Yes, you still breathe in oxygen while wearing a COVID face mask, study shows

Wearing a face mask during the coronavirus pandemic does not affect your ability to breathe in oxygen, according to a recent study.

The study done by University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital in Cleveland shows the risk of abnormal oxygen or carbon dioxide levels while wearing a mask is “near zero.”

Of the 50 adults who volunteered for the study, none developed low oxygen levels, the hospital said in a news release. That includes nearly a third of the participants who said they had a chronic health condition such as asthma or hypertension.

“We know face masks help to prevent the spread of COVID-19, but we also know people have concerns of discomfort or impaired breathing while wearing them,” Dr. Shein, the hospital’s chief of pediatric critical care medicine, said in the release. “Our hope is these findings will reassure people that their body is able to adequately get oxygen in and carbon dioxide out while wearing a face covering.”

During the study, participants wore surgical and cloth masks and sat for 10 minutes and then walked briskly for another 10 minutes. They also completed the routine without masks.

Heart rates in the participants increased, but their oxygen and carbon dioxide levels stayed nearly the same, the study says.

“Our hope is these findings will reassure people that their body is able to adequately get oxygen in and carbon dioxide out while wearing a face covering,” Shein said.

The results back up a study accepted last fall in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society, which showed wearing a mask has little effect on oxygen and carbon dioxide levels.

“We show that the effects are minimal at most, even in people with very severe lung impairment,” said Dr. Michael Campos of the Miami Veterans Administration Medical Center and the University of Miami.