Arielle Popstar

Thinking/wondering if that impaired lysosome action is as a result of a Vitamin D deficiency as there does seem to be some studies mentioning a strengthening of that system with D3. http://iv.iiarjournals.org/content/28/1/133.full Low levels of Vitamen D are found in many severe cases of Covid.

That is why I like the first study. It points out there were known problems with masks long before mask mandates became an issue. I at least find symptoms of "discomfort, fatigue, dizziness, headache, muscular weakness and drowsiness" to be an issue and certainly know that they are the precursors to a host of potential problems up to and including heart attacks. Are you saying people should just suck it up because the panic is all in their heads? Certainly might be for some but even then, it is still an issue that can lead to stress disorders and heart attacks. The subjects in those studies fortunately weren't forced to continue wearing the masks till that became an actual thing but certainly there have been enough r/l examples were that did become a reality for those prone to panic.

All well and good but Richard seemed to be unaware of studies that contest his opinion: Carbon dioxide (CO2) rebreathing has been recognised as a concern regarding respirator use and is related to symptoms of discomfort, fatigue, dizziness, headache, muscular weakness and drowsiness. Previous investigations are limited by small sample size and have not evaluated the relationship between CO2 inhalation and phonic respiration (breathing during speech) in respiratory protective devices (RPDs). A total of 40 workers trained in the use of RPDs performed a graded exercise test on a cycle ergonometer that increased in workload every 5 min. During the third minute of each stage, participants read aloud a prepared text. Measures of mixed expired CO2 (PECO2), mixed inspired CO2 (PICO2) and respiration were monitored. The results showed that phonic respiration and low work rates contributed to significantly higher levels of CO2 rebreathing. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23514282/ Results: Five studies were included. Wearing RPDs exerted significant respiratory effects, including increased breathing resistance, CO2 rebreathing due to CO2 accumulation in the RPD cavity, and decreased inhaled O2 concentration. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33065816/

Neither were the studies I asked you to refute. They were simply proofs of the higher heart attack rates since Covid and masks became a thing.

Disprove those studies and I will leave voluntarily. Until you refute it, it is your opinions that may be dangerous and potentially leading to the large increases in heart attacks.

Not about what I feel but the fact that there have been cases of people drinking bleach to cure Covid. Some words of possible side effects of wearing masks is perfectly in order for those with a little less "common" sense.

Better "garbage" then i have seen you trot out. Oh wait, you just the critic but neglect to post anything relevant yourself.

Certainly wasn't common sense to me until I took some optional courses on heart healthy practices, so curious as to why you think that should be a common knowledge. Had there been a common sense about it, then shouldn't have had the heart problems to begin with

Is it though? Consider this article with referenced studies: I bolded the one finding because it has relevance for me with a prior heart incident and the warning by medical people of another occurrence should I allow myself to get overexerted and not be getting enough oxygen to support my heart. So I deduced from that, that there should be data for an increased amount of heart attacks since Covid came along and sure enough: https://www.healthline.com/health-news/why-the-heart-attack-death-rate-has-doubled-during-covid-19 https://www.heart.org/en/news/2020/07/10/more-people-are-dying-during-the-pandemic-and-not-just-from-covid-19 After reading this and some other related material I decided to stop wearing the N95 mask as I do feel somewhat breathless when I wear it for even 15 minutes or so. Problem as I see it is that there is very little info out there about mask usage for those with heart issues, COPD, diabetes, obesity and even cancers as reduced oxygen intake causes certain cancers to flourish. It becomes a danged if you do and danged if you don't problem.

I have quite clearly stated several times that I wear masks where required as well as do those other things that are suggested. "As an obedient, mask wearing, hand cleaning, social distancing Canadian, I am surprised... " So yeah, I'll question the "science" even as I obey the directives. I have questioned the validity of the lockdown and mask wearing orders as there is a saying that seems very relevant in light of the current situation: the welfare of humanity is the alibi of tyrants which makes me question and shake my head that you yourself are not watching out for this also considering how often you bleat about disliking authoritative politicians. Are you honestly so deluded to believe that only Republicans are capable of such? Perhaps you simply aren't recognizing it because it agrees with your own control issues and just seems normal from a codependents perspective. That science has already been pointed out to you on several occasions but as it doesn't seem to agree with your narrative, you refuse to look at it or rebut it with these crazy libtard sites which come up with some inane justifications for why those scientific studies are not valid. Not at all what I would call legitimate peer reviews. Neither you nor any of the others who argue for the same thing has been able to come up with any studies, legit or not, validating the points you try to ram down the forums collective throat. What I see in fact from you and a few others is mostly political science, not medical. The problem with that is in that when you have blinders on that only allow you to focus on a lack of mask wearing to be the problem, you miss the bigger picture. The reality is that in spite of lockdowns and many areas where everyone do wear masks, the numbers are still starting to climb again. Oh look! Attempting to control through guilt and shame. Did they teach you that at Social Worker school? You may win a battle through such methods but you will lose the war. The AA/12 Step groups I am familiar with absolutely do not use confrontation as a method to overcome another's denial. The recommended method that i am aware of suggests in leading through example and the sharing of one's personal experience in the hopes that those afflicted with whatever malady that is making their life unmanageable, will be able to relate and identify. Through such a process one can come to the realization that they too might be able to overcome the problem(s) they are having. As you have probably surmised, I am not a good example of the unconfrontational method but at the same time you realize how little good it does in convincing others of the rightness of my arguments as you seem entirely unconvinced of anything I have said both now and in past.

Just read a recent article actually that mentioned regular flu's are at a historic low.

How each feels is exactly the issue as that will determine the amount of defensive and offensive equipment each one will choose to bring to a potential fight. I don't know of a relevant study but my guess would be that the one with the most fear would be likely to want to load themself up with all available defensive and offensive firepower whereas the one who is not too concerned would prefer to remain fast and light. Who is to say which is the right one?

As I sit here preparing to go to work I am reminded of various movie scenes where a dozen soldiers are being transported by airplane to be dropped somewhere behind enemy lines. A few that I can't name off the top of my head, showed scenes of how each of them dealt with the fear and anxiety they had to go through at the thought they were about to be faced with a potential life and death situation. One over in the corner quietly throwing up on himself, another making light of it with humour, a third fervently praying, another checking and rechecking weapons that they are all functional and working, while a couple of others sit quietly and stoically with grim looks on their faces as the battle hardened veterans matter of factly discuss the upcoming mission. And then there is another gibbering and freaking out as fear gets the better of him. The commanding officer has to deal with that one going into hysterics because if he doesn't, the negativity and pessimism that is at the root of the fear could infect others who in spite of their calm exterior, are also on an emotional razors edge, barely keeping their own fear at bay. That is how I see this. Each of us has a different way of dealing with this covid threat. If you want to do empathy, then maybe try to identify with each one of those soldiers and how they are coping rather then just your particular way.

Counter to that I ran across this article/study by a former VP of Pfizer who is of the opinion that the virus is at about its end point: https://lockdownsceptics.org/what-sage-got-wrong/ I have no idea which opinion is the correct one but I do hope it is this one Drakon, no offence intended.

My corner of the world is what I need to look at to do a proper risk assessment for me and what I need to do to protect myself. I don't have the option of huddeling at home working on developing both agoraphobia and PTSD and cashing the government cheque at the end of the month. If I don't work, I don't eat or pay my bills. Thanks though for prompting me to look even deeper at the risk assessment for the area I live and work in. From that perspective I found out that in my area just outside Toronto, the 700,000 residents of the area spread over 2,500 sq km currently has an active Covid case load of just under 400 known with 12 in hospital and 4 in ICU with 2 of those on ventilators. There have been 186 deaths since the start with 154 of those being people in nursing homes for the elderly. It is unknown how many of the remaining 32 deaths were front line workers or people contracting the virus during a visit to a health care facility for an unrelated incident but undoubtedly they are a percentage of that 32 which then leaves only a few deaths as a result of getting the virus out in the wild. Probably if I was to do an even greater risk analysis I would find that statistically I stand a much greater chance of dying from hitting one of santa's reindeer while i drive the the 150 miles of country road I do daily or a heart attack from reading hysterical media reports of the end being nigh if I don't have a proper mask on. I'll leave you to the angst ridden hysterics but will say in parting that you might want to back away from all that high strung media reporting and go get some peace of mind playing tiddly winks or something as that will do your immune system a world of good.

In the real world, companies that cater to our leisure times, are staffed predominantly during those times. So although the golf club has groundskeeper personnel on during the off hours, the customer support staff that interface directly with visitors, are mostly on during the evenings and weekends to address any problems coming up when people are taking advantage of those leisure times. That is the nature of such a business normally. From that perspective it strikes me that there should be Lindens available during peak concurrency times, not so much during the off hours. That doesn't really seem to be the case.

One of my favourites:

My own scientific testing proves masks are dangerous because they make my glasses fog up and I walk into things.

Meh I read a few articles in the past couple days that admitted that the medical authorities are not really sure how the virus is transferring in about 50% of the community as contact tracing has been running them into dead ends in an increasing amount of cases. A lot of the lockdown stuff is them grasping at straws and its starting to be admitted. Honestly it is my own opinion that some are being overly melodramatic about it. I am an essential worker who covers a 500 square kilometer area daily, have a very large extended family as well as a good network of friends and acquaintances where I would hear of anyone dying or even being hospitalized for covid or any other reason and yet, nothing, zilch, nada, null. Thank God. Other then "the sky is falling and the world is going to end" media sites, I wouldn't even know there was a problem. So I don't see the need to get too freaked out about it.

I find wearing an N95 mask causes me a little problem when shopping a larger store. I do have some respiratory issue but not normally enough to impair me when walking store aisles for half hour or so. So I guess others mileage varies. Then there was this guy who wore an N95 while driving and found it to be bad for his health: https://people.com/human-interest/man-wearing-n95-mask-passes-out-while-driving-car-crashing-into-pole/

In firestorm you can see the complexity of others by going to Preferences-General-Show Avatar Complexity. It will then be shown above their name tag

Nothing wrong with voicing a complaint. How else will the Lab know where they might need to add some personnel especially considering their client base is multinational and it is only the USA that has a thanksgiving holiday. Perhaps they did not realize that and needed to have it pointed out.

Sometimes it is easier to get someone in by telling them the group needs help from one who already knows it all.

Well then just remember to duck!

Its the way the thread was going and so my comment was simply a recognition of that as was Drakon's post. Reading of Skel's post I am not sure if he has been personally affected by a covid death so am a little confused as to whether I need to apologize for the dark humour intended in my own post. I am missing why the sudden need to freak out at Drakon's post specifically. I do hope he/she works out the bitterness at life that seems prevalent in many of the posts I see but that's for them to recognize and deal with should that path be chosen. I don't see it helping when a slew of posters do a pile on.