In an April 5, 2023, meta-analytic study, researchers found that “blood oxygen is significantly lowered in mask use.” They further concluded that “blood carbon dioxide (PtCO2, ETCO2, and PaCO2) is significantly elevated in mask use.” The “meta-analysis clearly depicts that masks, and especially the N95 masks, significantly restrict O2 uptake and hinder CO2 release.”
The increase in CO2 and decrease in O2 causes oxidative stress, which inhibits cell-mediated immune responses to fight viral infections. That causes immune suppression. That sets the stage for contracting diseases, “including SARS-CoV-2 and making the consequences of that infection much more severe. In essence, masks may put wearers at an increased risk of infection and severity.”
The study further determined that “[o]phthalmological studies indicated risk of retinal damage from long-term use of masks.” The researchers noted that “[n]eurologists observed changes in MRI brain signal baseline level due to face mask use. … The MRI imaging revealed a significant drop in brain oxygenation.” They likened the morphological change as being similar to that caused by holding one’s breath.
Headway, a brain injury association, explains that “[t]he brain needs a continuous supply of oxygen to survive. If the oxygen supply is interrupted, the functioning of the brain is disturbed immediately and irreversible damage can quickly follow.” Headache is the most commonly reported symptom of wearing a mask. Such headaches are indicative of a low-oxygen environment known as hypoxia. A low-oxygen environment (hypoxia) induced by wearing a mask over the mouth and nose causes brain cells to die. The brain cannot regenerate cells. Thus, hypoxia from wearing a mask will cause irreversible brain damage.
Interestingly, the researchers found that “[n]early 40% of main long-COVID-19 symptoms overlap with mask related complaints and symptoms.” Thus, what has been called long-COVID may, in fact, be induced by the immune impairment caused by wearing masks that increase the CO2 and lower the oxygen in the blood. The researchers opined, “[i]t is possible that some symptoms attributed to long-COVID-19 are predominantly mask-related.”