Hydrating the respiratory tract: An alternative explanation why masks lower severity of COVID-19.

ABSTRACT: The seasonality of respiratory diseases has been linked, among other factors, to low outdoor absolute humidity and low indoor relative humidity, which increase evaporation of water in the mucosal lining of the respiratory tract. We demonstrate that normal breathing results in an absorption-desorption cycle inside facemasks, in which supersaturated air is absorbed by the mask fibers during expiration, followed by evaporation during inspiration of dry environmental air. For double-layered cotton masks, which have considerable heat capacity, the temperature of inspired air rises above room temperature, and the effective increase in relative humidity can exceed 100%. We propose that the recently reported, disease-attenuating effect of generic facemasks is dominated by the strong humidity incre

SUBMITTER: Courtney JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7879047 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature