Wearing a face mask is one way to help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, according to health care officials. However, they are sometimes uncomfortable and confining and have even become a political statement for some.

What types of masks are available and what do they do?

There are three types of masks most commonly used :

1. surgical masks

Surgical masks are relatively thin and have elastic loops that go over a person’s ears. They include a bendable wire at the bridge of the nose that helps the mask sit better on the face. They are open on each side of the face.

2. N95 respirators

N95 masks are tightly fitted over the nose and mouth. They, like the surgical masks, have a bendable wire at the bridge of the nose to help the mask fight more snuggly. They are intended to seal the mouth and nose to keep droplets from entering the respiratory system. Unlike surgical masks, the N95 mask is thick.

3. cloth masks.

The third type of mask that health officials are recommending is a cloth mask. They can be homemade (there are tutorials all over YouTube) or purchased already made. Cloth masks can be of almost any material. They work to keep the wearer from spreading droplets, and, potentially the virus, to others.

Do masks increase the level of carbon dioxide in the blood?

Carbon dioxide toxicity, or when you get too much carbon dioxide in your bloodstream, is known as hypercapnia. As with the notion that you are being starved of oxygen if you wear a mask, the idea that you block the exhaling of all the carbon dioxide you breathe out of your body is incorrect.

The N95, surgical mask and certainly a cloth mask are all porous, meaning they each allow carbon dioxide to escape, just as they let oxygen in. Couple that with the fact that most of us don’t wear masks for hours at a time, and it makes it doubtful that carbon dioxide could build up to dangerous levels.

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