Since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended wearing face masks to protect yourself and others. This has been in an effort to help slow the spread of COVID-19.
“When you wear a mask, you protect others as well as yourself,” the Atlanta-based agency said. “Masks work best when everyone wears one.”
But some people who have been wearing masks in public have faced a major vision issue: Wearing them tends to fog up glasses.
A glimpse of tweets shows the problem has been prevalent for the past year.
HuffPost has provided several tips on how to wear face masks without making your spectacles foggy. Still, people should continue to follow the CDC’s recommendation to wash hands often and continue social and physical distancing.
Use soapy water to wash your lenses
The issue of foggy glasses isn’t new.
According to Indiana-based Dr. David Tavel, an eye care specialist, you can use the following method to clear up your spectacles.
“An unconventional route than some members of #TeamTavel recommend is using dish soap!” the website said. “Gently clean your lenses and frames with dish soap, rinse with water and dry with a microfiber cloth. Not only are your glasses clean, but your lenses will also fog up less.”
While it’s not an all-day solution, the fogginess will go away for a few hours.
Try anti-fog spray
If you don’t want to go the DIY route, you can purchase anti-fog spray from online retailers. Glamour has some options, and reported they work in a way that’s similar to the soapy water method by reducing surace tention on the lenses.
Place a folded tissue between your nose and the top of the mask
To block the moist, hot air from your mouth from clinging to your lenses, you need something to absorb it. In order to do so, you can place a thick, rectangular piece of tissue you folded across the top of your mask, attaching it there where it lies against the top of your nose. This technique can be found in the video below.
Ensure the top part of your mask is folded down
Foggy glasses can occur when a less-than-snug fitting mask draws steamy breath onto cool lenses. If you’re wearing a loose-fitting mask that does not have a metal piece at the top, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department suggests folding that portion down. A demonstration can be found in the video above.
Use a metal nose clip for your mask
Glasses wearers may want to make sure a key piece is included in their masks to help avoid foggy lenses. Fast Company reports a metal clip can be added to homemade masks that allow it to adjust to the size of your nose. Watch the video below for instructions.
