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Researchers propose that humidity from masks may lessen severity of Covid-19

nih.gov

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Re: Researchers propose that humidity from masks may lessen severity of Covid-19

#61

Post by throwaway189262 »

TheBlight wrote: post #58
throwaway189262 wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In some (mostly Asian) countries you're expected to wear a mask if you go out when you're sick. Contrast that to freedomland where it's normal to have people hacking like crazy just about everywhere. It's required to wear a mask 100% of the time in some medical professions. This is usually so you don't get vulnerable people sick, not to protect yourself. Medicine is highly evidence based. If masks didn't work these r…

Using terms like "Freedomland" expose your biases fairly clearly and make it easy for me to safely ignore you. But you might be surprised to learn that even as recently as 2016 the use of masks in surgical settings wasn't understood to be backed by very strong science: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4480558/

Lol "you aren't likely to share the same opinions as me because of a word you used so I I'm going to ignore you". Very intellectual, rational, and nuanced good brain type thinking.

This article is about surgical masks which are basically tissue paper not N95's. In some healthcare settings N95 is required especially when dealing with immunocompromised or extremely infections diseases like active TB or SARS. The evidence for these is much stronger

Re: Researchers propose that humidity from masks may lessen severity of Covid-19

#62

Post by tinus_hn »

che_shirecat wrote: post #44
TheBlight wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't take this as a personal attack, but when I see people regularly wearing masks 5 years from now I'll certainly bias against engaging with them. I'll assume they don't understand risk and prioritize fear and emotion over reason. I won't be mean to them (nor disrespectful at all) but I will keep my distance socially (yes, somewhat ironically.)

From a strictly rational perspective, wearing a mask in public transit is always the correct decision, you are statistically less likely to contract airbourne diseases with a mask on. You're free to attach emotional significance to the act of wearing a mask, but maybe it has the desired effect - I personally would rather not interact socially with anyone on public transit, so maybe we are both the better for it.

From a strictly rational perspective, avoiding any and all infection is not the correct decision because that way you don’t build up an immune system and remain massively vulnerable to the mildest of diseases.

Re: Researchers propose that humidity from masks may lessen severity of Covid-19

#63

Post by hn_throwaway_99 »

Jabbles wrote: post #3

What about humidity of the environment? Is that a reason behind the success of countries like Thailand, Vietnam in tackling Covid? Possibly relevant study: https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-virology-0...

Related, when it comes to youth sports as vectors for coronavirus transmission, ice hockey is a clear outlier, and the low humidity levels in ice rinks is a primary theorized reason: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/12/04/hockey-covi...

Re: Researchers propose that humidity from masks may lessen severity of Covid-19

#64

Post by DennisP »

Jabbles wrote: post #3

What about humidity of the environment? Is that a reason behind the success of countries like Thailand, Vietnam in tackling Covid? Possibly relevant study: https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-virology-0...

Thailand and Vietnam also had 95% compliance with mask wearing.

https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/28979/what-s-be...

Re: Researchers propose that humidity from masks may lessen severity of Covid-19

#65

Post by loveistheanswer »

nmstoker wrote: post #7

I wonder if they're any similar effect at play worth those who sleep/breathe with their mouth open vs closed. Would need proper testing but the "arm chair" thinking here is two fold: 1. the nasal passage is specifically intended to help inhaled air warm and be mildly humidified 2. A tendency to sleep with your mouth open is more common in those who are overweight and they've often been observed to be hit worse by Cov…

There is indeed compelling evidence that nose breathing has many health benefits compared to mouth breathing. Including but not limited to better sleep, and immume function.

https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/health-benefits-of-br...

Re: Researchers propose that humidity from masks may lessen severity of Covid-19

#67

Post by Mediterraneo10 »

ctur wrote: post #46
TheBlight wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't take this as a personal attack, but when I see people regularly wearing masks 5 years from now I'll certainly bias against engaging with them. I'll assume they don't understand risk and prioritize fear and emotion over reason. I won't be mean to them (nor disrespectful at all) but I will keep my distance socially (yes, somewhat ironically.)

Do you feel the same way about seatbelts? If people choose to be safer by wearing masks, judging them is pretty extreme. This kind of attitude is what made the early days of the pandemic a mess.

Masks cover one's facial expressions. Showing one's own facial expression and being able to see others’ is an important part of social interaction in many cultures. Indeed, whether one person feels he or she can instinctively trust another is often based on getting a view of the other person’s face.

This behavior can be suspended temporarily on a short-term basis when a population perceives an urgent state of pandemic or (as in Japan) when an individual says he has a cold, but it may not be sustainable at a society-wide scale beyond that. Seatbelts faced cultural resistance before adoption, sure, but much less than masks would once the acute COVID risk has passed.

Re: Researchers propose that humidity from masks may lessen severity of Covid-19

#68

Post by [deleted] »

ceejayoz wrote: post #10
luxuryballs wrote: post #5

I propose that when handled by the average citizen they also increase the risk of bacterial pneumonia as you filter your warm moist breath through a bacteria catcher/cultivator.

We'd have an absolutely massive uptick in non-COVID pneumonia if that were the case. (It'd also be a known phenomenon for surgeons, dentists, nurses, painters, drywall installers, nail technicians, etc. who've been using masks for decades.)

[deleted]

Re: Researchers propose that humidity from masks may lessen severity of Covid-19

#69

Post by heavyset_go »

pbourke wrote: post #35

It seems like wearing a mask in some environments (public transit, crowded shops, etc) might be a good practice going forward. I wonder if it will be normalized? Will you stand out if you choose to wear a mask to the mall 5 years from now?

Doubt it. Not wearing masks has become a political hill many have chosen to die on, and there are tons of people who virtue signal by choosing to go without them or judging others for choosing to wear them.

Re: Researchers propose that humidity from masks may lessen severity of Covid-19

#70

Post by lucb1e »

ppf wrote: post #66

It does seem to me that this has been done ass-backwards. That is - first mask mandates (and in many countries, too), then the research that supports the idea that they do anything. Or, in this case, "researchers propose".

What would you propose we do instead? Give a group masks and tell a control group explicitly to not wear masks, then see who contracts COVID more often?

There is such a thing called ethics. You can't experiment on people when you have good reason to expect something will be harmful for them, like feed them cancerous stuff to see what happens. But you can check what happened to the people that didn't comply, for example those that accidentally ate that food, and still learn something.

Telling people to wear masks, even if there is a chance it doesn't help, is not a weird idea during a pandemic. The chance of it being counterproductive was fairly negligible compared to the chance of it helping, and so you should do it.

Or did I misunderstand what you meant there?

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