Neurosurgeon Says Face Masks Pose Serious Risk to Healthy People

Neurosurgeon Says Face Masks Pose Serious Risk to Healthy People

Every Karen on Facebook is shaming her neighbors for not wearing a face mask. We are being told by governors that if we don’t wear masks we are selfish, horrible human beings with no souls who want Grandma to die a horrible death. Police are tackling people who don’t wear face masks properly in the subway. Grocery stores are throwing maskless people out and denying them service.

But now, there’s another doctor weighing in—besides Dr. Fauci, bonafide sex god and ruler of us all, who also said face masks are largely security theater and of no use to the healthy. Dr. Russell Blaylock, a neurosurgeon, has written an editorial saying that “masks pose serious risks to the healthy.”

First, Blaylock says, there is no scientific evidence that masks are effective against COVID-19 transmission. Pro-science people should care about this.

As for the scientific support for the use of face mask, a recent careful examination of the literature, in which 17 of the best studies were analyzed, concluded that, “ None of the studies established a conclusive relationship between mask/respirator use and protection against influenza infection.”   Keep in mind, no studies have been done to demonstrate that either a cloth mask or the N95 mask has any effect on transmission of the COVID-19 virus. Any recommendations, therefore, have to be based on studies of influenza virus transmission. And, as you have seen, there is no conclusive evidence of their efficiency in controlling flu virus transmission.

It is also instructive to know that until recently, the CDC did not recommend wearing a face mask or covering of any kind, unless a person was known to be infected, that is, until recently. Non-infected people need not wear a mask. When a person has TB we have them wear a mask, not the entire community of non-infected. The recommendations by the CDC and the WHO are not based on any studies of this virus and have never been used to contain any other virus pandemic or epidemic in history.

Beyond the lack of scientific data to support wearing a mask as a deterrent to a virus, Blaylock says the more pressing concern is what can and will happen to the wearer.

Now that we have established that there is no scientific evidence necessitating the wearing of a face mask for prevention, are there dangers to wearing a face mask, especially for long periods? Several studies have indeed found significant problems with wearing such a mask. This can vary from headaches, to increased airway resistance, carbon dioxide accumulation, to hypoxia, all the way to serious life-threatening complications.

There are studies to back that claim up.

In one such study, researchers surveyed 212 healthcare workers (47 males and 165 females) asking about presence of headaches with N95 mask use, duration of the headaches, type of headaches and if the person had preexisting headaches.

They found that about a third of the workers developed headaches with use of the mask, most had preexisting headaches that were worsened by the mask wearing, and 60% required pain medications for relief. As to the cause of the headaches, while straps and pressure from the mask could be causative, the bulk of the evidence points toward hypoxia and/or hypercapnia as the cause.

That is, a reduction in blood oxygenation (hypoxia) or an elevation in blood C02 (hypercapnia). It is known that the N95 mask, if worn for hours, can reduce blood oxygenation as much as 20%, which can lead to a loss of consciousness, as happened to the hapless fellow driving around alone in his car wearing an N95 mask, causing him to pass out, and to crash his car and sustain injuries.

I am sure that we have several cases of elderly individuals or any person with poor lung function passing out, hitting their head. This, of course, can lead to death.

A more recent study involving 159 healthcare workers aged 21 to 35 years of age found that 81% developed headaches from wearing a face mask. Some had pre-existing headaches that were precipitated by the masks. All felt like the headaches affected their work performance.

Blaylock says studies have also shown that face masks impair oxygen intake dramatically, potentially leading to serious problems.

The importance of these findings is that a drop in oxygen levels (hypoxia) is associated with an impairment in immunity. Studies have shown that hypoxia can inhibit the type of main immune cells used to fight viral infections called the CD4+ T-lymphocyte.

This occurs because the hypoxia increases the level of a compound called hypoxia inducible factor-1 (HIF-1), which inhibits T-lymphocytes and stimulates a powerful immune inhibitor cell called the Tregs. . This sets the stage for contracting any infection, including COVID-19 and making the consequences of that infection much graver. In essence, your mask may very well put you at an increased risk of infections and if so, having a much worse outcome.

In other words, if you wear a face mask and contract some sickness, you will not be able to fight it off as effectively as if you had normal blood oxygen levels. The mask could make you sicker. It could also create a “deadly cytokine storm” in some.

There is another danger to wearing these masks on a daily basis, especially if worn for several hours. When a person is infected with a respiratory virus, they will expel some of the virus with each breath.

If they are wearing a mask, especially an N95 mask or other tightly fitting mask, they will be constantly rebreathing the viruses, raising the concentration of the virus in the lungs and the nasal passages. We know that people who have the worst reactions to the coronavirus have the highest concentrations of the virus early on. And this leads to the deadly cytokine storm in a selected number.

How about cancer, heart attacks, and strokes? Blaylock says face masks can make all of those conditions worse.

People with cancer, especially if the cancer has spread, will be at a further risk from prolonged hypoxia as the cancer grows best in a microenvironment that is low in oxygen. Low oxygen also promotes inflammation which can promote the growth, invasion and spread of cancers. Repeated episodes of hypoxia has been proposed as a significant factor in atherosclerosis and hence increases all cardiovascular (heart attacks) and cerebrovascular (strokes) diseases.

If that’s not bad enough, how would you like COVID-19 in your brain?

It gets even more frightening. Newer evidence suggests that in some cases the virus can enter the brain. In most instances it enters the brain by way of the olfactory nerves (smell nerves), which connect directly with the area of the brain dealing with recent memory and memory consolidation. By wearing a mask, the exhaled viruses will not be able to escape and will concentrate in the nasal passages, enter the olfactory nerves and travel into the brain.

Why is it that we only listen to dire predictions from Dr. Fauci and we don’t consult other experts in the field of medicine? Is Anthony Fauci the only qualified person to talk about this virus? Furthermore, if he is, he agrees with Dr. Blaylock that only sick people should wear them and he said so on 60 Minutes. So why aren’t we listening to him?

Editor’s Note: Want to support PJ Media so we can keep telling the truth about China and the virus they unleashed on the world? Join PJ Media VIP and use the promo code WUHAN to get 25% off your VIP membership.

When we had our independent pharmacy,  we developed a very large home medical equipment business which included a couple of hundred home oxygen pt.  If a pt switched from a nasal cannula to a oxygen mask..  it was necessary to increase their oxygen from from the normal 2 LPM up to 5-6 LPM.. so that the mask was being “flushed out” of the exhaled carbon dioxide with each exhaled breath.

Failing to increase the oxygen flow when a pt switched to a mask, resulting in the pt inhaling some carbon dioxide.. which is heavier that ambient air and would settle in the bottom of the lungs and block the lung’s alveoli where oxygen is absorbed by the lungs from the ambient air and the pt’s oxygen saturation in the blood drops.  Resulting in increased hypoxia.

There has been studies of people wearing some form of “mask” for extended periods are experiencing some degree of hypoxia, which can cause certain bodily function to deteriorate.

3 Responses

  1. There have not been and scientific studies showing taking opioids long term are effective, either, but there thousands of us, who know the benefits, first hand. The majority of individuals are not wearn N95s nor wearing a mask for hours. At this point, if wearing a paper bag with cut outs for my eyes was all I had, I would wear it to help protect myself from others droplets when I have no choice but to be in public spaces. Currently, ordered face shields to add another layer of protection, since others choose not to wear mask and/or social distance. More for my husband to have because he is a teacher and with being high risk, students not being required to wear a mask, he needs another barrier to the sneezes, coughs and droplets of speaking from students. It is my hope, school is post postoned unless the numbers drastically reduce between now and then. Right now, the pediatric cases are beginning to rise exponentially in our area. Classrooms are petri dishes, period. Closed spaces, little or no ventilation (windows or ones that open)….6th grade Science class teaches how colds are spread through droplets….there is no 100% prevention other than to go nowhere and have 0 contact, which is literally not possible, so least one can do is wear a face covering to lessen the chances of getting ill.

  2. I also wonder about the healthy or non-infected people. Last I looked (& it has been a few weeks, so somebody correct me if necessary), there was considerable disagreement on what the latency period* of Covid-19 is; I seem to recall spans of 3-14 or even 17 days. I don’t remember seeing numbers for when one is infectious…if you can carry –& spread– the virus for a while without having a clue you’re doing it, “healthy” becomes awfully meaningless. And the early symptoms can be so different you might not realize you had anything, much less Covid.

    I’m in a real high risk category, so I’ve been self-isolating absolutely as much as possible, & I do wear a mask when I can’t avoid going somewhere…& I try real hard to keep more like 12 feet from others. And I’ve had quite a few people barge right up to me in the grocery store –often even closer than normal “personal space” rules used to allow, as if they’re trying to shove their sneering opinion of the non-danger of this whole nonsense in my face because (I assume) I’m wearing a mask. I have had lifelong respiratory problems, & now have numerous other chronic conditions; if I get it, I’m very, very likely dead.

    *the time from exposure to the virus to symptoms

  3. Hypoxia is harmful, but without any references, this sounds like a lot of speculation. Hypercarbia seems unlikely in a healthy person wearing a mask in Walmart. I have also read studies recently that show masks CAN reduce the risk of acquiring the Flu during the season. But the N95 mask only decreased the risk by ten percent or so over a regular surgical mask, an absolute difference of only about 2%, if I recall correctly. I am waiting for actual studies on the Corona Virus, as we all are. Alan N Hunt, MD @hunt_md

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