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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

#71

Post by sofixa »

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".

No, mask mandates were because masks stop you from inflecting other people if you're sick and don't know it yet by stopping the air you exhale and limiting its range.

This is research that wearing a mask actually help you have a lesser form of Covid, entirely independently of propagation.

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

#72

Post by sofixa »

ceejayoz wrote: post #27
luxuryballs wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you know we don’t? They are instructed by CDC to mark them as covid even if unsure.

We know because, again, various professions have been using masks extensively for decades without all dropping dead of pneumonia. Your theory also falls down with the spikey nature of hospitalizations/deaths. If it were the masks, you'd see a steadily high count of these, not outbreaks that come and go. The big early spikes in Italy and NYC were before masking at all became a thing, even.

> The big early spikes in Italy and NYC were before masking at all became a thing, even.

And the first wave, which triggered the first wave of lockdowns, was all during the time where there were barely enough masks for medical personnel, let alone the general public.

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

#73

Post by sofixa »

TheBlight wrote: post #52
ctur wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

This is a silly false equivalence but I'll engage with it because it seems annoyingly popular. The evidence of efficacy of seatbelt usage in crash scenarios is abundantly clear. The same isn't true for wearing a cloth/surgical mask in public during a pandemic featuring an airborne virus. I'm aware there are hand-wavy meta-studies and extrapolated surveys on the issue (but 1 RCT from Denmark which showed no statistica…

Is it not obvious, common sense and proven that masks stop you from spreading the virus if you have it and don't know yet? Are there still people unaware of that? Out of curiosity, where do you live?

And you should tell frontline medical personnel that masks don't protect them, they'll be glad your non-conformist ultra intelligent mind managed to figure it out.

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

#74

Post by ficklepickle »

Wowfunhappy wrote: post #47
switch007 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And even that benefit isn't enough for many people to wear masks unless absolutely required (e.g. inside shops). It's been unusually cold the past few weeks in the UK and I've seen less and less mask usage on busy streets and even shop queues.

I can't speak for anyone else, but in NYC I've been finding I have to take my mask off outside or I literally can't see, because that's how much my glasses fog up. Like, I walked straight into a pole one night. After that, I decided that the increased risk of getting COVID was lower than the risk of getting hit by a car. I do know it's not this bad for everyone, and I have tried different methods to mitigate it—anti-…

My brothers work supplies masks with an internal nose flap to prevent steaming up their safety glasses.

It seems to be very effective. I can't find a picture, unfortunately my description leaves a lot to be desired.

But it's a common problem and there are a variety of products that try to address it.

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

#75

Post by ficklepickle »

throwaway189262 wrote: post #56
TheBlight wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>you are statistically less likely to contract airbourne diseases with a mask on. What are you basing this assessment on? Are all masks equal? Does training in mask application matter? For what duration are different types of masks effective?

Google is good for this. N95 and higher is effective. Mask application matters but they're effective without 100% seal. I don't think they get less effective with time, just harder to breathe through.

I find N95 easier to breathe through than surgical masks. They use static, not mechanical filtration, which doesn't seem to cause much restriction on air flow.

They do get less effective with time, exposure to moisture. Using alcohol to clean an N95 will significantly reduce its effectiveness.

Early on, Stanford did a study on various methods of sterilizing N95s and the change of effectiveness. Heat (70°C for 30 mins) was best.

https://news.stanford.edu/2020/04/01/researchers-show-how-to...

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

#76

Post by timr »

DennisP wrote: post #64
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...

And so does the US:

https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20201022/mask-use-by-america...

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/08/27/more-americ...

Break it down by county or state, and you'll find that many of the the areas with the highest reported compliance have the worst overall metrics:

https://delphi.cmu.edu/covidcast/?date=20210209&region=42003...

(and before anyone says it: sure, you can argue that mask-wearing correlates with population density or some other factor that leads to greater disease prevalence, but doesn't that just beg the original question? People are wearing masks the most in the places with the highest disease prevalence. If "the reason" that Vietnam did well is mask compliance...well, why didn't it work just as well here?)

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

#77

Post by muststopmyths »

doliveira wrote: post #13
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...

Yeah Brazil and specifically Manaus in the middle of the Amazon rainforest is doing a great job.

Sarcasm?

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6...

( Resurgence of COVID-19 in Manaus, Brazil, despite high seroprevalence )

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

#78

Post by hvac »

timr wrote: post #76
DennisP wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thailand and Vietnam also had 95% compliance with mask wearing. https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/28979/what-s-be...

And so does the US: https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20201022/mask-use-by-america... https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/08/27/more-americ... Break it down by county or state, and you'll find that many of the the areas with the highest reported compliance have the worst overall metrics: https://delphi.cmu.edu/covidcast/?date=20210209&region=42003... (and before anyone says it: sure, you can argue that mask-wear…

How would those same places be doing without masks?

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

#79

Post by amelius »

pitspotter wrote: post #41

These days if I feel any sort of respiratory illness coming on I head straight to bed and get my head under the covers. The secret is to create a 'cave' or pocket of air by using a pole or prop to hold the duvet or comforter up like a little tent. Experience does seem to bear out that lungs prefer moist, warm air.

I'm curious though what that would do to CO2 levels.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19411998

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

#80

Post by doliveira »

muststopmyths wrote: post #77
doliveira wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah Brazil and specifically Manaus in the middle of the Amazon rainforest is doing a great job.

Sarcasm? https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6... ( Resurgence of COVID-19 in Manaus, Brazil, despite high seroprevalence )

Yes, pure sarcasm. Quite a catastrophe there. And a cautionary tale for what happens when denialists get their way.
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