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This year-long pandemic has been a trying time for everyone in one way or another, but there’s been one group of people who have been impacted worse than anyone: people who wear glasses. With everyone having to wear masks over their faces when they go outside, people who wear glasses have had a bit of a struggle thanks to how easy it is for their breath to fog-up their glasses while they’re wearing their masks.
It happens every time you take a breath, so if you’re trying to drive your car or are just simply going about your day in a rare moment of being outside the house, it can be annoying at best and outright dangerous at worst. Luckily, there are plenty of ways for someone who wears glasses to both wear a mask and not have it get in the way of their daily routine.
Here are 5 tips for keeping your glasses clean while wearing a mask:
The main reason why a person’s glasses fog-up while wearing a mask is that the air they exhale escapes through openings in the mask and has nowhere to go but up, naturally creating a problem for the large number of people who would be wearing glasses. An easy way to circumvent the issue is by wearing a mask made out of thick material, as that’ll allow it to absorb more of your exhale and make less of your breath end up in your face. A thicker mask can also help prevent germs from entering your mouth, so it’s definitely something worth considering.
Like we said before, the main reason glasses get fogged up while wearing a mask is because of air escaping upwards with each exhale. A thick mask can help to prevent that, but an easy alternative to that is to use your own glasses to keep air from escaping. Just bring the top of your mask over the bridge of your nose and set your glasses down on top of it; this will keep your mask locked tight against your face, and so long as you don’t do anything too extraneous, the lock won’t get loose.
As previously stated, an easy solution for keeping your glasses clean is to keep your mask locked tight against your face to prevent air from getting loose and fogging them up. Simply using your glasses for this is an easy way to go, but if you want to do something that makes it less likely that your mask will come loose, you can try using tape to keep your mask against your face.
Another simple solution for keeping your glasses clean is to just give them a good wash with plenty of soap. If you wash the glass with soap, the soap will leave a thin layer of film that causes water molecules to spread out evenly and not get clustered together into the fog. It’s an easy and affordable way to keep your glasses clear, so no sense in not acting on them.
Wipes are a staple in the toolkit of anyone who wears glasses, but your standard wipes aren’t always going to cut it, especially in this kind of situation. Fortunately, it’s possible to buy anti-fog wipes that, just like the soap tip mentioned before, leave a surfactant film on your glasses to help prevent fog from accumulating over them. It might not be something you can automatically do at home, but it’ll still be more than worth it.
In conclusion, while those of us who wear glasses have certainly had a rough time during this pandemic, it’s never once been an impossible situation to deal with. Whether it’s something that would cost you a little money or something you can do with items you most likely already own, it’s more than possible to make it so you can wear glasses and a mask at the same time without fogging up your glasses. This past year has been all about overcoming adversity, and something like this shouldn’t be any different.
I've been struggling with foggy glasses all year! Can't wait to try some of these tips, especially the soap trick. Never thought of that one before.
The soap thing doesn't work that well in my experience. I tried it and it left weird streaks on my lenses that were hard to clean off.
These are helpful suggestions but I'm surprised they didn't mention breathing downward which has worked best for me personally.
I found that using medical tape on the top edge of my mask works amazingly well. It's gentle on skin and keeps everything sealed.
Anyone else think it's ridiculous we have to go through all this just to wear glasses and a mask at the same time? There should be a better solution by now.
Finally an article addressing this! I work in healthcare and have been dealing with this issue daily. The anti-fog wipes are totally worth the investment.
The thick mask suggestion actually made my fogging worse because it pushed more air up toward my glasses. Thin surgical masks work better for me.
I agree about the thick masks being problematic. I get much better results with the disposable surgical ones.
My optometrist suggested treating the lenses with shaving cream believe it or not. Works surprisingly well!
Isn't soap bad for lens coatings though? I worry about damaging my expensive glasses trying these DIY solutions.
You make a good point about the lens coatings. I ruined a pair trying various home remedies last year.
The best solution I've found is getting a mask with a wire nose piece and really molding it to fit my face properly.
I've spent so much money trying different masks and anti-fog products. Sometimes the simplest solutions work best.
Just taking the time to properly adjust the mask makes such a difference. Most people don't realize how important a good fit is.
I actually switched to contacts because of this whole situation. Couldn't deal with the constant fogging anymore.
Not everyone can wear contacts though. I tried but my eyes are too sensitive.
I find it interesting they didn't mention pinching the nose wire. That's been absolutely crucial for me.
The tape method sounds effective but I can't imagine putting tape on my face every single day.