[News] How to keep your glasses from fogging while wearing a face mask

[King_of_darkcsbd]

If you wear glasses, you've likely discovered that wearing a mask + glasses + breathing = fogged up lenses. That's not exactly ideal for navigating the grocery store or maintaining social distance while staying safe amid the COVID-19 crisis.

Obviously foggy glasses aren't a big deal; essential employees are overwhelmed and lacking the PPE they need. But foggy glasses are a major inconvenience for as long as wearing a mask in public is required. If you're trying to avoid the fog, two doctors have offered an easy solution: Use plain old soap and water.First, give credit for this "hack" to doctors Sheraz Shafi Malik and Shahbaz Shafi Malik, who published the idea in the medical journal Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. This is their suggested technique:    Immediately before wearing a face mask, wash the spectacles with soapy water and shake off the excess. Then, let the spectacles air dry or gently dry off the lenses with a soft tissue before putting them back on. Now the spectacle lenses should not mist up when the face mask is worn.I am no doctor, and I only started wearing a face mask eight weeks ago. But I have faith that doctors know what they were talking about, considering how much they wear masks. I put the suggested method to the test last weekend, as I had a few errands to run.For my trial, I used Mrs. Meyer's liquid dish soap. I messed it up the first time by wiping the soap off too hard with a towel, rather than letting it air dry. Even with wiping, the method worked pretty well. My glasses only got a tad bit foggy when I was lifting all my groceries from the cart to the car. When I tried it again, the correct way, I was blessedly fog-free while wearing my glasses and my mask. My local grocery store offers free disposable surgical masks, so I've used this method with those, but also with cloth masks my mom made for my family.Additional tips outside of the soap and water solution:Wear your mask securely against your faceMake sure your mask is high up above your noseYou can use a strip of paper towel on the bridge of your nose to help absorb some of the excess moisture from your breathIf you're interested in buying locally made masks, you can order masks from San Francisco, Seattle, and Texas. Disney also is selling face masks with favorite characters, like Baby Yoda and Mickey Mouse. If you own a cloth face mask (and not a disposable one), you need to be washing it to help protect yourself and others.Hearst Newspapers participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.Ana Suarez is the senior commerce editor for Hearst Newspapers. Email her at ana.suarez@hearst.com.

[robila]

Topic moved on curiosities.