While the practice of wearing face masks and coverings has been proven to be a powerful weapon in fighting pandemics by many different countries, there are still a lot of people who don't believe they're effective. Moreover, some believe that wearing a facemask on a daily basis can have a harmful effect on a person's health. For instance, some individuals refuse to wear a face mask because, allegedly, it can lower your oxygen levels.
A Yorkshire doctor named Tom Lawton recently decided to debunk this myth about face masks by running 22 miles while wearing one.
More info: twitter.com
During his run, the doctor carried an oxygen SATS meter with him
"There are a lot of people out there who just don't want to wear a mask and will find any excuse they can, but the people I'm more concerned about are people with respiratory illnesses, who would like to wear a mask, would like to do their bit, but are scared because there have been reports that it causes hypoxia [a condition where the body is deprived of oxygen], I've seen some reports about people dropping dead while wearing masks," Tom told Newsweek. "I'm someone who understands the science, I've got access to a pulse oximeter (a device used to monitor the amount of oxygen carried around the body) so I can actually go out and show that it definitely doesn't."
Tom felt frustrated seeing misinformation being spread about the effect face masks can have on a person's health and breathing
"To make up for the fact that I'm fit and healthy, I thought if I'm running, then I'm using 10 times the amount of oxygen as I would if I'm just sat here. If I can show that I can get 10 people's worth of oxygen through the mask, then hopefully someone who has a respiratory disease and wants to wear a mask, they can be reassured that it is a safe thing to do," Tom told Newsweek.
Tom documented his whole journey on Twitter
"I've done this because, working on ICU and in the hospital, I've seen some of the worst of what this virus can do—even to people in their 20s and 30s," the doctor explained. "I don't think there's a single magic bullet that will fix this, but a whole series of things we can do which play a small part each. One of those, and one of the easiest, is probably wearing masks. So it upsets me to see misinformation about oxygen levels, etc. that might scare people away from them."
"Oxygen levels were stubbornly 98 percent every time I checked"
As we mentioned before, Tom carried with him an oxygen SATS meter for being able to check his oxygen levels. Tom claimed that "the mask didn't come off at all (not even for food or drink during the runs)—and oxygen levels were stubbornly 98 percent every time I checked."
"Please feel free to cite this when anyone suggests they're bad for you, and stay safe"
Tom Lawton has also raised more than £2,400 for the Trussell Trust, a charity that works to end food poverty and supports food banks in the UK
"The choice of the Trussell Trust for fundraising was because they run the main food banks I'm aware of in Bradford, and many nationally. They were already needed too much prior to 2020, and the pandemic has made things worse for so many people—I've seen reports on how many children don't have enough to eat right now so I feel it's something really important to try to help," said Tom.
"My mask protects you, your mask protects me"
Tom understands that there are people who, for certain reasons, aren't able to wear masks. "There are obviously people who can't wear masks for one reason or another, mostly for psychological reasons or PTSD, but everyone who can do so really should. My mask protects you, your mask protects me," said the doctor.
Here's what people thought about these findings
And of course, some people were still reluctant to listen
