Brilliantly put On Mon, 6 Jul 2020, 16:03 Dan Nave, <[email protected]> wrote:
> RETIRED SURGEON Sam Laucks, has this to say about wearing masks: > > “OK, here’s my rant... > > I have spent the past 39 years working in the field of surgery. For a > significant > part of that time, I have worn a mask. I have worked with hundreds > (probably thousands) of colleagues during those years, who have also worn > masks. > > Not a single one of us became ill, passed out or died from lack of oxygen. > Not a single one of us became ill, passed out or died from breathing too > much carbon dioxide. Not a single one of us became ill, passed out or died > from rebreathing a little of our own exhaled air. > > Let’s begin here by putting those scare tactics to rest! > > (It is true that some people, with advanced lung diseases, may be so > fragile that a mask could make their already-tenuous breathing more > difficult. If your lungs are that bad, you probably shouldn’t be going out > in public at the present time anyway; the consequences if you are exposed > to Covid-19 would likely be devastating.) > > ~ “But”, you ask, “can’t viruses go right through the mask, because they > are so small?” (“Masks keep viruses out just as well as a chain link fence > keeps mosquitoes out,” some tell us.) It is true that individual virus > particles can pass through the pores of a mask; however, viruses don’t move > on their own. They do not fly across the room like a mosquito, wiggle > through your mask like a worm, or fly up your nose like a gnat. > . > ~ The virus is essentially nothing more than a tiny blob of genetic > material. Covid-19 travels in a CARRIER – the carrier is a fluid droplet- > fluid droplets that you expel when you cough, sneeze, sing, laugh, talk or > simply exhale. Most of your fluid droplets will be stopped from entering > the air in the room if you are wearing a mask. Wearing a mask is a very > efficient way to protect others if you are carrying the virus (even if you > don’t know that you are infected). In addition, if someone else’s fluid > droplets happen to land on your mask, many of them will not pass through. > This gives the wearer some additional protection, too. But, the main reason > to wear a mask is to PROTECT OTHERS. Even if you don’t care about yourself, > wear your mask to protect your neighbors, co-workers and friends! > . > ~ A mask is certainly not 100% protective. However, it appears that the > severity of Covid-19 infection is at least partially “dose-dependent.” In > other words, the more virus particles that enter your body, the sicker you > are likely to become. Why not decrease that volume if you can? “What have > you got to lose?!” > . > ~ “But doesn’t a requirement or a request to wear a mask violate my > constitutional rights?” You’re also not allowed to go into the grocery > store if you are not wearing pants. You can’t yell “fire” in the Produce > Department. You’re not allowed to urinate on the floor in the Frozen Food > Section. Do you object to those restrictions? Rules, established for the > common good, are component of a civilized society. > . > ~ “But aren’t masks uncomfortable?” Some would say that underwear or shoes > can be uncomfortable, but we still wear them. (Actually, being on a > ventilator is pretty darned uncomfortable, too!) Are masks really so bad > that you can’t tolerate them, even if they will help keep others healthy? > . > ~ “But won’t people think I’m a snowflake or a wimp if I wear a mask?” I > hope you have enough self-confidence to overcome that. > . > ~ “But I never get sick; I’m not worried.” Well, then, wear a mask for the > sake of the rest of us who are not so perfect! > > There is good evidence that masks make a real difference in diminishing > the transmission of Covid-19. Please, for the sake of others (and for the > sake of yourself), wear your mask when in public. It won’t kill you! > > P.S. - And, by the way, please be sure that BOTH your nose and mouth are > covered! > > Recommendations around mask usage are confusing. The science isn't. > > Evidence shows that masks are extremely effective to slow the coronavirus > and may be the best tool available right now to fight it. >
