With over ten million infections and two hundred and fifty thousand deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic it is abundantly self-evident that we need to protect ourselves. The Center for Disease Control has suggested that wearing a face mask is a good idea for two main reasons:
- if we have the virus, a mask helps prevent us from spreading it to other people
- a mask may reduce the probability of the virus getting into our nasal and oral cavity thereby partially reducing our risk of getting sick.
Unfortunately, on both counts most face masks do not do a very good job. There are a number of reasons for this. Commercial masks have been designed to stop dust getting into the nose and lungs and are used routinely by people who work at dusty jobs like mining or construction. The idea is that the mask physically blocks particles above a certain size, those that are about the thickness of a human hair. The problem is that a virus is a tiny particle that is hundreds of times smaller than the width of a hair and it may go straight through. Of course, the virus may get stuck on the fibers of the mask and this might seem to offer some protection. Sadly, things are not as simple as this. The virus can live on or in the mask for several days. So, the mask might actually accumulate live virus so you need to be very careful when touching it. Also, there are a very wide range of masks, many homemade, that are easy to breathe through but offer little protection, if any.
The MIMI can be used with most mask and provides enhanced heavy-duty or turbo protection. The MIMI:
- is hygienic and self-sanitizing– starts killing the virus on contact
- is active against many different pathogens including COVID, SARS, MRSA, COLD, FLU, and even FUNGI
- is very easy to breathe through
- is low cost, can be washed and will last a very long time
- can be used as an easily attached “insert” with most existing masks or scarfs
- can be washed and ironed and saved for when the next big pandemic occurs
How does it work:
It has been known for thousands of years that the so-called noble metals such as gold, copper, and silver protect against infective agents. In the middle ages people who could afford it, drank out of copper mugs to help reduce gastric complaints, mostly diarrhea especially among children. In Paris, during the great cholera and typhus epidemics of the late 19th century, Dr. Victor Burq noticed that people who worked in copper smelting did not get sick1 and even those living downwind of the plant were spared even though that was in what we now would call a low rent neighborhood. Dr.Burq also noticed that jewelers remained disease free and most interestingly members of French military bands who played brass instrument were spared while other band members were not. He reported his finding to the French Academy of Science, but of course there was no real scientific explanation for these curious observational FACTS. The implication is that enough copper enters through the nose and mouth by just playing your trumpet for an hour or two to afford a significant level of protection. Could this be true?
“In the 1865 Paris epidemic, 6,176 people died of cholera, out of a population of 1,677,000 people—that’s 3.7 people out of every 1,000. But of the 30,000 who worked in different copper industries, only 45 died—an average of around 0.5 [sic 1.5] per 1,000.”
A documented reduction in the death toll by some three hundred percent, without any special measures, is truly remarkable; the usefulness of copper was recognized and the epidemics subsided. Even into the 1960s copper was used for domestic plumbing and for heated (think bacterial growth) water storage tanks; if you can afford it you can still buy a copper bathtub (for over $5000!). When this pandemic is over it might be interesting to see if American players of brass (copper alloy) instruments in bands and orchestras have a lower incidence of COVID-19. There are two important points here:
1. you can discover a lot of good science, just as Dr. Burq did, by careful observation and common sense and
2. if you pay attention to past experiences you may be able to use that knowledge to implement partial measures that were effective and well known 100 years ago.
In any case such action is surely better than doing nothing.
MIMI (Multi ion mask insert)
- Can be worn with any facemask and provides additional heavy-duty protection.
- Adult & Youth Sizes Available
Of course, we now have a much better scientific understanding of what was and still is going on. Researchers at major universities in both the US and Europe2,3 have demonstrated very clearly that copper ions are lethal to a wide spectrum of pathogens. It is thought that copper ions (Cu+), in tiny amounts, attack the very DNA of the virus and quickly render it inactive. Another, possibly competing or parallel biosynthetic reaction mechanism may involve the attack of metal cations on the surface of the pathogen. It is known that when flexible molecules come close to surfaces their shape (conformation) and biological function change. This fundamental biochemistry is still an active area of research, but the reaction mechanism seems to involve the copper ion attacking the sulfur in the sheath protein and/or ion interaction with the DNA backbone thereby inactivating the virus. The New England Journal of Medicine has recently reported that the copper reaction has been found to operate as soon as the virus comes in contact with the copper surface thereby both weakening the pathogen and reducing the viral load.
The MIMI consists of three components namely, a layer of fine copper cloth, and fine threads of 24kt gold and silver (99.9%). The gold and silver threads are stitched directly into a fine copper gauze which is placed between two layers of loosely woven linen; linen is a natural fiber that itself has biocidal properties. Individually, the three metals provide a source of mostly copper (CU+,++) but also some gold (Au+,++) and silver (Ag+) that are simply lethal to bacteria, viruses, and fungi. In combination with a thin film of water and other molecular components in your breathe the noble metals form small electrochemical cells that produce tiny voltages (like little batteries) that further enhance the ion concentrations and provide even more protection than copper alone.
It is important to note that this process works best when there is a large copper surface and not just a few copper fibers or synthetic fibers that are coated with thin films of copper i.e. 100% copper rather than 1%; check the actual copper content and if it is not given you may assume it to be close to zero. For example, the MIMI contains a full copper gauze that is thousands of time more effective than dispersed fibers. The raw materials used in the manufacture of MIMI’s are very much more expensive than those usually found in face masks so the technology is not so attractive to profit driven entities.
Finally, it is likely that this is not the last pandemic we might experience; new viruses will mutate and strike again. In the event of the next really “bad one” it will take a year or so to develop a vaccine during which many people will surely get very sick. Given the level of bureaucracy in medical research it will take many years and tens of millions of dollars to do the double-blind clinical trials to quantify the effectiveness of the MIMI. This is not a bad thing and we should look forward to reading the results; N.B. a few so-called “experts” have argued, albeit defensively, that the case is not “scientifically proven” but to those experts who are responsible for disease Control we might respectfully point out that COVID has gone completely out of control on their watch.
Even if an emerging preventive technology were far from perfect, not the 300% found in Paris but, say, just 10% effective then we note that 10% of 250,000 is still 25,000 family tragedies that might have been prevented and millions who would not get sick. So, while the funding is being secured, the proposals written, the research work eventually gets underway and the bureaucracy tries to respond, we the people shall in all probability be left in the lurch once again! While the scientific foundation is not yet completely solid, it is firm enough for our immediate purpose. Time is of the essence and the prima facia case is clear and compelling.
I think an informed person might decide that it might be prudent to get the best protection available right now (carpe diem) and possibly nail the bad bug that might otherwise get you or your family. My vote is to wash your hands regularly, distance sensibly, wear your mask, insert your MIMI, stay safe and enjoy life, and
Happy Holidays to All.
