours who they share more similarites with including the timeline and exposure to the virus.
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Masks were made mandatory in Ontario around July 14th, 2020. New cases began their upward trend 4 to 6 weeks later.
So typo on my part, not 1 week later, about 1 month later.
The rest of my post still stands, cases have skyrocketed since masks were made mandatory
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh and BTW doggy, you still havent answered my question.
You said something along the lines of Swedes tend to listen to their government better.
Do you have any stats or other evidence to back this up??
Last edited:
An Evidence Based Scientific Analysis of Why Masks are Ineffective, Unnecessary, and Harmful
About Dr. Meehan
Jim Meehan, MD is an ophthalmologist and preventive medicine specialist with over 20 years of experience and advanced training in immunology, inflammation, and infectious disease. He has performed well over 10,000 surgical procedures. His research experience includes investigating associations between military vaccinations and Gulf War Syndrome. Dr. Meehan is also trained in internal medicine, addiction medicine, endocrinology, integrative medicine, functional medicine, and nutrition.
Dr. Meehan is a former editor of the medical journal, “Ocular Immunology and Inflammation.” Dr. Meehan has peer-reviewed thousands of medical research studies. With this experience and expertise, Dr. Meehan has dedicated his career to protecting his patients and the public from the fraud, corruption, and pseudoscience so often used by agents and agencies whose motives and interests have resulted in American medicine and pharmaceutical drugs becoming the third leading cause of death in the United States.
Key Points
Masks as means of “Source Control” - No, My Mask Does Not Protect You From Me
The public is being repeatedly misinformed by catchy (guilt and fear based) marketing messages designed to promote the social responsibility (or guilt) to wear masks as a form of source control: “I wear my mask for you and you wear your mask for me.”
Where is the evidence for these claims? On the websites where these unscientific marketing messages are found, there are never references to science that supports the claims. In fact, despite almost everything that has been drilled into the public psyche regarding masks, has little to know basis in science and absolutely no robust support from the highest-level evidence based research. Masks have never been proven to protect either the wearer or the community from the transmission of respiratory pathogens. Mask mandates during a pandemic are opposed by decades of high level science.
Simply put, the public is being misled by fraudulent claims supported with weak pseudoscience.
The fallacious argument: "Well, if masks don't work, then why do surgeons wear them?"
I'm an ophthalmic surgeon. I specialize in ocular immunology, inflammation, and infectious disease. I’ve performed over 10,000 surgical procedures wearing a surgical mask. I have suffered the detrimental effects that masks caused to my mental and physical function during long surgeries. Because most of the surgeries I performed were microscopic procedures that required fine motor skills, I changed my mask frequently to prevent the detrimental effects of arterial deoxygenation.
However, these facts alone don’t qualify me as an expert on the matter. What qualifies me is my experience as an editor of a medical journal, the fact that I’ve peer-reviewed thousands of pre-print research articles, that I am an expert at reading medical research, distinguishing good science from bad, and separating fact from fiction.
Believe me, the medical literature is filled with bad fiction masquerading as medical science. It is very easy to be deceived by bad science.
Since the beginning of the pandemic I've read hundreds of studies on the science of medical masks. Based on extensive review and analysis, there is no question in my mind that healthy people should not be wearing surgical or cloth masks. Nor should we be recommending universal masking of all members of the population. That recommendation is not supported by the highest level of scientific evidence.
First, the premise that surgeons wearing masks serves as evidence that "masks must work to prevent viral transmission" is a logical fallacy. I would classify this claim as an argument of false equivalence, or comparing "apples to oranges." Surgical masks offer no benefit in protecting patients from the surgeon’s respiratory droplets contaminating the surgical field and the exposed tissues of surgical patients.
Surgeons well-versed in the scientific research regarding medical masks, especially the systemic reviews published by the Cochrane Collaboration Wound Group, know that surgical face masks provide no benefit in the prevention of surgical wound infections.[R][R] Surgeons with experience wearing surgical masks during long surgeries have undoubtedly experienced and understand the detrimental effects masks have on respiration, blood oxygenation, mental, and physical performance. For these science-based reasons, there is a worldwide trend towards surgeons and operating room staff no longer wearing surgical masks during “clean surgery” cases.
Nevertheless, many surgeons continue to wear face masks during clean surgery cases and outpatient minor procedures. We do so more for symbolic purposes, habit, tradition, or, not infrequently, because of institutional ignorance. That is, we are forced to wear masks because it is the ignorant, anti-science policy of the hospital or surgery center where we perform our surgeries.
Although wearing a mask during a clean surgery is unnecessary, there are other surgical cases in which surgical masks, eye protection, and face shields are still a good idea. For example, cases in which bone saws, drills, and other surgical power tools can expose the surgical team to splashes and splatters from the patient’s bodily fluids.
If a surgeon were sick, especially with a viral infection, they would not perform surgery as they know the virus would NOT be stopped by their surgical mask.
Another area of "false equivalence" has to do with the environment in which the masks are worn. The environments in which surgeons wear masks minimize the adverse effects surgical masks have on their wearers.
Unlike the public wearing masks in the community, surgeons work in sterile surgical suites equipped with heavy duty air exchange systems that maintain positive pressures, exchange and filter the room air at a very high level, and increase the oxygen content of the room air. These conditions limit the negative effects of masks on the surgeon and operating room staff. And yet despite these extreme climate control conditions, clinical studies demonstrate the negative effects (lowering arterial oxygen and carbon dioxide rebreathing) of surgical masks on surgeon physiology and performance.
Surgeons and operating room personnel are well trained, experienced, and meticulous about maintaining sterility. We only wear fresh sterile masks. We don the mask in a sterile fashion. We wear the mask for short periods of time and change it out at the first signs of the excessive moisture build up that we know degrades mask effectiveness and increases their negative effects. Surgeons NEVER reuse surgical masks, nor do we ever wear cloth masks.
The public is being told to wear masks for which they have not been trained in the proper techniques. As a result, they are mishandling, frequently touching, and constantly reusing masks in a way that increases contamination and are more likely than not to increase transmission of disease.
Just go watch people at the grocery story or Walmart and tell me what you think about the effectiveness of masks in the community.
If you can't help but believe and trust the weak retrospective observational studies and confused public health "authorities" lying to you about the benefits and completely ignoring the risks of medical masks, then you should at least reject the illogical anti-science recommendation to block only 2 of the 3 ports of entry for viral diseases. Masks only cover the mouth and nose. They do not protect the eyes.
more at
www.meehanmd.com
About Dr. Meehan
Jim Meehan, MD is an ophthalmologist and preventive medicine specialist with over 20 years of experience and advanced training in immunology, inflammation, and infectious disease. He has performed well over 10,000 surgical procedures. His research experience includes investigating associations between military vaccinations and Gulf War Syndrome. Dr. Meehan is also trained in internal medicine, addiction medicine, endocrinology, integrative medicine, functional medicine, and nutrition.
Dr. Meehan is a former editor of the medical journal, “Ocular Immunology and Inflammation.” Dr. Meehan has peer-reviewed thousands of medical research studies. With this experience and expertise, Dr. Meehan has dedicated his career to protecting his patients and the public from the fraud, corruption, and pseudoscience so often used by agents and agencies whose motives and interests have resulted in American medicine and pharmaceutical drugs becoming the third leading cause of death in the United States.
Key Points
- Decades of the highest-level scientific evidence (meta-analyses of multiple randomized controlled trials) overwhelmingly conclude that medical masks are ineffective at preventing the transmission of respiratory viruses, including SAR-CoV-2.
- Those arguing for masks are relying on low-level evidence (observational retrospective trials and mechanistic theories), none of which are powered to counter the evidence, arguments, and risks of mask mandates.
- The majority of the population is at very low to almost no risk of severe or lethal disease from CoVID-19. Children are at an extraordinarily low risk of dying from CoVID-19. Based on CDC published data, 99.99815% of children that contract CoVID-19 survive.
- Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 among children in schools and daycares is very rare.
- Masks worn properly are well documented to cause harm to their wearers. Masks worn improperly, re-used, or contaminated are dangerous.
- Any reasonable risk to benefit analysis of medical masks concludes that the risks overwhelmingly outweigh the benefits.
- Children are at imminent risk of harm from mask mandates.
- Evidence Based Medicine: How we (should) make decisions in science and medicine
- Masks are Ineffective
a. Mixed Messages from the Experts
b. The Evidence Against Masks
c. The Evidence For Masks - Masks are Unnecessary
a. Fear and Politics are Subverting Science and Reason
b. Masking Children in Schools is Unnecessary - So Says The Science - Masks are Harmful: 17 Ways that Masks Can Cause Harm
- Masking School Children is Ineffective, Unnecessary, and Harmful
a. Mandatory masks in school are a ‘major threat’ to children's’ health, doctors warn
b. Forcing Children to Wear Masks in Schools is Unnecessary
c. Forcing Children to Wear Masks for Long Periods Risks Causing Them Physical Harm
d. Forcing Children to Wear Masks for Long Periods Risks Causing Them Mental and Psychological Harm
Masks as means of “Source Control” - No, My Mask Does Not Protect You From Me
The public is being repeatedly misinformed by catchy (guilt and fear based) marketing messages designed to promote the social responsibility (or guilt) to wear masks as a form of source control: “I wear my mask for you and you wear your mask for me.”
Where is the evidence for these claims? On the websites where these unscientific marketing messages are found, there are never references to science that supports the claims. In fact, despite almost everything that has been drilled into the public psyche regarding masks, has little to know basis in science and absolutely no robust support from the highest-level evidence based research. Masks have never been proven to protect either the wearer or the community from the transmission of respiratory pathogens. Mask mandates during a pandemic are opposed by decades of high level science.
Simply put, the public is being misled by fraudulent claims supported with weak pseudoscience.
The fallacious argument: "Well, if masks don't work, then why do surgeons wear them?"
I'm an ophthalmic surgeon. I specialize in ocular immunology, inflammation, and infectious disease. I’ve performed over 10,000 surgical procedures wearing a surgical mask. I have suffered the detrimental effects that masks caused to my mental and physical function during long surgeries. Because most of the surgeries I performed were microscopic procedures that required fine motor skills, I changed my mask frequently to prevent the detrimental effects of arterial deoxygenation.
However, these facts alone don’t qualify me as an expert on the matter. What qualifies me is my experience as an editor of a medical journal, the fact that I’ve peer-reviewed thousands of pre-print research articles, that I am an expert at reading medical research, distinguishing good science from bad, and separating fact from fiction.
Believe me, the medical literature is filled with bad fiction masquerading as medical science. It is very easy to be deceived by bad science.
Since the beginning of the pandemic I've read hundreds of studies on the science of medical masks. Based on extensive review and analysis, there is no question in my mind that healthy people should not be wearing surgical or cloth masks. Nor should we be recommending universal masking of all members of the population. That recommendation is not supported by the highest level of scientific evidence.
First, the premise that surgeons wearing masks serves as evidence that "masks must work to prevent viral transmission" is a logical fallacy. I would classify this claim as an argument of false equivalence, or comparing "apples to oranges." Surgical masks offer no benefit in protecting patients from the surgeon’s respiratory droplets contaminating the surgical field and the exposed tissues of surgical patients.
Surgeons well-versed in the scientific research regarding medical masks, especially the systemic reviews published by the Cochrane Collaboration Wound Group, know that surgical face masks provide no benefit in the prevention of surgical wound infections.[R][R] Surgeons with experience wearing surgical masks during long surgeries have undoubtedly experienced and understand the detrimental effects masks have on respiration, blood oxygenation, mental, and physical performance. For these science-based reasons, there is a worldwide trend towards surgeons and operating room staff no longer wearing surgical masks during “clean surgery” cases.
Nevertheless, many surgeons continue to wear face masks during clean surgery cases and outpatient minor procedures. We do so more for symbolic purposes, habit, tradition, or, not infrequently, because of institutional ignorance. That is, we are forced to wear masks because it is the ignorant, anti-science policy of the hospital or surgery center where we perform our surgeries.
Although wearing a mask during a clean surgery is unnecessary, there are other surgical cases in which surgical masks, eye protection, and face shields are still a good idea. For example, cases in which bone saws, drills, and other surgical power tools can expose the surgical team to splashes and splatters from the patient’s bodily fluids.
If a surgeon were sick, especially with a viral infection, they would not perform surgery as they know the virus would NOT be stopped by their surgical mask.
Another area of "false equivalence" has to do with the environment in which the masks are worn. The environments in which surgeons wear masks minimize the adverse effects surgical masks have on their wearers.
Unlike the public wearing masks in the community, surgeons work in sterile surgical suites equipped with heavy duty air exchange systems that maintain positive pressures, exchange and filter the room air at a very high level, and increase the oxygen content of the room air. These conditions limit the negative effects of masks on the surgeon and operating room staff. And yet despite these extreme climate control conditions, clinical studies demonstrate the negative effects (lowering arterial oxygen and carbon dioxide rebreathing) of surgical masks on surgeon physiology and performance.
Surgeons and operating room personnel are well trained, experienced, and meticulous about maintaining sterility. We only wear fresh sterile masks. We don the mask in a sterile fashion. We wear the mask for short periods of time and change it out at the first signs of the excessive moisture build up that we know degrades mask effectiveness and increases their negative effects. Surgeons NEVER reuse surgical masks, nor do we ever wear cloth masks.
The public is being told to wear masks for which they have not been trained in the proper techniques. As a result, they are mishandling, frequently touching, and constantly reusing masks in a way that increases contamination and are more likely than not to increase transmission of disease.
Just go watch people at the grocery story or Walmart and tell me what you think about the effectiveness of masks in the community.
If you can't help but believe and trust the weak retrospective observational studies and confused public health "authorities" lying to you about the benefits and completely ignoring the risks of medical masks, then you should at least reject the illogical anti-science recommendation to block only 2 of the 3 ports of entry for viral diseases. Masks only cover the mouth and nose. They do not protect the eyes.
more at
MeehanMD
www.meehanmd.com
One of the largest and highest level of evidence studies on the effectiveness of face masks on the transmission of respiratory viruses, which was recently released by the CDC, is Jingyi Xiao, et al., Nonpharmaceutical Measures for Pandemic Influenza in Nonhealthcare Settings— Personal Protective and Environmental Measures, Emerging Infectious Diseases, Vol. 26, No. 5, (May 2020). https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/5/19-0994_article
- This CDC meta-analysis found that face masks failed to provide a significant reduction to virus transmission.
- “In our systematic review, we identified 10 [Randomly Controlled Trials] that reported estimates of the effectiveness of face masks in reducing laboratory-confirmed influenza virus infections in the community from literature published during 1946–July 27, 2018. In pooled analysis, we found no significant reduction in influenza transmission with the use of face masks.”
- There is limited evidence for their effectiveness in preventing influenza virus transmission either when worn by the infected person for source control or when worn by uninfected persons to reduce exposure.
- Our systematic review found no significant effect of face masks on transmission of laboratory-confirmed influenza.
Let us fast forward to TODAY, not when they were trying to convince us to not use medical masks as to preserve them for the front line workers. TODAY MAN TODAY!!
COVID-19: Prevention and risks - Canada.ca
How COVID-19 spreads, quarantine, isolation, vaccination, vaccines, wearing a mask, ways you can slow the spread, who is at risk, personal preventative practices, community measures.
Stop cherry picking old articles and wear your damn mask. Stop being a selfish germ spreader!
You're very welcome! Anytime you need a propping up, just let me know. I'll send unmasked CanadaMan/Devoy/Spfree to cheer you up if you feel ganged up on.Thanks squeezer
Putin has Russia on a mask mandate. Hmmmm, wonder how some of you folks would do in Russia walking around massless? Hey, Putin must be an idiot. Lmao
At least you've run away from your stupid idolization of Sweden.
We could easily compare Canada to the US or even parts of the US where mask wearing is common to areas where it isn't. That paints a pretty clear picture.
I love how you use the increase in cases for a virus you claim doesn't exist to try and prove a point.
You guy realize that not all masks are the same?
Surgical masks don't work. The vast majority of people use surgical masks.
Love those idiots that wear them with the nose sticking out.
If KN95 masks didn't work everyone working in ICU would be infected.
Why Canada doesn't have lot of cases? Did you guys notice the size of Canada compared to a small European country? Canada has a population of only 37M in this vast land.
Wonder why we are doing better then other countries lol?
Surgical masks don't work. The vast majority of people use surgical masks.
Love those idiots that wear them with the nose sticking out.
If KN95 masks didn't work everyone working in ICU would be infected.
Why Canada doesn't have lot of cases? Did you guys notice the size of Canada compared to a small European country? Canada has a population of only 37M in this vast land.
Wonder why we are doing better then other countries lol?
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Did you notice the bulk of Canada's population is concentrated along a narrow strip near the border with the U.S., probably equivalent in size to an average European country. Check out these density maps. The few very small red areas comprise 50% of our population. Your point is invalid. LOL.
Kennisgeving voor omleiding
www.google.ca
"Face mask mandates slowed the spread of COVID-19 in Canada"
"... This column evaluates the impact of mask mandates on the spread of COVID-19 in Canada, using the different timings that masks were mandated across the 34 health districts of the province of Ontario. Mask mandates are associated with a 25% or larger weekly reduction in new COVID-19 cases in July and August, relative to the absence of mandates.
Face mask mandates slowed the spread of COVID-19 in Canada
The mandatory wearing of face masks remains a contentious policy issue during the COVID-19 pandemic. This column evaluates the impact of mask mandates on the spread of COVID-19 in Canada, using the different timings that masks were mandated across the 34 health districts of the province of...
voxeu.org
An Evidence Based Scientific Analysis of Why Masks are Ineffective, Unnecessary, and Harmful
About Dr. Meehan
Jim Meehan, MD is an ophthalmologist and preventive medicine specialist with over 20 years of experience and advanced training in immunology, inflammation, and infectious disease. He has performed well over 10,000 surgical procedures. His research experience includes investigating associations between military vaccinations and Gulf War Syndrome. Dr. Meehan is also trained in internal medicine, addiction medicine, endocrinology, integrative medicine, functional medicine, and nutrition.
Dr. Meehan is a former editor of the medical journal, “Ocular Immunology and Inflammation.” Dr. Meehan has peer-reviewed thousands of medical research studies. With this experience and expertise, Dr. Meehan has dedicated his career to protecting his patients and the public from the fraud, corruption, and pseudoscience so often used by agents and agencies whose motives and interests have resulted in American medicine and pharmaceutical drugs becoming the third leading cause of death in the United States.
Key Points
Outline
- Decades of the highest-level scientific evidence (meta-analyses of multiple randomized controlled trials) overwhelmingly conclude that medical masks are ineffective at preventing the transmission of respiratory viruses, including SAR-CoV-2.
- Those arguing for masks are relying on low-level evidence (observational retrospective trials and mechanistic theories), none of which are powered to counter the evidence, arguments, and risks of mask mandates.
- The majority of the population is at very low to almost no risk of severe or lethal disease from CoVID-19. Children are at an extraordinarily low risk of dying from CoVID-19. Based on CDC published data, 99.99815% of children that contract CoVID-19 survive.
- Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 among children in schools and daycares is very rare.
- Masks worn properly are well documented to cause harm to their wearers. Masks worn improperly, re-used, or contaminated are dangerous.
- Any reasonable risk to benefit analysis of medical masks concludes that the risks overwhelmingly outweigh the benefits.
- Children are at imminent risk of harm from mask mandates.
.................
- Evidence Based Medicine: How we (should) make decisions in science and medicine
- Masks are Ineffective
a. Mixed Messages from the Experts
b. The Evidence Against Masks
c. The Evidence For Masks- Masks are Unnecessary
a. Fear and Politics are Subverting Science and Reason
b. Masking Children in Schools is Unnecessary - So Says The Science- Masks are Harmful: 17 Ways that Masks Can Cause Harm
- Masking School Children is Ineffective, Unnecessary, and Harmful
a. Mandatory masks in school are a ‘major threat’ to children's’ health, doctors warn
b. Forcing Children to Wear Masks in Schools is Unnecessary
c. Forcing Children to Wear Masks for Long Periods Risks Causing Them Physical Harm
d. Forcing Children to Wear Masks for Long Periods Risks Causing Them Mental and Psychological Harm
Masks as means of “Source Control” - No, My Mask Does Not Protect You From Me
The public is being repeatedly misinformed by catchy (guilt and fear based) marketing messages designed to promote the social responsibility (or guilt) to wear masks as a form of source control: “I wear my mask for you and you wear your mask for me.”
Where is the evidence for these claims? On the websites where these unscientific marketing messages are found, there are never references to science that supports the claims. In fact, despite almost everything that has been drilled into the public psyche regarding masks, has little to know basis in science and absolutely no robust support from the highest-level evidence based research. Masks have never been proven to protect either the wearer or the community from the transmission of respiratory pathogens. Mask mandates during a pandemic are opposed by decades of high level science.
Simply put, the public is being misled by fraudulent claims supported with weak pseudoscience.
The fallacious argument: "Well, if masks don't work, then why do surgeons wear them?"
I'm an ophthalmic surgeon. I specialize in ocular immunology, inflammation, and infectious disease. I’ve performed over 10,000 surgical procedures wearing a surgical mask. I have suffered the detrimental effects that masks caused to my mental and physical function during long surgeries. Because most of the surgeries I performed were microscopic procedures that required fine motor skills, I changed my mask frequently to prevent the detrimental effects of arterial deoxygenation.
However, these facts alone don’t qualify me as an expert on the matter. What qualifies me is my experience as an editor of a medical journal, the fact that I’ve peer-reviewed thousands of pre-print research articles, that I am an expert at reading medical research, distinguishing good science from bad, and separating fact from fiction.
Believe me, the medical literature is filled with bad fiction masquerading as medical science. It is very easy to be deceived by bad science.
Since the beginning of the pandemic I've read hundreds of studies on the science of medical masks. Based on extensive review and analysis, there is no question in my mind that healthy people should not be wearing surgical or cloth masks. Nor should we be recommending universal masking of all members of the population. That recommendation is not supported by the highest level of scientific evidence.
First, the premise that surgeons wearing masks serves as evidence that "masks must work to prevent viral transmission" is a logical fallacy. I would classify this claim as an argument of false equivalence, or comparing "apples to oranges." Surgical masks offer no benefit in protecting patients from the surgeon’s respiratory droplets contaminating the surgical field and the exposed tissues of surgical patients.
Surgeons well-versed in the scientific research regarding medical masks, especially the systemic reviews published by the Cochrane Collaboration Wound Group, know that surgical face masks provide no benefit in the prevention of surgical wound infections.[R][R] Surgeons with experience wearing surgical masks during long surgeries have undoubtedly experienced and understand the detrimental effects masks have on respiration, blood oxygenation, mental, and physical performance. For these science-based reasons, there is a worldwide trend towards surgeons and operating room staff no longer wearing surgical masks during “clean surgery” cases.
Nevertheless, many surgeons continue to wear face masks during clean surgery cases and outpatient minor procedures. We do so more for symbolic purposes, habit, tradition, or, not infrequently, because of institutional ignorance. That is, we are forced to wear masks because it is the ignorant, anti-science policy of the hospital or surgery center where we perform our surgeries.
Although wearing a mask during a clean surgery is unnecessary, there are other surgical cases in which surgical masks, eye protection, and face shields are still a good idea. For example, cases in which bone saws, drills, and other surgical power tools can expose the surgical team to splashes and splatters from the patient’s bodily fluids.
If a surgeon were sick, especially with a viral infection, they would not perform surgery as they know the virus would NOT be stopped by their surgical mask.
Another area of "false equivalence" has to do with the environment in which the masks are worn. The environments in which surgeons wear masks minimize the adverse effects surgical masks have on their wearers.
Unlike the public wearing masks in the community, surgeons work in sterile surgical suites equipped with heavy duty air exchange systems that maintain positive pressures, exchange and filter the room air at a very high level, and increase the oxygen content of the room air. These conditions limit the negative effects of masks on the surgeon and operating room staff. And yet despite these extreme climate control conditions, clinical studies demonstrate the negative effects (lowering arterial oxygen and carbon dioxide rebreathing) of surgical masks on surgeon physiology and performance.
Surgeons and operating room personnel are well trained, experienced, and meticulous about maintaining sterility. We only wear fresh sterile masks. We don the mask in a sterile fashion. We wear the mask for short periods of time and change it out at the first signs of the excessive moisture build up that we know degrades mask effectiveness and increases their negative effects. Surgeons NEVER reuse surgical masks, nor do we ever wear cloth masks.
The public is being told to wear masks for which they have not been trained in the proper techniques. As a result, they are mishandling, frequently touching, and constantly reusing masks in a way that increases contamination and are more likely than not to increase transmission of disease.
Just go watch people at the grocery story or Walmart and tell me what you think about the effectiveness of masks in the community.
If you can't help but believe and trust the weak retrospective observational studies and confused public health "authorities" lying to you about the benefits and completely ignoring the risks of medical masks, then you should at least reject the illogical anti-science recommendation to block only 2 of the 3 ports of entry for viral diseases. Masks only cover the mouth and nose. They do not protect the eyes.
more at
MeehanMD
"Efficacy of face mask in preventing respiratory virus transmission: A systematic review and meta-analysis
...This study adds additional evidence of the enhanced protective value of masks, we stress that the use masks serve as an adjunctive method regarding the COVID-19 outbreak.
Efficacy of face mask in preventing respiratory virus transmission: A systematic review and meta-analysis - PMC
Conflicting recommendations exist related to whether masks have a protective effect on the spread of respiratory viruses. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement was consulted to report this ...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
