Wearing a mask full of disadvantages Saeko Adachi (Small and Medium Enterprise Consultant)
More than 90% of people on the street wear masks. Although it has been scientifically proven that wearing a mask has almost no effect in preventing infection, many people take it for granted in their daily lives.
However, covering the nose and mouth with a mask inevitably leads to a lack of oxygen and an increase in carbon dioxide concentration. A decrease in oxygen concentration inhibits the activation of mitochondria, which have the function of producing energy in cells, and causes adverse effects such as weakened immunity and accelerated aging.
Masks have only drawbacks. The coronavirus dies in the air in three hours, but the surface of the mask is said to be active for seven days because the virus is cultured with the water vapor from breathing. Considering that even a virus attached to a table or a doorknob will be inactivated in about three days, it is no exaggeration to say that the inside of the mask is the most likely place for the virus to survive in our living environment. I have to say that this is exactly putting the cart before the horse. In fact, almost no one wears a mask in Europe and the United States, and only Japan maintains a high wearing rate.
Why is this happening?
The most important factor is that the mask is a visible “symbol of security” against the “invisible fear” of an unknown virus.
Another is comfort. Half of the face is covered with a mask, so women don’t have to put on a lot of makeup, and men don’t have to shave carefully to look sloppy.
When will Japan stop wearing masks? The media will be the key. If you repeatedly report the harmful effects of masks, people will take them off.