Health experts has warned that People with asthma or other respiratory conditions should not wear face coverings.
Expert also warned that Face coverings should not be used by children under the age of two or those who may find it difficult to manage them correctly.
However, people who have asthma or other lung illnesses may find it difficult to breathe with face coverings. Masks can make it more difficult to draw air into the lungs and this may trigger asthma for some patients and can also cause anxiety which changes people’s breathing patterns.
Experts say people should wear a mask if they comfortably can, to protect themselves and others around them, but not risk their own health in the process.
This advice has been supported by Asthma UK which agrees that face coverings could make it more difficult to draw air into the lungs.
What is Asthma?
The World Health Organisation described asthma as a common lung condition that causes sporadic breathing difficulties, adding that its strongest risk factors are inhaled substances and particles that may provoke allergic reactions or irritate the airways.
It is advisable for asthmatics and others with related conditions to stay away as much as possible from the public during this COVID-19 pandemic.
“They should also be discouraged from going to hospitals for now except when very necessary,” he cautioned.
Dr Purvi Parikh, an immunology and infectious disease specialist at New York University, said patients with lung disease, as well as people with skin conditions on their face and neck and patients with dementia may not be able to wear face coverings often.
The problem, however, for such people is that they are also at a higher risk of becoming seriously ill if they do catch the virus, and may be more likely to spread it when they’re infectious.
