© GreenMedInfo
A concerning study conducted in Germany has been posted online as a preprint (not yet peer-reviewed) titled, "Corona children studies "Co-Ki": First results of a Germany-wide registry on mouth and nose covering (mask) in children," describing the results of 17,854 parent submitted reports on health complaints or impairments experienced as a result of wearing masks by their 25,930 children.
The study was designed to both explore the accumulating narratives reported by parents, educators, and doctors about increasing problems and health complaints in children and adolescents wearing masks, as well as to provide the first known online registry where parents, doctors, teachers, and others can enter their first-hand observations. The registry and the questionnaire can be found online at www.co-ki-masken.de
The study authors stated:
There are no manufacturer-independent studies on the use of masks for children and adolescents that are certified as medical products for occupational safety in professional applications. In addition, due to the unknown materials used, there are no findings on the potential protective effects or side effects of the often home-made "everyday masks" worn by the majority of children. In view of the ongoing measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, and in particular the varying obligations for children and adolescents to wear masks in school over a longer period of time, there is an urgent need for research.On October 20th, 2020, 363 doctors were asked to make entries and inform parents and teachers of the existence of the registry.
The data recorded in the registry included information regarding the role of the registrant, demographic data, previous illnesses, situation and duration of mask wearing, type of mask, existence of complaints from the child about an impairment via the mask, symptoms, behavioral problems, and the respondent's personal attitude to corona protection measures of the government.
On average, children wore masks for 270 minutes a day, with impairments being reported at nearly the same rate by the children (67.7%) as the parents (66.1%).
The study results were summarized as follows:
By 26.10.2020 the registry had been used by 20,353 people. In this publication we report the results from the parents, who entered data on a total of 25,930 children. The average wearing time of the mask was 270 minutes per day. Impairments caused by wearing the mask were reported by 68% of the parents. These included irritability (60%), headache (53%), difficulty concentrating (50%), less happiness (49%), reluctance to go to school/kindergarten (44%), malaise (42%) impaired learning (38%) and drowsiness or fatigue (37%).The children's' complaints were reported across 24 distinct symptoms as follows:
© GreenMedInfo
© GreenMedInfo
© GreenMedInfo
© GreenMedInfo
© GreenMedInfo
Many children are subject to great challenges and families try to master these as best they can. While the proportion of people tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 and also the number of intensive care patients in Germany is high in many places, we report here on a relatively small, unrepresentative problem: several thousand children who seem to suffer from wearing the mask or who may experience health problems from the mask. Our study provides the basis for a representative survey on which a precise benefit-risk analysis of mask wearing in children can be built.© January 2, 2021 GreenMedInfo LLC. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of GreenMedInfo LLC. Want to learn more from GreenMedInfo? Sign up for the newsletter here //www.greenmedinfo.com/greenmed/newsletter.
Reader Comments
Follow up questions: whose arse would you be likely to scratch? Is it because men find it difficult to do two things at once? Their brain is wired to be single focused - handy when hunting or being hunted.
The can burn your food, have the iron burned through you cloth, and let the bathtub overflow at the same tim while their are watching chickflicks and phoning with their friends ...
I'm a woman, though, my husband is significantly better at multi-tasking than I, unless swearing at inanimate objects and/or telling them to shhh count as a tasks. Or maybe it's that I can't not multi-task? Just not in a useful way, like, I can't filter out background noise and understand what people are saying in a noisy environment, or the curtain flapping because of the fan in my peripheral vision drives me insane, or a tag on my shirt distracts me all day... or a mask on face, my hot breath accumulating, the fabric in my peripheral vision... AHHH.
Whichever ideological stance one takes, if any, it should be based on better science than a questionairre submitted without any form of verification.