3 ms·

> With (cloth) facemask, i have shortness of breath after running up a staircase, and after 15 min of regular walk i start hyperventilating. Talk to a doctor.

> With (cloth) facemask, i have shortness of breath after running up a staircase, and after 15 min of regular walk i start hyperventilating. Talk to a doctor. This is not normal. Running up a staircase is done with oxygen in your tissue, it doesn't involve breathing per se, your body buffers all that you need. And regardless: there's not NEARLY enough air space behind your mask to store a full (~1L) exhalation. What you claim isn't even physically possible. Gas goes through and around the mask and mixes with your environment. Frankly, (and I don't say this in spite, I promise!) your symptoms track more closely to anxiety than to any physical problem. Talk to your doctor, you'll probably feel better about things.

dragonwriter 6y ago
People with actual breathing difficulties do, in fact, experience symptoms like that with masks, which do aggravate them (I believe by increasing the proportion of rebreathed air, slightly lowering O2 concentration which can be problematic combined with existing breathing problems.) It's also possible to experience symptoms like that (thought usually also with intense itching and other sensations that make it clear that it's an allergy) if the max contains an allergen to which you are sensitive. (Some masks contain latex, which is a not-super-uncommon allergen.)
zajio1am 6y ago
> And regardless: there's not NEARLY enough air space behind your mask to store a full (~1L) exhalation. What you claim isn't even physically possible. According to Wikipedia, normal level exhalation (tidal) volume is ~500 ml and has ~5 % CO_2. If only 10 % of exhalation (50 ml) is breathed back with 90 % of fresh air, then one is breathing equivalent of ~5000 ppm CO_2. I am sure that improvized cloth facemasks have bigger air 'buffer' than this. Although measure it precisely would be hard.

dragonwriter 6y ago

People with actual breathing difficulties do, in fact, experience symptoms like that with masks, which do aggravate them (I believe by increasing the proportion of rebreathed air, slightly lowering O2 concentration which can be problematic combined with existing breathing problems.) It's also possible to experience symptoms like that (thought usually also with intense itching and other sensations that make it clear that it's an allergy) if the max contains an allergen to which you are sensitive. (Some masks contain latex, which is a not-super-uncommon allergen.)

zajio1am 6y ago

> And regardless: there's not NEARLY enough air space behind your mask to store a full (~1L) exhalation. What you claim isn't even physically possible. According to Wikipedia, normal level exhalation (tidal) volume is ~500 ml and has ~5 % CO_2. If only 10 % of exhalation (50 ml) is breathed back with 90 % of fresh air, then one is breathing equivalent of ~5000 ppm CO_2. I am sure that improvized cloth facemasks have bigger air 'buffer' than this. Although measure it precisely would be hard.