Harmful rules: why you shouldn’t run in a mask

Good news! Or not really. To be honest, it’s still quite contradictory. In Moscow, from the first day of summer, not only scheduled walks are allowed, but sports in the morning hours – from 5:00 to 9:00. At the same time, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin declared wearing masks mandatory for everyone, runners are among them. However, many athletes assure that in this case it is better not to run at all. What is the matter? Let’s find out together with experts.

Why do you need a mask?

The WHO assures that an ordinary medical mask does not have much chance to protect you from infection, but if you are infected, the people around you will remain safe. The fact is that the symptoms of coronavirus may not be visible to you, and you may not realize that you are infected. However, you will become a carrier of the disease. An ordinary medical mask can create a barrier between you and passers-by.

But if the mandatory wearing of masks on walks can be considered justified, running in such an accessory raises doubts not only among athletes, but also among doctors.

Why is it harmful to run in a mask?

Vladimir Lepesa, marathon runner: With any load, our body requires increased oxygen supply in order to support all internal processes, including the process of glucose oxidation, which supplies us with energy. Any obstacle that cuts off the supply of sufficient oxygen makes us feel worse and puts extra strain on our cardiovascular system. And a mask prevents us from breathing fully, both literally and figuratively. Therefore, its use during active sports is not only silly, but also dangerous. Especially for beginners.

Doctors also do not recommend running or any other outdoor sports in masks, but moreover, they say that wearing them on the street is also completely unreasonable.

Vitaly Zverev, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Head of the Department of Microbiology, Virology and Immunology of the First Sechenov Moscow State Medical University: When I see that children wear masks on the street, I want to ask a question – who will treat emphysema after wearing this mask? Or when people ride a bicycle wearing a mask… There is no virus flying in the street. If you keep a social distance, nothing will be transmitted to you.

In addition, the expert assures that “on the street, the mask is not just useless, but harmful.

And in two hours it turns from a means of defense into a means of spreading infection. Since in the air besides coronavirus there are bacteria and fungi, which settle on the mask.

The scientist noted that as a result of the measures taken, we should expect an increase in such diseases as pulmonary emphysema, bronchial asthma, fungal, allergic, bacterial diseases.

What to do if you want to run?

The only option is to go to the forests near Moscow, where the mask regime is not so strict, and walkers are much less. The main thing is to keep the distance. Experts assure that this is the only effective way to protect yourself.