Glasses wearers and masks - what has worked for you for fogging?

[RTC19]

My school has on campus labs this fall with universal masking. (*sigh of relief* - I was afraid to get my family sick.)

It's a long story why I have to do glasses and not contacts.

I got the medical kind of mask with a wire for my nose and my glasses still fog.

Has anyone had luck with commercial anti-fogging spray? Those special masks intended for glasses wearers? What has worked for you?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Lifeblood_20]

I wear glasses and use the medical masks too. I’ve just been pinning my mask really tight against my nose bridge.

 

[Goro]

My school has on campus labs this fall with universal masking. (*sigh of relief* - I was afraid to get my family sick.)

It's a long story why I have to do glasses and not contacts.

I got the medical kind of mask with a wire for my nose and my glasses still fog.

Has anyone had luck with commercial anti-fogging spray? Those special masks intended for glasses wearers? What has worked for you?

Google Search

 

[deleted889094]

You can also try pulling them up under your glasses a bit more. I have had some success with that when I wear glasses

 

[Princeton Medical Student]

Tight against nose with the wire that's inside the mask. I suggest trying to just wash your glasses regularly with soap and water, as that's helped a lot with fogging for me at work.

 

[emky]

I've been moving my glasses slightly out more on my nose bridge that has worked

 

[bluefreckles]

I wear a mask and splash glasses (not sure what they're called, it's like a half of a face shield) every day for work. Generally after about an hour of wear, I stop getting fogged up. I think it's once my mask gets kind of "soaked" with the humidity of my breath. So, anyway, waiting it out is kind of a solution.

 

[readmypostsMD]

My school has on campus labs this fall with universal masking. (*sigh of relief* - I was afraid to get my family sick.)

It's a long story why I have to do glasses and not contacts.

I got the medical kind of mask with a wire for my nose and my glasses still fog.

Has anyone had luck with commercial anti-fogging spray? Those special masks intended for glasses wearers? What has worked for you?

Is it the 80s and your name is Seymour?

Jk, put the glasses over the top of the mask

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Check with sporting companies like Cabelas or MidwayUsa. Should be in optics section. Anti fog agents used for binoculars and rifle scopes

 

[Bacchus]

There are masks with a sticky vapor barrier along the top, you can try that. What I do, because we don't have these in our PPE central supply, but rather plain surgical masks, is I use cloth tape and tape the top of the mask to my face, double layered which blocks almost all vapor and prevents my eye protection from fogging up. Of note, please don't do this if you have a tape/adhesive allergy.

*Not medical advice 😉

 

[eigen]

In general: fogging means your mask isn't fitting well. So the best solution to fogging is things that improve the mask fit.

The biggest culprit is air going around the top of the mask- so wire at the top to hold it contoured along the nose/cheek bones helps a lot. The other thing to consider, especially for cloth masks, is whether the fabric layers are too thick. You want them thick enough to, well, filter- but if they're too thick, most air passes around the mask rather than through it which doesn't help.

 

[LizzyM]

I exhale ice. I'm so cold there is no fogging of my glasses. 😉

 

[Bacchus]

I exhale ice. I'm so cold there is no fogging of my glasses. 😉

Nice to see you're well. Ventured out the PA forum and may have misplaced your name in my brain. Doh.

 

[Dr. Foresight]

Surgical/paper tape across the top of the mask worked really good for me during my board exams.

 

[Firkin]

In place of commercial anti-fogging agent, you can try a simple DIY solution: rub a drop of dish soap onto your glasses, then polish it off. Don't wash it off--your goal is to leave an invisible film on the inside and outside of your glasses. It takes some rubbing to get it clear, but it lasts all day for me.

 

[longhaul3]

Air needs to escape from under the mask somehow. Yes, it helps to make sure the top is snug and cloth or paper tape works for that, but for me the best way to prevent fogging is to let the air escape elsewhere by loosening the bottom a little bit.

 

[eigen]

Air needs to escape from under the mask somehow. Yes, it helps to make sure the top is snug and cloth or paper tape works for that, but for me the best way to prevent fogging is to let the air escape elsewhere by loosening the bottom a little bit.

I mean, the goal of the mask for filtration is that air should be escaping through the material of the mask.

If the mask is put together such that it needs an escape around the sides of the mask, then the mask is not being as effective at its purpose. It can certainly still provide a barrier, but not nearly as much, especially with respect to small particles/droplets/aerosols.

 

[longhaul3]

I mean, the goal of the mask for filtration is that air should be escaping through the material of the mask.

If the mask is put together such that it needs an escape around the sides of the mask, then the mask is not being as effective at its purpose. It can certainly still provide a barrier, but not nearly as much, especially with respect to small particles/droplets/aerosols.

Of course. For droplet/aerosol/airborne precautions if I'm not wearing an N95 I'm wearing a surgical mask as snug as I can get it. But for general mask wearing like a socially distanced premed lab, I'd loosen it at the chin. I'm not talking about wide open to air, just enough so that, under pressure, the air that doesn't filter through the mask will go down instead of up.

 

[eigen]

Of course. For droplet/aerosol/airborne precautions if I'm not wearing an N95 I'm wearing a surgical mask as snug as I can get it. But for general mask wearing like a socially distanced premed lab, I'd loosen it at the chin. I'm not talking about wide open to air, just enough so that, under pressure, the air that doesn't filter through the mask will go down instead of up.

Gotcha. Yeah, choosing where it seals best helps. I’ve found a lot of people are making cloth masks too thick, thinking it will make them better, but what actually happens is everything just goes around the mask.

 

[dindjarin87]

Really simple remedy: twist the ear loops on the surgical masks so they look like half an infinity symbol if that makes sense. Doesn't feel any different but stops fogging entirely

This is my move, also. I do notice a difference in the feeling but that could just be my big, goofy ears. The improvement to fog is well worth the mild discomfort behind my ears.