Ever wonder the possibilities a mask is having on your physical health, mostly to lungs and your chest? Through many schools around the world, Students are getting aggravated about the constant yelling of teachers telling them to put their mask on.Though mask wearing may slow the spread of COVID-19, it does not slow the irritation from students and many teachers. We will be delving into the topic of why masks will do just as much bad as it does good in our pandemic.

 Though mask wearing may slow the spread of COVID-19, infections from bacteria and in other cases, mold, on masks for an extended period of time have caused illnesses in the lungs such as strep, the cold, etc. “I think masks are a useful thing to help bring down the risk of contracting Covid. However, I also think that Covid will not just go away in the blink of an eye because of masks and hand sanitizer. But I digress. I think that they should be used, but not enforced as much as they are,”said Brandon Logan, an 8th grader at Centennial. Though masks do still hold carbon dioxide, “only an airtight mask could possibly cause any breathing difficulty. That eliminates cloth masks, the preferred personal protective equipment in public. It actually eliminates N95 respirators, too, usually reserved for healthcare professionals,” says the Hartford Healthcare University. Wearing masks like this for an extended period of time can and will do some damage to the lungs and respiratory system, due to the carbon dioxide intake and bacterial infections from the cloth masks.

Students, parents, and teachers alike have all had their fair share of complaints towards masks, either saying they’re just downright bad or actually have negative effects on their health. Though there are others that say that they are okay with this as long as the outcome is good in their workspace.“I was surprised about how masks were not as bad as I anticipated. Do they actually help? I am not sure, but if this is what we have to do to be able to be in class rather than being virtual it is something I am willing to do.” A staff member from Centennial middle school stated that they are surprised that the outcome of the masks were not worse than they anticipated.” I think that masks are not a good thing and they can make it harder to learn. Also I think that if you are so worried about Covid-19 then do virtual learning. We should have all signed waivers saying if we were infected that we would not hold the school responsible for it.” This comes from a very one sided student here at Centennial middle school that is completely against the fact that masks are a needed thing in schools and we will be shut down without them. These people asked to be anonymous so they would not be judged outside of this article’s contents.

Even though there is evidence that masks harm and hurt their wearers, some still state that masks do more good than harm.” I think they are very important, it helps stop the spread of Covid from coughs, sneezes, and just regular activities. I feel like the rules should be just as enforced as right now, most of the time you are never 6 feet away from somebody else and it’s just better to have them on all the time.” This came from an 8th grader named, Sean Quan,  that is for the mask wearing. It’s true, it does stop the spread of COVID, but they never think of what might happen if they keep the masks on for too long, causing its own damage in the lungs instead of protecting them.

To be careful with the wearing of masks too long, continually change out your masks and take brakes to ensure that you aren’t having trouble breathing. The best you can do to stay safe is change your mask often, throw them in the washer or the garbage after you’re done, and keep a good amount of new and clean masks in your backpack.

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