Telva too many hours with a mask?This can affect you

Carrying a mask for many hours has become normal every day to day.And, although its use is unquestionable for safety and responsibility, we begin to receive its side effects.These are the most frequent.

Dry skin, irritations and acne

You have already noticed that when you have been the mask for a long time, the skin is dry and dehydrated.If you touch you in some areas you will also have some irritations.You may have left granitos, or maskné;And if you have rosacea, or dermatitis (atopic, seborréic..) Your skin does not cross your best moment.And all this is due?Well, simply to the modified environment in which a third of your face is now handled: the lack of environmental humidity and the excess of moisture exhaled by breathing, the occlusive effect of taking part of the covered skin, and that is exacerbated withFriction and sweat."With the use of the mask there is an alteration of the skin barrier function and a certain inflammation," explains Mercedes Abarquero, Pharmaceutical and Responsible for Scientific Communication of Vichy Laboratories.In addition, there are many factors that can influence the appearance of acne, spots and irritation, because inflammation occurs due to constant friction in that area of the face.By changing the surrounding environment, the skin is forced to modify its way of acting and this makes its microbioma vary.Because of acne, scars and spots can occur, which are much more difficult to eliminate than those produced by sun exposure ".How to prevent?"It is very important to extreme skin hygiene, especially if you have oily skin or acne tendency, to minimize it as much as possible; increase hydration if you have no tendency to acne; and in all cases apply sun protection,Well, ultraviolet radiation worsens all these factors, "adds the expert.

I breathe worse?

The most concentrated air in the mask area makes the feeling of breathing in full lungs be lost.To compensate you tend to keep your mouth open, which increases the risk of throat irritation."The mask is a physical barrier that changes the sensation when breathing, it may seem to breathe with difficulty but the amount of oxygen that inhales is the same as if you do not carry it," explains David Díaz Pérez, coordinator of the LaSpañola Nursing Areaof thoracic pneumology and surgery (sepa)."It is true that there are people who breathe in a more superficial way when they carry a mask, stronger or faster, as if they were thirsty for air, and this usually happens when they have been with it for many hours.It is very important to follow the recommendation in terms of hours of use (hygienic no more than 4 hours and autofiltrant no more than 8), because the filter is saturated, not only from outside in, but also from inside out out of out because of theBreathing moisture concentration.All this prevents the air from between with the same ease, but no substance should be put, for example eucalyptus, in order to breathe better, this is a dangerous recommendation, "he adds.

Headache and neck

After several hours of continued mask use some people feel somewhat dull and even with a headache, even in cases where they do not usually suffer from it.Among the causes: that compresses you too much, the feeling of not breathing pure air, some tension in the facial muscles.

"The fact of carrying a mask causes the posture to be modified, it leans its head a little forward, producing some tension in the cervical area, which can cause headache and neck pain," says David Díaz Pérez.

People who wear glasses have it more complicated, because many times they tarnish or slip easily, which is a bit uncomfortable.Some people chop their eyes and others feel that the field of vision is reduced a bit, especially when looking down.

I bite my eyes

All the strength of the face is now concentrated on them, but they can also accuse the adverse effects."Every time we breathe through a mask, the air hits the surface of the cornea, if the mask is not well attached to the nose and can worsen the symptoms of dry eye," explains the ophthalmologist Paloma Martínez de Carneros."Some people also have a feeling of stinging, punctures or foreign body in the eyes.We must be careful when putting the masks because we are more likely to touch our eyes with them and produce corneal and conjunctival erosions, "he adds.

And stress?

The feeling of uncertainty we live...Create some nervousness.How can it affect us?"Stress and anxiety are part of people's adaptation mechanisms.Its increase when you have to adapt to uncomfortable situations, such as the use of the mask, it is natural and, in principle, it does not imply any pathology, "explains Dr. Laura Ferrando, a psychiatrist of the Nuestra Señora del Rosario hospital in Madrid.