Retired neurosurgeon here. Masks prevent errant spit from landing on the sterile surgical field, and protect the operating room personnel from getting splattered with wound irrigation or bodily fluids. They are thrown in the trash in the operating room on the way out the door, as well as getting changed as often as necessary during a procedure.
Yes viruses may be energies ready to fix things when needed, but there are still bacteria. An open wound to the air is susceptible to bacteria in the vicinity. That’s why the mortality rate went up for mothers and babies after birth. They sterilized the birthing rooms and equipment and wore masks.
“After 1,537 operations performed with face masks, 73 (4.7%) wound infections were recorded and, after 1,551 operations performed without face masks, 55 (3.5%) infections occurred. This difference was not statistically significant (p greater than 0.05) and the bacterial species cultured from the wound infections did not differ in any way, which would have supported the fact tha the numerical difference was a statistically "missed" difference. These results indicated that the use of face masks might be reconsidered. Masks may be used to protect the operating team from drops of infected blood and from airborne infections, but have not been proven to protect the patient operated by a healthy operating team.”
Yes I believe that. But why did the mortality rate go way up after sterilizing and masks? Could it be the bacteria around gets blown into the air? Could it be that newly open wounds should not be in an abundant load of airborn bacteria, then closing the wound with bacteria in it? Would it matter for bacteria in the mouth? So it is not a viral thing that is clear. It has to be a thought thing. “You are as sick as the person you see”. “Most people are immune compromised “
“This next virus will get you”. What warnings alerts scare tactics are they going to put in our thoughts this time?!?
I would argue that it’s not significant at all. There any numbers of ways that bacterial infections can occur during an operation from improperly sterilised equipment to surfaces microscopically unclean.
It’s not like the materials used to sterilise surfaces are 100% effective and they certainly can’t stop drops of sweat falling from a forehead.
It’s more logical to continue wearing them than not.
Just to clarify, I’m only talking about surgeons wearing masks, I’m 100% against recommendations or mandates for general mask wearing outside of theatre.
I’m gonna jump in here and say something that is going to sound funny but pretty solid, too. I was a drywall finisher for a number of years, which involves lots of particulate in the air, even when using dustless top coat (it is a heavier product and drops from the air faster). The smart drywall finisher wears a N95 particulate mask, not a cloth mask or thin paper mask. The dust in the air you can actually see, and those other masks do not stop it. Here’s the funny/solid part:
Agreed! I do a lot of metal grinding and wood sanding, and wear a more serious respirator while doing it. If I don't I blow my nose afterwards and it is dark grey (and once actually magnetic, which rather improved my discipline on the matter!) I tried just wearing left over surgical style masks from the COVID years, and honestly, the difference between that and nothing wasn't really noticeable. Now, maybe my beard and moustache keep the mask from sealing in a way that the heavier respirator overcomes, but after an hour I have also seen the dark grey metal powder color on the inside of the surgical masks, so it is definitely getting in there.
Yeah, But if you had a leg wound and was getting stitched up, would you want the doctor sneezing into the wound? The doctors know now. I went in last year with a smashed calf and huge hematoma forming underneath. It swelled up and went numb. I didn’t need pain killers,....that’s a body mechanism btw.
In hospital they just cleaned the wound with salt swabs and put a gauze bandaid over it.
I noticed the open part of the wound developed a dark red sponge like scab wet and moist. I kinda knew this was to let the blood and plasma out as it healed. So for 6 weeks, all I did was clean with distilled water and let it heal. Then the big red spongy scab came off, and what a hole it left. So off to the wound care Victorian nurses. Once a week they put a silver gauze piece inside the wound covered with a bandage and the healing commenced. But all they ever did was clean with saline, rinse (because the silver cannot have salt on it) And bandage. The silver had to stay on for 7 days without moving.
It’s been 6 months and you can hardly see where it was. I let it heal slowly and there is no dent even. I think I will put caster oil on and see if I can clear up some discolouring.
But I’m amazed at the bodies ability to heal.
Heavy metal detoxing is what you will need. Cilantro takes the heavy metals out through blood brain barrier.
Another thing about N95 masks...to be most effective, especially against viruses, they need to fit properly, which requires a fit test. A proper fitting N95 is REALLY tight on your face, no gaps (at all), doesn’t move around on your face at all (pretty uncomfortable too). During Covid, it drove me crazy to see people (especially doctors) wearing N95s and the masks have big gaps and are moving all over their faces when they talk. Might as well wear a cloth mask. 🤦🏻♀️
I am sensitive to fragrances, ie medium to long chain hydrocarbons called Volatile Organic Compounds. Cloth masks don't stop those. Need an N99 respirator with charcoal filters.
There was a graphic I saw showing a wildfire smoke particle was larger than a coronavirus. Paper masks don't stop smoke either.
I’ve tried explaining to colleagues etc how the masks are ineffective and can be damaging their health. They look at me like I’m a deluded conspiracy theorist. It’s heartbreaking.
Other surgeons have reported that the surgical mask is there to protect the surgeon and assistants as well. There has been more than one surgical operation where the surgeon as well as assistants have been splattered with blood, including in the face. Masks and glasses protect medical personnel and also keep sneezes or exhaled droplets from getting inside a patient or on the surgical instruments, etc.
Not a surgeon but a former wound care nurse who assisted surgeons in a non-sterile clinic setting with minor invasive interventions. Many infected wounds requiring I&D, superficial & sub dermal debridement and tissue cultures. We wore masks and eye protection, sometimes full PPE to protect ourselves from ‘incoming’.
I used to date an ENT surgeon. I’d always ask him how his day went. Once, he’d had a patient with a quinsy, and had to lance it with his scalpel. It squirted out and he got a face full of pus. I bet he was glad of his mask (and specs) that day.
The article written by this surgeon has a lot of errors. Here is the truth about masks. I am calling up my knowledge as a physicist (MIT '78) and my 35 years as a surgeon.
1. Masks are used to protect the wearer only. It act as splash guards. That is all. When the surgeon is worried about the patient's tissue getting in his eyes, he will eye protection too. It's a splash guard for the eyes.
2. Contrary to popular belief and the author's claims masks do not protect the patient who has an open wound in front of the surgeon. He seems to think masks prevent spit from going into the wound. NUMEROUS studies of masked and unmasked surgeons doing thousands of cases have proved there is no significant difference in infections patients experienced, so spit or no spit it makes no difference.. When surgeons sneeze, they turn their head to the side and bend at the waist. The sneeze water and mucus shoots through the big openings on the sides, 1/2 aimed right at the open wound on the patient. Still no difference in infection rates
3. Another mistake in the article. We don't put on masks using sterile technique. We tie the chords in the back with our bare hands. And they aren't sterile anyway. That packaging isn't sterile.
I was the first during Covid to prove masks won't work for SARS-2. We already had 72 years of RCTs proving they don't reduce influenza transmission significantly, but what the hey! I knew the issue would be hotly-debated. In my March 17, 2020 proof, I showed why the virus is invisible using the electromagnetic spectrum. I reproduced this proof in my new Covid book. I'm sending it to the publisher this week! I put in way too much detail. in the three page proof, even for a nerd like me. I even felt I needed to tell my readers the de Broglie wavelength of an electron to demonstrate why electron micrographs reveal an image of the virus but not light microscopes (no matter how much you turn up the magnification). If you don't believe me, go ahead and turn it to infinity. You'll die trying.
Dr. Sheftall, putting the de Broglie wavelength of an electron to the side...
From reading your comment and those of others who have identified themselves as doctors and nurses above, I have the impression it is common knowledge in the medical community that masks don't stop transmission of respiratory viruses.
If this is so, why is it that the doctors and nurses at hospitals are always the first to agree to mask up when new Covid mandates are introduced? Why do they fold so easily, when all of them have supposedly entered their professions because they want to help people be healthy?
Hi Anna. There's a big difference between knowing and believing or suspecting. An entire branch is devoted to the differences. It's called epistemology. I proved it from first principles like is my nature. I don't know of anyone else who would do that. Everyone else would look at the studies and base their conclusion on what they showed. Get my books if you like to see proofs. You'll love my proof that we reached herd immunity without a single person fully-vaccinated, putting the MDTV mafia(Drs. Wen, Reiner, Gupta, Haseltine (not an MD), Fauci, Collins, etc) to shame after they said 90% of the pop. would- have to be vaccinated before we could reach herd immunity- my proof lockdowns could never work- I did it before they were put in place, how I was first to derive the correct IFR, and about 13 more "firsts". I also have 3 more "onlys". I've published 1, going to send #2 to the publisher this weekend. It'll be available in a week. And #3 in a month or two. Here's #1. https://www.amazon.com/Heroes-Villains-COVID-19-Book-Lists/dp/B0BKHQ7CWN/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
I am just a conspiracy theorist, not a scientist, but I proposed that these novel viruses may be able to replicate along electrical currents. Which may be why viruses are able to break out of the even the cleanest of labs into the surrounding hosts and outbreaks concentrated in urban regions? Clone transportation via the grid.
No, I'm NOT a surgeon, but my work did require dust masks and respirators, depending on circumstances. I've used N95 masks for decades. I'm aware of what the can and cannot do.
At the beginning of the pandemic, when there was a shortage of N95 masks available for hospital personnel, I took that as a cause for concern. But in just no time at all, the "problem" had morphed into a need for EVERYONE to wear a mask. No specific mask was specified, just a mask.
I started checking on what OSHA rating existed for cloth masks and was not surprised to find that there was NO rating. It was all made up, imaginary mythology. Various "authorities" required masks, but none specified any particular kind of mask. That's the dead giveaway. The whole thing is virtue signaling, with not a shred of scientific research to back it up.
This post is SO helpful, thank you!! I just had to contend with a situation in the workplace in which a small panic ensured when a coworker who had not been feeling well but had just stopped by on his day off texted us after he got home that he had tested positive for covid. Someone raced out to buy a handful of tests and masks for the six of us present; I said no thanks to both and just kept working. The problem is that the CDC “guidance” still says that anyone exposed to someone with covid should wear a mask for 10 days (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/if-you-were-exposed.html), and people are still abiding by that stupidity.
I have friends whose typical response is, "yeah but you can't say they don't REDUCE risk at least somewhat! I mean cmon it's just common sense - having something in front of your face is better than nothing." That is how they comfort themselves that masking is worthwhile. Security blanket.
My now 91 year old father was trained in the London Hospital in the 1950’s and he says they were taught then masks were useless against virus.
For 4 years so far he has challenged anyone wearing a mask broadly along the lines of “ what the heck do you think you are doing” and then he goes on to explain.
The remarkable part is even a cousin as a trained nurse pushes mask wearing.
My fathers conclusion is their training must be appalling.
This cleared up a small mystery to me - why don’t surgeons suffer from CO2 buildup due to their mask? Higher O2 content and positive pressure, as this explains.
I knew, in theory, that most people are sheeple. But the scamdemic proved it beyond measure. And here we are, over 3 years after the mass gaslighting, and people are STILL wearing masks! But you're right, NE. Facts don't matter to these people. They are willfully ignorant and uninformed. All the information is out there, and it's not that hard to find.
Jan 15·edited Jan 15Liked by NE - nakedemperor.substack.com
"Unmasking the surgeons: the evidence base behind the use of facemasks in surgery":
"...there is a lack of substantial evidence to support claims that facemasks protect either patient or surgeon from infectious contamination."
"... Masks are a quintessential part of the surgical attire that has become so deeply ingrained in the public perception of the profession. However, even today, it remains unclear as to whether they confer any tangible benefits to surgical outcomes"
Retired neurosurgeon here. Masks prevent errant spit from landing on the sterile surgical field, and protect the operating room personnel from getting splattered with wound irrigation or bodily fluids. They are thrown in the trash in the operating room on the way out the door, as well as getting changed as often as necessary during a procedure.
Yes viruses may be energies ready to fix things when needed, but there are still bacteria. An open wound to the air is susceptible to bacteria in the vicinity. That’s why the mortality rate went up for mothers and babies after birth. They sterilized the birthing rooms and equipment and wore masks.
🎯
Go tell that to Moron Fauci!
“After 1,537 operations performed with face masks, 73 (4.7%) wound infections were recorded and, after 1,551 operations performed without face masks, 55 (3.5%) infections occurred. This difference was not statistically significant (p greater than 0.05) and the bacterial species cultured from the wound infections did not differ in any way, which would have supported the fact tha the numerical difference was a statistically "missed" difference. These results indicated that the use of face masks might be reconsidered. Masks may be used to protect the operating team from drops of infected blood and from airborne infections, but have not been proven to protect the patient operated by a healthy operating team.”
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1853618
Beat me to it! I was going to quote the same study. It’s counter intuitive, but masks probably INCREASE patient infections.
Very interesting! Thank you.
Yes I believe that. But why did the mortality rate go way up after sterilizing and masks? Could it be the bacteria around gets blown into the air? Could it be that newly open wounds should not be in an abundant load of airborn bacteria, then closing the wound with bacteria in it? Would it matter for bacteria in the mouth? So it is not a viral thing that is clear. It has to be a thought thing. “You are as sick as the person you see”. “Most people are immune compromised “
“This next virus will get you”. What warnings alerts scare tactics are they going to put in our thoughts this time?!?
I would argue that it’s not significant at all. There any numbers of ways that bacterial infections can occur during an operation from improperly sterilised equipment to surfaces microscopically unclean.
It’s not like the materials used to sterilise surfaces are 100% effective and they certainly can’t stop drops of sweat falling from a forehead.
It’s more logical to continue wearing them than not.
Just to clarify, I’m only talking about surgeons wearing masks, I’m 100% against recommendations or mandates for general mask wearing outside of theatre.
I’m gonna jump in here and say something that is going to sound funny but pretty solid, too. I was a drywall finisher for a number of years, which involves lots of particulate in the air, even when using dustless top coat (it is a heavier product and drops from the air faster). The smart drywall finisher wears a N95 particulate mask, not a cloth mask or thin paper mask. The dust in the air you can actually see, and those other masks do not stop it. Here’s the funny/solid part:
I didn’t wear a mask to protect the drywall. 😷 🤣🤣
Agreed! I do a lot of metal grinding and wood sanding, and wear a more serious respirator while doing it. If I don't I blow my nose afterwards and it is dark grey (and once actually magnetic, which rather improved my discipline on the matter!) I tried just wearing left over surgical style masks from the COVID years, and honestly, the difference between that and nothing wasn't really noticeable. Now, maybe my beard and moustache keep the mask from sealing in a way that the heavier respirator overcomes, but after an hour I have also seen the dark grey metal powder color on the inside of the surgical masks, so it is definitely getting in there.
Yeah, But if you had a leg wound and was getting stitched up, would you want the doctor sneezing into the wound? The doctors know now. I went in last year with a smashed calf and huge hematoma forming underneath. It swelled up and went numb. I didn’t need pain killers,....that’s a body mechanism btw.
In hospital they just cleaned the wound with salt swabs and put a gauze bandaid over it.
I noticed the open part of the wound developed a dark red sponge like scab wet and moist. I kinda knew this was to let the blood and plasma out as it healed. So for 6 weeks, all I did was clean with distilled water and let it heal. Then the big red spongy scab came off, and what a hole it left. So off to the wound care Victorian nurses. Once a week they put a silver gauze piece inside the wound covered with a bandage and the healing commenced. But all they ever did was clean with saline, rinse (because the silver cannot have salt on it) And bandage. The silver had to stay on for 7 days without moving.
It’s been 6 months and you can hardly see where it was. I let it heal slowly and there is no dent even. I think I will put caster oil on and see if I can clear up some discolouring.
But I’m amazed at the bodies ability to heal.
Heavy metal detoxing is what you will need. Cilantro takes the heavy metals out through blood brain barrier.
Another thing about N95 masks...to be most effective, especially against viruses, they need to fit properly, which requires a fit test. A proper fitting N95 is REALLY tight on your face, no gaps (at all), doesn’t move around on your face at all (pretty uncomfortable too). During Covid, it drove me crazy to see people (especially doctors) wearing N95s and the masks have big gaps and are moving all over their faces when they talk. Might as well wear a cloth mask. 🤦🏻♀️
I am sensitive to fragrances, ie medium to long chain hydrocarbons called Volatile Organic Compounds. Cloth masks don't stop those. Need an N99 respirator with charcoal filters.
There was a graphic I saw showing a wildfire smoke particle was larger than a coronavirus. Paper masks don't stop smoke either.
I’ve tried explaining to colleagues etc how the masks are ineffective and can be damaging their health. They look at me like I’m a deluded conspiracy theorist. It’s heartbreaking.
Yep. Same here. I've stopped trying. People love their ignorance.
The only cure for stupidity .. is death
Ignorance and stupidity are not the same thing. One you’re born to, the other must be cultivated.
And Fauci just admitted the '6 feet' of social distancing was just made up... https://eccentrik.substack.com/p/6-ridiculous-propaganda-lines-of
Masks protect the patient from errant Junior Mints from entering the body cavity.
LMAO!
https://youtu.be/MwJqkorGam8?si=414sKH40SdJZA07M
Thank you,Renee. This provides needed context for the uninitiated.
David, we never get tired of those reruns! Laughter is the best medicine!😂🤣
Lol
As a trauma surgeon I wear a mask and glasses to protect myself from blood and body fluid splats. A picture is worth a thousand words.
https://www.sciencephoto.com/media/79008/view/surgeon-spattered-with-blood
Yes it is! Been there too as a trauma nurse.
Other surgeons have reported that the surgical mask is there to protect the surgeon and assistants as well. There has been more than one surgical operation where the surgeon as well as assistants have been splattered with blood, including in the face. Masks and glasses protect medical personnel and also keep sneezes or exhaled droplets from getting inside a patient or on the surgical instruments, etc.
Not a surgeon but a former wound care nurse who assisted surgeons in a non-sterile clinic setting with minor invasive interventions. Many infected wounds requiring I&D, superficial & sub dermal debridement and tissue cultures. We wore masks and eye protection, sometimes full PPE to protect ourselves from ‘incoming’.
I used to date an ENT surgeon. I’d always ask him how his day went. Once, he’d had a patient with a quinsy, and had to lance it with his scalpel. It squirted out and he got a face full of pus. I bet he was glad of his mask (and specs) that day.
The article written by this surgeon has a lot of errors. Here is the truth about masks. I am calling up my knowledge as a physicist (MIT '78) and my 35 years as a surgeon.
1. Masks are used to protect the wearer only. It act as splash guards. That is all. When the surgeon is worried about the patient's tissue getting in his eyes, he will eye protection too. It's a splash guard for the eyes.
2. Contrary to popular belief and the author's claims masks do not protect the patient who has an open wound in front of the surgeon. He seems to think masks prevent spit from going into the wound. NUMEROUS studies of masked and unmasked surgeons doing thousands of cases have proved there is no significant difference in infections patients experienced, so spit or no spit it makes no difference.. When surgeons sneeze, they turn their head to the side and bend at the waist. The sneeze water and mucus shoots through the big openings on the sides, 1/2 aimed right at the open wound on the patient. Still no difference in infection rates
3. Another mistake in the article. We don't put on masks using sterile technique. We tie the chords in the back with our bare hands. And they aren't sterile anyway. That packaging isn't sterile.
I was the first during Covid to prove masks won't work for SARS-2. We already had 72 years of RCTs proving they don't reduce influenza transmission significantly, but what the hey! I knew the issue would be hotly-debated. In my March 17, 2020 proof, I showed why the virus is invisible using the electromagnetic spectrum. I reproduced this proof in my new Covid book. I'm sending it to the publisher this week! I put in way too much detail. in the three page proof, even for a nerd like me. I even felt I needed to tell my readers the de Broglie wavelength of an electron to demonstrate why electron micrographs reveal an image of the virus but not light microscopes (no matter how much you turn up the magnification). If you don't believe me, go ahead and turn it to infinity. You'll die trying.
Dr. Sheftall, putting the de Broglie wavelength of an electron to the side...
From reading your comment and those of others who have identified themselves as doctors and nurses above, I have the impression it is common knowledge in the medical community that masks don't stop transmission of respiratory viruses.
If this is so, why is it that the doctors and nurses at hospitals are always the first to agree to mask up when new Covid mandates are introduced? Why do they fold so easily, when all of them have supposedly entered their professions because they want to help people be healthy?
Hi Anna. There's a big difference between knowing and believing or suspecting. An entire branch is devoted to the differences. It's called epistemology. I proved it from first principles like is my nature. I don't know of anyone else who would do that. Everyone else would look at the studies and base their conclusion on what they showed. Get my books if you like to see proofs. You'll love my proof that we reached herd immunity without a single person fully-vaccinated, putting the MDTV mafia(Drs. Wen, Reiner, Gupta, Haseltine (not an MD), Fauci, Collins, etc) to shame after they said 90% of the pop. would- have to be vaccinated before we could reach herd immunity- my proof lockdowns could never work- I did it before they were put in place, how I was first to derive the correct IFR, and about 13 more "firsts". I also have 3 more "onlys". I've published 1, going to send #2 to the publisher this weekend. It'll be available in a week. And #3 in a month or two. Here's #1. https://www.amazon.com/Heroes-Villains-COVID-19-Book-Lists/dp/B0BKHQ7CWN/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
I am just a conspiracy theorist, not a scientist, but I proposed that these novel viruses may be able to replicate along electrical currents. Which may be why viruses are able to break out of the even the cleanest of labs into the surrounding hosts and outbreaks concentrated in urban regions? Clone transportation via the grid.
No, I'm NOT a surgeon, but my work did require dust masks and respirators, depending on circumstances. I've used N95 masks for decades. I'm aware of what the can and cannot do.
At the beginning of the pandemic, when there was a shortage of N95 masks available for hospital personnel, I took that as a cause for concern. But in just no time at all, the "problem" had morphed into a need for EVERYONE to wear a mask. No specific mask was specified, just a mask.
I started checking on what OSHA rating existed for cloth masks and was not surprised to find that there was NO rating. It was all made up, imaginary mythology. Various "authorities" required masks, but none specified any particular kind of mask. That's the dead giveaway. The whole thing is virtue signaling, with not a shred of scientific research to back it up.
This post is SO helpful, thank you!! I just had to contend with a situation in the workplace in which a small panic ensured when a coworker who had not been feeling well but had just stopped by on his day off texted us after he got home that he had tested positive for covid. Someone raced out to buy a handful of tests and masks for the six of us present; I said no thanks to both and just kept working. The problem is that the CDC “guidance” still says that anyone exposed to someone with covid should wear a mask for 10 days (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/if-you-were-exposed.html), and people are still abiding by that stupidity.
As we can see there is no cure for this.
🤣
I have friends whose typical response is, "yeah but you can't say they don't REDUCE risk at least somewhat! I mean cmon it's just common sense - having something in front of your face is better than nothing." That is how they comfort themselves that masking is worthwhile. Security blanket.
Scroll around to find my post, where I thought the same... :) There is hope!
My now 91 year old father was trained in the London Hospital in the 1950’s and he says they were taught then masks were useless against virus.
For 4 years so far he has challenged anyone wearing a mask broadly along the lines of “ what the heck do you think you are doing” and then he goes on to explain.
The remarkable part is even a cousin as a trained nurse pushes mask wearing.
My fathers conclusion is their training must be appalling.
I have to agree.
This cleared up a small mystery to me - why don’t surgeons suffer from CO2 buildup due to their mask? Higher O2 content and positive pressure, as this explains.
Plus, they do still suffer some.
I knew, in theory, that most people are sheeple. But the scamdemic proved it beyond measure. And here we are, over 3 years after the mass gaslighting, and people are STILL wearing masks! But you're right, NE. Facts don't matter to these people. They are willfully ignorant and uninformed. All the information is out there, and it's not that hard to find.
"Unmasking the surgeons: the evidence base behind the use of facemasks in surgery":
"...there is a lack of substantial evidence to support claims that facemasks protect either patient or surgeon from infectious contamination."
"... Masks are a quintessential part of the surgical attire that has become so deeply ingrained in the public perception of the profession. However, even today, it remains unclear as to whether they confer any tangible benefits to surgical outcomes"
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4480558/