They can’t. That’s my point. 
But they can. People don’t get hypoxic or hypercarbic with a regular mask. We don’t have to wear oximeters to prove this. Millions, perhaps billions of patients & medical staff who have had to wear masks have already proved that for us. I have never seen “wearing a mask”. as an indication for 02 monitoring.
Which is not the same as people feeling like they’re air-starved. That’s a real thing, and it’s a problem.
Also, n95 masks are different. There, definitely people can pass out.
And, I wonder if we have a very big database for people exercising with masks on. I bet we don’t. Might find some issues there.
Yes. I think this is going to end up being the biggest contributor to “serious mask-related incidents” at WDW.
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No, I get your point…but what I’m saying and what you are saying are simultaneously both true.
You are saying that masks generally move enough air to prevent hypoxia. I’m saying that masks make you feel like you need to breathe harder because you DO have to breathe harder since you are getting less O2 each time you breathe in versus without a mask, or versus with a loose-fitting or breathable mask. The less breathable the mask, the more problematic it becomes.
The question I’d be curious to see is if one’s pulse ox is usually at 98-99%, does wearing a mask (that isn’t as breathable) drop that down to, say, 95%? It is still “normal”, but definitely a sign you aren’t getting as much oxygen.
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Facts are but gossamer things when placed against the fervor of one’s belief.
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Curious…in the numerous hospital stays either my wife, myself, my kids, or other family members have had, including many surgeries, the patient was never required to wear a mask…unless it was to actually HELP breathing by providing oxygen or albuterol, etc.
This does not happen with surgical masks. That I can assure you. However, I do wonder about exercise. When have we ever asked people exercising to wear masks before? That’s something I’d seriously wonder about.
Right, patient mask-wearing is limited to those with communicable respiratory diseases. But there, the indication for oxygen monitoring is the illness, not the mask.
Surgical masks are VERY loose-fitting/breathable though…at least the ones I was required to wear during my wife’s C-sections. My understanding is that those are merely there to prevent infection such as spittal, etc.
Right. But that’s also the reason for mask-wearing under Disney’s guidelines. To prevent droplet transmission. It’s not to protect you.
Right. Let’s jump back though. I’m talking about masks that aren’t as breathable, which is the case for a lot of the masks people are wearing now, and why it feels difficult to breathe!
Of the about 10 different masks I’ve tried in the last several weeks, almost EVERY ONE of them inhibited my ability to breathe natural to varying degrees. None of them were similar to surgical masks. (And why is it I want to keep typing about sugary masks!)
Is it possible for people to asphyxiate themselves with a homemade mask? I suppose it is, but you’d have to try pretty hard. However, with millions of people being called upon to make their own masks, no doubt a few would definitely find a way. With store-bought ones, I don’t think people need to worry about it.
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Yeah. But…
Perhaps I shouldn’t have really used hypoxia. I merely meant to indicate reduced, and perhaps dropping below 95% levels. (And to be clear, I don’t know…just meant to express that some masks, if not breathable, OVER LONG PERIODS OF TIME, seem like could result in this.)
I will agree with you on having to breath harder. When talking with a mask, I notice I have to take a much deeper breath to get my words out. I have to change my whole breathing pattern.
The other problem is that my very warm breath, heated up by my 98.6ish body, comes out of my mouth and heats up the area under the mask, which also causes me to sweat and feel like I can’t breathe as well.
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If commonly-available masks were a problem, we wouldn’t see the Surgeon General showing how to make one on TV, or have the CDC recommend it.
Feeling like you can’t breathe is one thing, and can be serious. Actually not being able to get enough O2 is another.
Absolutely. But it is, again, why I was talking about it. The reason it feels like you have to breathe differently with a mask on is because, well…you do! You have to take in larger, deeper breaths to get the same amount of O2 in your system.
Of course, this is interesting to think about…in short spurts while in a store, this might not be a big deal. But working the lungs extra hard (even slightly) over the course of 8 hours in the park would contribute to exhaustion from a purely physical level. 
There’s a saying among lawyers:
When the facts are on your side, pound the facts.
When the law is on your side, pound the law.
When neither is on your side, pound the table.
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But people do wear masks to exercise. To mimic high altitude training benefits. There is research; but what I’ve seen is inconclusive as to whether there are benefits. Some research says yes, some no benefits.
Anecdotally, when I moved from high altitude to sea level-ish, it immediately took two minutes off my mile. You know, back when I could run.
Or limit dirt and allergens.
What I had to do to take two minutes off my mile?
Run .8 miles instead. 
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That’s very interesting. I hadn’t heard of that before.
So I looked that up, and they don’t actually work in terms of mimicking high altitude 02. They might strengthen respiratory muscles, kind of along the lines @ryan1 was getting at- it’s harder to pull that air through the masks. But the PO2 remains the same. Which is my point about the masks. Here’s the best explanation about it that I could find.
Do they replicate the benefits of living and training at 5,500 feet? No. Instead of lowering the concentration of oxygen in the air, they act more as respiratory resistance devices, limiting the amount of air to strengthen the breathing muscles and improve breathing mechanics.
So I guess running in masks is okay, albeit probably unnecessary.
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