PDA

View Full Version : Do Masks Cause Infections?



Sybil Ludington
12-02-2020, 02:46 PM
A 1981 study published in the Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2493952/)looked at the effects of masks on post-operative wound infections in a forty-bed surgical ward. All kinds of surgeries were performed there: cholecystectomies, gastrectomies, thyroidectomies, bowel resections, prostatectomies, herniorrhaphies, cystoscopies, bronchoscopies, and gastroscopies. No masks were worn in the operating room for the six-month period from March-August 1980. The number of post-operative wound infections dramatically decreased.

Why did anyone think wearing a warm, moist rag a millimeter away from his or her mouth, for hours at a time, creating the ideal conditions for bacteria to multiply, would be a good thing?Related Series:
• Unmasking the Truth: Part 1: Do Masks Help? (https://canadafreepress.com/article/unmasking-the-truth-part-1-do-masks-help)
• Unmasking the Truth: Part 2: A Fever Pitch of Hysteria (https://canadafreepress.com/article/unmasking-the-truth-part-2-a-fever-pitch-of-hysteria)
• Unmasking the Truth: Part 3: Do Masks Cause Infections? (https://canadafreepress.com/article/do-masks-cause-infections)

A 2016 Cochrane Collaboration (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7138271/) review summarized the results of randomized controlled trials on the effect of masks on post-operative wound infections. The review included only so-called “clean” surgeries (i.e., ones that did not involve organs that contain pathogens such as lungs, gut, genitals, and bladder, and in which it was expected masking might be most likely to make a difference in infection rates), so the 1981 Annals paper was not included. The researchers found no effect of masks on the rate of post-operative wound infections.


And remember all the subjects of these studies were trained medical professionals, wearing masks or respirators specifically designed for the purpose of infection control. These results stand in stark contrast to over a century of received wisdom.


Why might that be so? A 2013 Indian study (https://www.ijic.info/article/view/10788) gives us a hint. The researchers measured the number of bacteria exhaled by operating theater personal just prior to donning masks, and thereafter at 30-, 60-, 90-, 120-, and 150-minute intervals. At the 30-minute mark, the number of bacteria exhaled had dropped dramatically, but then it began to climb, reaching the pre-masking levels by the 120-minute mark and exceeding them at 150 minutes.


Is anyone surprised? Why did anyone think wearing a warm, moist rag a millimeter away from his or her mouth, for hours at a time, creating the ideal conditions for bacteria to multiply, would be a good thing? This is a gigantic, uncontrolled experiment.


Continued:
https://canadafreepress.com/article/do-masks-cause-infections
































































































1981 study published in the Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2493952/)looked at the effects of masks on post-operative wound infections in a forty-bed surgical ward. All kinds of surgeries were performed there: cholecystectomies, gastrectomies, thyroidectomies, bowel resections, prostatectomies, herniorrhaphies, cystoscopies, bronchoscopies, and gastroscopies. No masks were worn in the operating room for the six-month period from March-August 1980.
The number of post-operative wound infections dramatically decreased.