Get some soap and lather up. Then rinse.
Wearing a mask has become a thing. In a weird twist of fate, agreeing to or disapproving of covering your nose and mouth has become no small political statement across the US. Whatever your leanings,(love the mask or hate it), if you have ventured into the realm of wearing a face mask more recently than last Halloween you know that it can be a pain. Getting the right fit helps. If you wear glasses, either to see or to protect your eyes from the sun, however, this doesn’t make things easy.
Glasses-wearers are now facing an uphill battle when it comes to donning a mask to protect themselves and others from the spread of COVID-19. Fog is the problem. If it’s a humid day outside, or if you find yourself without a kind breeze, or simply breathing more heavily than normal, you are bound to see your glasses fog up. This really should be a cause for national alarm because foggy glasses are now making more people touch their face, adjust their mask, rub their nose, take their glasses off and rub them against their shirt before placing them back on again, and generally messing with the whole informal personal coronavirus protection system that we have implemented in ways we never predicted possible. It is a mess.
Related: COVID-19: When Will It Ever End?
What can you do? Foggy-glasses experts have some tips. Doctors writing in the medical journal Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England have shared with the general public what they do in the emergency room.
Here are the steps to follow.
- Wash your hands with soap and water, and do it well. Always, always, always. Sing “Happy Birthday” to yourself twice at a regular speed (no rushing, now), and rinse everything clear.
- Place your glasses under the running water to wet them. Now, lather some soap on them. It sounds weird but go ahead and do it. You will thank us.
- Now rinse your lenses in warm water.
- Finally, carefully dry your glasses on a lens cloth or some other soft material that won’t scratch them.
You are now done! Presumably the soap created some sort of coating on your lenses when you do this, that prevents all that condensation from building up when you breathe. The doctors did not share how long this protection lasts for, but hopefully a little while. At least long enough for you to enjoy the time you are spending in the supermarket or in some other indoor space during the pandemic before you can go home and throw your mask away or drop it in the laundry.
There are specific ways to take your mask off that you should know about, if you are to do is safely, which can also be a good thing to know. To read up on that in order to keep you and your loved ones safe, click here.
Now you know.
photo credits: Albina Glisic/Shutterstock.com
