There are living microbes just about everywhere, on every surface and every nock and cranny of our bodies.
Me and Masks – 1 of 3: I’ve got a really good mask in my garage that I have used mainly when cutting paving slabs with a big angle-grinder. It is effective in keeping most of the dust from going into my lungs. When I take the mask off I am of course covered in the dust.
Would my mask protect me from the kinds of dangerous streptococcus bacteria that cause pneumonia and kill thousands of people every winter? No, it will not, because the inside of my mask will be coated with streptococcus as these live on our skin. Only our own immune systems and our own healthy microbiome protect us, so that for most of our lives we almost all live free of pneumonia.
Those bacteria, that go with severe illness, are large enough to be seen using an optical microscope, yet so far as I know, nobody is trying to stop them moving by wearing a mask.
Viruses are far smaller. Viruses are far too small to be seen with an optical microscope, yet somehow, some people have come to believe these can be trapped by a mask that I would not even consider when doing my paving slab work. Let us have a look at mask options. I’m going to suggest that none of the 6 masks shown above will be of any use against pathogens for a person with poor natural immunity.
Me and Masks – 2 of 3:
From about 2001 to early 2006 I spent many hours in microbiology labs where deadly bacteria existed yet none of us needed to wear a mask. Yes, plenty of precautions were taken to stop the bacteria causing trouble, but these precautions did not involve masks.
Did the microbiologists get sick? Yes, they got sick about as often as the chemists I worked alongside in other laboratories. What I observed was that sickness rates depended on lifestyle rather what microbes or toxic chemicals people were working with. Mainly, eating real rather than junk food and not smoking were important factors.
I did however wear a mask at work when weighing out some powders such as codeine and hormones.
Me and Masks – 3 of 3:
Did I ever wear any protective clothing that could have protected me from something as small as a virus? Yes, I think so.
In the late 1980’s I worked for periods of up to 4 hours in an area where contraceptive tablets were being made. The area was sealed off from the rest of the factory as only the tiniest amount of dust would cause great hormonal disruption to the women in the factory and cause every man there to have enlarged breasts. This was known to be a serious issue as in the early days of producing these tablets that was exactly what happened.
Working in that enclosed space, with every surface covered in the dust containing concentrated natural and synthetic hormones, good protective clothing was needed. The only possible solution was a spacesuit. Each shift started by taking off clothes before climbing into the spacesuit. Once zipped in there was enough air to move through the airlock and attach the suit to a supply of compressed air. The suit would then inflate like a balloon with air clean air coming in and the positive pressure ensuring no air or dust could possibly enter the suit.
At the end of a shift there was a set procedure for showering the dust off the outside of the suit, hanging the suit to dry and then showing oneself before returning to the changing room.
Did this keep the dust and hormones out of us? Probably not totally but, personally, I know my weekly blood test results stayed within normal ranges throughout my time working there.
