Masks: Helpful or harmful ?

Lately, our world has been full of new surprises every single day. We are being thrown curveballs. Every time we think we have grasped the last one, a new one is thrown our way. In the world we live in today things can never be simple, easy, or left alone, something always has to be changing. Whether It’s good or bad, that’s for us to decide. It’s all in the way we interpret situations but people are changing, businesses are changing, schools are changing, and our world is changing right under our fingertips, all because of one virus.

COVID- 19 is a virus that has had an outbreak across the world within the past seven months. COVID has brought many changes to every single one of us that we definitely were not expecting. First, it started with online learning last spring, then it was pushing back baseball and softball seasons, parents starting working from home, and we all started to wear these masks to protect ourselves everywhere we went. At first, nobody could clearly say if the mask was really helping or not so wearing a mask was not mandatory. This made most people believe that wearing a mask was pointless. Now that most people have started going back to work and going back to school, wearing a mask is mandatory in most places.

You would think that wearing a mask would be great for all of us, but it’s not that simple. Since we have all started wearing these masks people have realized that there are many other side effects and issues that come with wearing them. The biggest problem is acne. Yes, acne. People are experiencing horrible acne on their cheeks, chin, and around the nose and mouth areas. The moister and sticky environment caused on your face from wearing a mask makes it very easy for bacteria to grow on your face. The constant bacteria will turn into severe acne. Wearing a mask also traps dirt and oil on your face causing blackheads.

Many people think that if you just change your mask and have a clean one on then you won’t experience acne but Dr. Liszewski says that the main cause of acne is not having dirty masks. You can change your mask as much as you want but bacteria thrive in humidity, and wearing your mask is what causes a tight humid space for it to grow on your face. This is why people who change their masks regularly are still having issues with facial acne. Dr. Liszewski also says that the amount of time that you wear the mask doesn’t exactly determine how much acne you are to get. He is seeing just as much new acne developing on people who only wear it to the grocery store as opposed to health care providers that wear it all day. Some doctors are suggesting to wash your face with a cleanser containing 2% to 5% benzoyl peroxide, you should also try leaving the cleanser on for 2-3 minutes before washing off for better results.

Although acne is a big issue concerning these masks, it’s not the only issue. People are experiencing rashes on their face and behind the ears from constant rubbing by the mask along with sore thoughts.

Rylee Romine, a student at Licking Valley High School, wishes she was still learning online. Rylee said “ It bothers me to think that I am breathing in my own Carbon Dioxide. I’ve also realized that my mask is getting damp within an hour of wearing it and I’m getting so much acne. I wish I could just stay online” Rylee also shared that sometimes she gets a sore throat if she wears a mask too long. After months of a pandemic, you would think that kids would be excited to get back to school and see their friends but after remembering that they have to wear a mask for 6-7 hours a day, there are kids who are still choosing to stay home and learn online. Everything this year has brought us is truly sad and the world we live in today may never be the same.