" It's unbearable. We are hot, we have trouble breathing and sometimes a headache. All this for 7.45 hours straight. This post office clerk on rue Duc (Paris XVIII) is finding it increasingly difficult to endure wearing his surgical mask. He is not the only one.
A few streets away, Igubelta, a cashier at the Franprix in rue du Poteau, is no more forgiving with her mask in colored fabric. "It's tiring and it gives me headaches. I wear it in the morning when I leave my house and then continuously at work. It's a long time, ”said the employee. So, from time to time, she allows herself to lower it a little on her chin.
Dizziness, vertigo, and therefore headache, some French people have learned to live with the inconvenience linked to wearing a mask, which is essential to limit the spread of the virus.
"People are more sensitive to this feeling of confinement"
Céline Laville knows these worries that are part of her daily life. “The FFP2 and duckbill masks (Editor's note: normally reserved for medical personnel) , it is actually very complicated for breathing, it requires effort. Before the Covid, with only one or two patients in the room, it was manageable but, now, the nurses wear these masks for 8 hours, explains the caregiver at the Poitiers CHU, president of the National Nursing Coordination. With this crisis, the French realize that it is unpleasant, especially for the general public, who is not used to wearing it. Above all, at the moment, time does not help. With the heat, this feeling of breathing its air is accentuated. "
Doctor Jean-Philippe Santoni, of the Fondation du souffle, likes to use the image of a “confined respiratory system”. But this practitioner distinguishes between FFP2 masks, reserved for healthcare teams, and surgical masks and those made of fabric used by the general public.
“The former are adhesive, filtering, and some people who use them complain indeed of headaches or feelings of suffocation, explains the doctor. Others also describe an impression of discomfort with surgical and cloth masks, especially if they are properly placed on the face. It's a bit like claustrophobia, people are more sensitive to this feeling of confinement, but I must say that headaches are not common with this type of protection. In any case, this should not lead to touching them with the hands or putting them in a necklace as we can often see. "
The doctor also dismantles the theories on hypoxia relayed on the Internet. We are talking here about the lack of oxygen supply linked to the wearing of the mask which would cause fainting in some users. "There may be a feeling of hypoxia, but no study has confirmed a drop in the oxygen level in the blood in mask wearers, reports the doctor. On the other hand, the mask can be annoying when one practices a physical activity. This causes greater respiratory discomfort, and humidification of the mask which promotes bacterial contamination and makes it less effective. "
Newsletter - Essential news
Every morning, the news seen by Le ParisienI'm registering
Your email address is collected by Le Parisien to allow you to receive our news and commercial offers. Find out more
And if these headaches simply originated in the rubber bands… “On some masks, the rubber bands tighten on the first wash. This pulls on the ears and causes pain at the start of bedsores, says nurse Céline Laville. It's complicated to regulate. You have to find a suitable mask, do not hesitate to innovate. When making homemade masks, it is possible to recover the elastic bands from surgical masks before throwing it away, because they are more flexible. "
