Mask alarm: How wearing a mask can lead to shortness of breath

And how I helped someone who had that exact issue.

It seems that measuring oxygen levels are being used in the mask debate, showing 95% plus when wearing a mask, or when wearing six masks, or even shortly after running while wearing a mask.

Wearing six masks proves the point that masks don’t lead to hypoxia, low levels of oxygen in organ tissues. However, it is vital to know that information rarely helps people who suffer anxiety. The original YouTube video can be viewed here.

For those who genuinely have issues when wearing a mask, these presentations rarely help.

Don’t get me wrong, they are a well intended part of the equation that shows that the masks themselves allow the passage of life-giving oxygen.

What it comes down to is size. The pore size of a N95 mask is around 5,000 nm, whereas a molecule of oxygen is close to 0.3 nm. That’s a size difference of a factor of 15,000 times.

However all these facts don’t address the very real issue that a number of people have when wearing masks: anxiety. And anxiety can lead to a full-blown panic attack.

Anxiety is a very real cause of breathing issues — though not as most think