When glasses and masks don’t get along
In these new and unprecedented times, wearing a mask while out in public is a way to stay safer when engaging in everyday activities. In some provinces, it has become mandatory to wear a mask while on public transit, and the Canadian government has recommended that wearing a mask when social distancing isn’t possible (such as when you’re grocery shopping or on public transportation) will help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Similarly, the World Health Organization has also strongly recommended the wearing of a mask while out in public.
Wearing a mask isn’t always easy, however. It can get even more difficult when you have to wear a mask while also wearing a pair of glasses, especially for extended periods of time. The pairing of glasses and a mask is cumbersome – glasses don’t fit smoothly over a mask, resulting in needing constant readjustment. You can also find yourself adjusting your glasses on a regular basis, bringing your hands in contact with parts of your face, which is problematic due to the fact that your hands also touch multiple surfaces while out in public. Also, your glasses begin to fog up and become a continual hassle when out and about.
Why do glasses fog up?
Foggy glasses occur due to the way that air escapes from your mask when you breathe. Your warmer breath creates water vapors and travels outwards to the edges of your mask, landing on the cooler surface of the lenses of your glasses, turning into fog.
This situation adds an extra layer of frustration when trying to get through your day. Fogged-up glasses interfere with everyday tasks like reading text messages, being able to see who you’re speaking to in public spaces, and missing your stop on the bus because you can’t see outside properly.
Our eyes as a means of communication
Beyond the practical inconveniences, making eye contact becomes more difficult when you cannot see clearly. Eye contact is a natural way of conveying meaning (or non-verbal cues) and when that’s impaired, communication can become challenging when interacting with others. Due to a large portion of our face being covered by a mask, the eyes are more important than ever when it comes to conversations with those around you. That old saying about our eyes being the window of the soul means that connecting with others is difficult when those windows are always fogged up.
Although there are some ways that can help prevent your glasses from fogging up such as wearing a tighter mask (which in itself is not super comfortable) or putting soap on your glasses and letting them dry, these are all impractical and will only partially help you out in the long term.
Thankfully, a more permanent solution to this issue exists: laser vision correction can make activities like trips to the grocery store a whole lot easier by eliminating the very real hassles of glasses so you can concentrate on what’s important.
In these complicated times, simplify your life thanks to our life-changing procedures.