Why do my glasses fog up?
When you wear a facemask there is much more limitation to where your breath can disperse. This is ideal for stopping the spread of respiratory viruses, but definitely not ideal when you’re wearing your glasses and the warm breath hitting the cool lenses creates a fog that’s almost impossible to see through! That’s why we’ve created this top-tip blog, from an optician’s perspective, how to prevent this from happening.
Make sure your mask fits snugly to your face
If your mask isn’t pressed snug over your nose and around your cheeks, the warm air can escape upwards and onto your glasses. There are numerous ways to prevent this:
• If your mask has a flexible wire in the seam that allows you to ‘shape’ the mask to your face – use it! Press the mask firmly around your nose to create the most snug fit you can. This should limit the amount of air that can escape upwards to fog up your glasses.
• If the above isn’t enough to stop the fogging; you can also use a piece of clean surgical tape to fix your mask to the bridge of your nose and create more of a ‘seal’.
• Another thing to try if your mask is still too loose, is tightening the ear loops. If it’s comfortable to do so, you can twist the loops into an ‘X’ so that it pulls the mask closer to your face. If you choose to do this, make sure that you don’t over-tighten it so much that it hurts your face or ears!
Give your lenses a clean
If your glasses are continually fogging up it may be that they need a clean. Grab a microfibre cloth and some lens cleaning spray and give them a good wipe over. If you want lenses that stay cleaner for longer and don’t attract dirt, grease or water like standard lenses do – Our Kodak Clean’N’CleAR lenses are perfect.
Try to breathe downwards in your mask
This may take a bit of getting used to, but if you can limit the amount of breath that travels upwards in your mask, it will also limit the amount of fogging you experience.
Use anti-fog spray
If all else fails and you’re still struggling with fogging issues, contact your local 4 SIGHT branch. We have anti-fogging spray in stock that works by cleaning the lens and coating it in a formula that aids de-misting when the temperature of your lenses changes (like when your breath hits them!).
Have your glasses adjusted
If your glasses are slipping down your face or not quite sitting correctly, this will definitely not be helping your fogging issues. Perhaps your glasses have became looser over time and quickly need adjusting? This is another thing we’d be more than happy to assist you with. Adjustments usually take little to no time all and are free of charge. Contact your local branch if you feel your specs need fitting properly.
Make the switch to contact lenses
Many people find having contact lenses as an option gives them a little more freedom when it comes to the things they can do without visual impairment. Rain or cold weather is no longer a problem with contacts, so if your foggy glasses are really bothering you; it might be worth asking your optician about making the switch, even if it’s only temporarily.
We hope this helps you deal with the all-too-common misty lens issue that comes with wearing a mask!