Those of us who wear glasses have had to face a new challenge in the era of Covid-19 every time we leave our house. And that’s the problem of keeping our eyeglasses from fogging up while we’re wearing face masks. This is not only aggravating but also a bit stress-provoking because the last thing we want to do is to be handling our glasses and touching our face without washing our hands.
Why do your glasses fog up when you’re wearing a face mask?
British optometrists Margrain and Owen described the mechanism that causes glasses to mist up. Glass or plastic lenses will usually attain a temperature that’s close to that of their environment. When you are in a cool place and exhale into your mask, the mask blocks and re-directs some of your breath up toward the top edge of the mask and under your glasses. the warm moist air of your breath reaches the lens surface. When the warm breath hits the cool lens, the water in the breath condenses causing your lenses to fog up.
The problem with having foggy lenses, apart from being just plain annoying, is that you’ll want to grab your eyeglasses to either wipe them off or lift them temporarily away from your face to allow them to de-fog before re-applying them. And this breaks the cardinal rule of preventing the spread of Covid-19, namely “Don’t touch your face.”
Some of you might have come across some posts on social media suggesting that you rub bar soap gently against your lenses to keep them from fogging. Don’t do it! Many lenses are treated with special coatings that can be affected by rubbing dry bar soap directly on the lens.
How to stop glasses from fogging up when wearing a face mask?
For all you eyeglass wearers who’ve been struggling to read your grocery list under a constant fog or panicking when you find yourself adjusting your eyeglasses in the supermarket, here are a few tips from medical providers for avoiding foggy glasses while wearing a face mask that won’t harm your glasses.
- The Rub-a-Dub-Dub: According to an article published in the Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, a simple method to prevent eyeglass fogging while wearing a mask is to wash your glasses with soapy water, shake off the excess and let the lenses air dry. By not rinsing or toweling off the glasses, you leave a fine soap film on the lenses that reduces the surface tension and causes the water molecules to spread out in an even transparent layer that prevents the glasses from fogging up. In fact, the anti-fogging drops used for scuba masks and ski goggles work exactly this way.
- The Tissue Trap: Another trick you can use to prevent your breath from fogging up your glasses is to place a folded tissue between your mouth and the mask. This will absorb the moist warm air before it can reach the top of your mask and get under your glasses. Just remember to tie your mask snugly so that the tissue won’t fall out of the bottom.
- The High-Low: Another popular trick was described in a 2014 article about a surgical mask tying technique from the Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. This one applies to masks that have ties on the four corners which you tie into two bows behind your head.
Simply tie the upper ties angling the straps downward so that you form a bow below the level of your ears and tie the lower ties on the mask angling the straps upward to form a bow that’s located above the bow made by the upper ties. So, in essence, you are crisscrossing your mask ties behind your head. The trick here is to make sure that the top border of your mask fits snugly against your face and the bottom is slightly looser.
This way, you will direct your exhaled breath to exit below your mask and away from your eyes. - Stick it: An old trick that I’ve used many times in the O.R. over the years in order to keep my glasses from fogging has been to place a strip of tape (any tape that sticks well to skin will do) along the top border of the mask.
This creates a seal that forces your exhaled breath to exit from the sides and bottom of the mask and keeps it from getting under your glasses and fogging them up.
While wearing face masks can be inconvenient and not a whole lot of fun, it’s essential for all of us to remain safe until we can find a treatment or vaccine for Coronavirus. Hopefully, these tricks can make mask wearing a little more tolerable so that being out in public is a tad less stressful.
Covid-19: Keep Calm and Stay Informed
While it goes without saying that life during this Coronavirus outbreak can be pretty stressful, it’s important to let our behavior be guided by facts that come from reliable sources. When you understand what behaviors are risky and you’re given clear guidelines as to how to keep yourself and your loved ones protected, your anxiety level will go down.
Be smart, be safe and, most of all, be calm.
Why Choose Assil Gaur Eye Institute for your eye care?
The doctors at Assil Gaur Eye Institute offer world-class eye care and vision correction specializing in LASIK, cataract, cornea, retina, glaucoma treatments, and a lot more. At AGEI, you will experience state-of-the-art medical facilities that bring together revolutionary technologies with the most experienced hands in ophthalmology. Our goal is to help you achieve your personal best vision.
Please call (866) 945-2745 or visit us here to make an appointment online if you are experiencing any concerning symptoms to determine the best time to schedule an exam.
Dr. Harris continued her education at Pennsylvania College of Optometry where she received another bachelor’s degree in vision sciences and then a doctorate of Optometry. While at the college, she served as an ambassador to the school and a tutor for her fellow professional colleagues. Her clinical and classroom work yielded academic achievement awards and bid her membership in the Beta Sigma Kappa Honor Society.
She completed clinical rotations during her fourth year at a few private practices in addition to the William Feinbloom Low Vision Rehabilitation Center and Hahneman Hospital in Philadelphia.
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