Struggling to see? Here's how to prevent masks from fogging up your glasses

In order to prevent the novel coronavirus from spreading, the World Health Organisation has urged people to sanitise and also wear masks whenever they go out.

But many spectacle-wearers around the world have been complaining that their masks often mist up their glasses, leaving them being unable to see anything, the New York Times reports.

According to the National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), the fogging up occurs when warm breath escapes from underneath your mask and condenses on the cooler surface of the spectacle lens. This, in turn, forms tiny droplets and results in fog.

Here are four ways to prevent this from happening.

Make or buy a mask that has a tight fit

If the hot air is escaping upward, that could mean that your mask is not tight enough, especially around your nose area, Today reports.

To fix this, you can mould your N95 medical mask by bending the metal part to fit your nose and cheeks better.

If you have a homemade mask that’s adjustable, tie the straps more tightly or add a pipe cleaner at the top in order to make it fit your face, Good House Keeping suggests.

Tape your mask

Sticky tape could be another solution to your mist problems.

You should tape your mask onto the bridge of your nose all the way across your cheeks, says Dr Samir Mehta, chief of orthopaedic trauma and fracture care at Penn Medicine.

You can use adhesive or medical tape, but don’t use duct tape.

Put tissue paper inside your mask

Fold tissue horizontally and put it in between the bridge of your nose and the top of the mask, Forbes says.

Your warm breath will be absorbed by the tissue instead of fogging up your lenses.

Wash your lenses with soapy water

People should wash their glasses with soapy water right before wearing a mask, a 2011 study by the Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England recommended.

Washing your glasses with soapy water leaves behind a thin surfactant film that reduces surface tension. It also causes the molecules to spread out evenly into a transparent layer, therefore, demisting your specs, Fox News reports. Let the glasses air dry and gently dry off the lenses with tissue paper.

Hopefully, you’ll see things a bit more clearly after following these tips.

Sources: NCBI, Today, Good House Keeping, Forbes, Fox News

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