How to stop your glasses fogging up when you wear a face mask or face covering

In the face of the Coronavirus pandemic, face coverings are now becoming the norm. In England, they are mandatory on public transport and as of the 24th July they will be mandatory in all shops (except for those who meet the exemption criteria). 

But, by now I’m sure you’ve realised how annoying it is when your glasses steam up while wearing a face mask or covering! We've outlined a few tips to stop your glasses steaming up when wearing a face mask:

Note: Try these at home first before you head out to avoid touching the outside of your mask in public spaces. 

1. Make sure your mask fits correctly

• Your mask should fit snugly against your face, this reduces the amount of breath escaping and steaming up your glasses. This is also very important in protecting you against airborne virus droplets. 

2. Use a mask with a nose bridge 

• Make sure the mask fits well around your nose and cheeks, some masks come with an integrated nose bridge at the top so you can mould the top of the mask around your nose. 
• Reducing the gap around the nose and top of the cheeks will stop the breath escaping upwards and steaming your glasses. You can also use some medical tape to seal the top of the mask down 

3. Place a folded tissue under the top of the mask 

• If you fold up a tissue into a long strip and then tape it under the top of the mask this will catch the breath before your glasses get steamed up. 

4. Put your glasses over the mask

• An easy tip, pull your mask higher up your nose and place your glasses over the mask, the gap will allow the breath to escape without steaming your glasses. 

5. Consider contact lenses 

• If you are still having problems after trying the above options, it may be worth considering wearing contact lenses, it eliminates the worry of the impaired vision you get when the glasses steam up.
• This is particularly important if you have to wear a face mask for most of the day as you don’t want to keep touching your glasses and the front of the mask unnecessarily.
• To read more about contact lenses see here. 

We hope these tips help, stay safe out there and wear a face covering where advised!