Glasses and masks

[dancesintherain]

Anyone with glasses figured out any tricks for mask wearing without fogging them up?

youd think I was joking but this is an actual problem

[chem]

@dancesintherain

if you're able to find a piece of thin wire (18g works really well, according to @Gearhead), attach it to the part of the mask that sits over your nose. form the wire to contour around the bridge of your nose.

Another method that is also effective, pulled from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3293317/  Malik, Sheraz Shafi, and Shahbaz Shafi Malik. “A simple method to prevent spectacle lenses misting up on wearing a face mask.” Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England vol. 93,2 (2011): 168. doi:10.1308/003588411x12851639107313b

"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."

Supposedly you can use toothpaste, vinegar (not very effective), or shaving cream.

There are also commercial anti-fog treatments for purchase via amazon.com and other sites

[dancesintherain]

Thank you!  Many helpful ideas.

[sugarsugar]

For the wire part over the nose, in a homemade mask, you can use a twist-tie—I don’t know another name for it, so I hope that term is universal. It really does help to have a tight seal at the top of the mask. I have tried various soapy things and that has helped. 

[dancesintherain]

yeah, thanks, I know what you're referencing.  Right now I'm keeping the very top of the mask under my glasses and it seems to be helping.  I tried the soap thing and it wasn't helpful that time, but I can give it another go.

[Gearhead]

The only thing that’s worked for me is mouth-breathing. Keeping my jaw open half an inch and very deliberately breathing through my mouth. 

[sugarsugar]

As to soap, I personally didn’t find soapy water so great, but washing them with straight dish liquid (for hand dishwashing) or shaving cream, then a quick rinse off, must have left a film or something because it worked better. Not scientific, I realize. 

[chem]

@sugarsugar- there's actually a scientific reason why dish soap and shaving cream are anti-fogging agents. here's why

The anti-fog treatments work by minimizing surface tension, resulting in a non-scattering film of water instead of single droplets. This works by altering the degree of wetting. Anti-fog treatments usually work either by application of a surfactant film, or by creating a hydrophilic surface.

[shesellsseashells]

@chem I have an image in my head of masked groups of people with shaving cream-covered spectacles trying to navigate their way around grocery stores, tee hee.

[sugarsugar]

I did watch a video by a glasses-wearing eye Dr who had a solution. He used surgical tape to tape down the top edge of the mask to his face, so vapor from breathing couldn’t waft up. You could also use bandaids or any tape designed for use on skin. Have I tried it?  Nope, but it made the most sense. I haven’t looked for surgical or skin tape to try it and don’t have bandaids. And I decided to wear my contacts when I have to go out. But if I get the tape, I will test this.