Social media is rife with misinformation about face masks, including claims that you should remove them every 10 minutes to avoid oxygen shortages and other health risks.
The COVID-19 pandemic spawned countless pieces of fake news. Alongside scam emails and conspiracy theories about 5G towers, face masks became a prime target. Since May 2020, a Facebook post has spread widely, alleging that extended mask-wearing leads to hypoxia—a lack of oxygen supply to body tissues, including potentially fatal cerebral hypoxia causing loss of consciousness, coma, or even brain death.
"What is recommended is to use it only if you have someone in front of you or very close, and it is important to remember to take it off every 10 minutes to continue feeling healthy," the post advises.
Pulmonologist Jean-Philippe Santoni from Fondation du Souffle, consulted by 20 Minutes, confirms there is no valid scientific study linking mask-wearing to hypoxia. Surgical and fabric masks allow oxygen to pass through easily. Healthcare workers routinely wear FFP2 masks for extended periods without issues, and Santoni sees severe asthma patients in masked consultations daily with no problems.
To demonstrate, Santoni tested himself with an oximeter after five hours in an operating theater wearing an FFP2 mask—his blood oxygen levels showed no change. The myth traces back to a May 3, 2020, article in Nigeria's Vanguard News. Such misinformation heightens anxiety amid an already stressful health crisis.
This surgeon also conducted the test:
