FALSE: Wearing a face mask does not cause lung infections
A properly fitted mask protects the user, provided it is kept dry and washed regularly after each use if reusable, or discarded if it becomes wet for disposable masks
A Facebook post claiming that wearing a mask can cause serious lung infections and loss of consciousness due to restricted airflow is FALSE.
The post is accompanied by five photos, showing people who allegedly ended up with staphylococcus infections from wearing masks.
However, a reverse image search of the photos shows that they are not related to the claim. The photo on the top right shows a child with Eczema herpeticum. The photo directly below it shows a healthcare worker who was wearing a tight mask that left a mark. The bottom left photo shows a child with chickenpox. The top left shows a girl who has a rash, which appears to be an irritation from wearing a mask and the bottom right photo shows a woman with a sensitive skin problem.
In response to the claim that wearing a mask can cause serious lung infections and loss of consciousness, Dr. Emanuel Okunga, an epidemiologist at the Ministry of Health, told PesaCheck that this is untrue.
“The face mask cannot compromise our health. It cannot weaken the lungs in any way as it protects the airways. A face mask protects against inhalation of all particles. The ability to protect against the inhalation of particles depends on the fit of the mask and its filtration rate.”
Dr Okunga added it was important to handle masks with clean hands in order to avoid contaminating them.
This view is also held by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommends that people remove face masks once they return home, and wash them before using them again.
MedicalNewsToday, a health information website, fact-checked a similar claim and found there is no evidence indicating that masks increase the wearer’s risk of developing pneumonia or other bacterial, viral, or fungal lung infections.
The World Health Organization (WHO) acknowledges that if a person wears the same mask for a long time, microorganisms may grow on the fabric. Masks should be changed if wet or visibly soiled, and a wet mask should not be worn for an extended period of time. The mask should be discarded or placed in a resealable bag until it can be washed and dried.
This is not the first social media post to claim that wearing masks is harmful to health. In May and July, PesaCheck debunked multiple allegations that wearing masks to prevent infection with COVID-19 can decrease oxygen intake, increase carbon dioxide inhalation, shut down the immune system and increase the risk of viral infection.
PesaCheck also explained how effective and important wearing a mask is in the context of COVID-19.
PesaCheck has looked into the claim that wearing a mask can cause serious lung infections and loss of consciousness due to restricted airflow and finds it to be FALSE.
This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as potential misinformation on Facebook and other social media platforms.
By partnering with Facebook and similar social media platforms, third-party fact-checking organisations like PesaCheck are helping to sort fact from fiction. We do this by giving the public deeper insight and context to posts they see in their social media feeds.
Have you spotted what you think is fake news or false information on Facebook? Here’s how you can report. And, here’s more information on PesaCheck’s methodology for fact-checking questionable content.
This fact-check was written by PesaCheck Researcher Sylvia Makinia and edited by PesaCheck News Editor Enock Nyariki.
The article was approved for publication by PesaCheck Managing Editor Eric Mugendi.
PesaCheck is East Africa’s first public finance fact-checking initiative. It was co-founded by Catherine Gicheru and Justin Arenstein, and is being incubated by the continent’s largest civic technology and data journalism accelerator: Code for Africa. It seeks to help the public separate fact from fiction in public pronouncements about the numbers that shape our world, with a special emphasis on pronouncements about public finances that shape government’s delivery of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) public services, such as healthcare, rural development and access to water/sanitation. PesaCheck also tests the accuracy of media reportage. To find out more about the project, visit pesacheck.org.
PesaCheck is an initiative of Code for Africa, through its innovateAFRICA fund, with support from Deutsche Welle Akademie, in partnership with a coalition of local media and other civic watchdog organisations in 14 African countries.
