How is it not dangerous to breathe in the CO2 that we breathe out into our masks?

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I’ve heard a lot of anti-maskers use the argument that since we breathe out CO2, it will become trapped in the mask and is dangerous to breathe back in.

Obviously, this isn’t the case, because doctors wear their masks for hours and hours on end while doing surgeries. However, I am wondering, how does it work?

In: Biology

43 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

It’s not dangerous for adults if it happens, which is unlikely in the first place. If you keep rebreathing enough CO2, you will eventually feel suffocation and remove the mask to get air, no problem. If you breathe into a bag for a bit you will see when you start feeling like you need to breathe, and then you’ll stop doing that.

It can be a problem for small children because they may not know better, or for unconscious adults, which is the reason mask guidelines exclude them.

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