Living in a fog

With cold weather and the COVID-19 pandemic, people wearing glasses struggling to find the answer to one question: 'How do I keep my glasses from fogging up?”

'If you find out, will you let me know,” said Holly Mueller with Modern Eye Care in Washington.

The internet is full of suggestions, home remedies and even products to fight the condensation.

She said even though there are a variety of products that claim to be anti-fog, 99 percent do not work, or only work for a very short period of time.

She compared it to products that claim to fix scratches.

'There's nothing that will take scratches out of your lenses,” Mueller said.

Cheryl Miller, an optician with Wolfe Family Vision in Fairfield agreed. She said the fogging is caused by the change between hot and cold, and it usually doesn't matter what coating is on the lenses.

Living in Iowa, Miller said it is a problem in the summer and winter.

'The only way to get rid of it is to not be in Iowa,” Miller joked.

Rubbing toothpaste on the lenses is a home remedy Mueller has heard of, but she said it is a good way to scratch the lenses.

Another home remedy is based on snorkeling. Mueller said when snorkeling, people will spit in the mask, rub it in and rinse it off.

'You can see clearly, but does that work in the winter when you're in hot and cold? Probably not,” she said.

Miller recommended buying masks with the metal nose strip. This allows the mask to fit snug against the nose and prevent the air from passing across the lenses.

'I wear glasses every day and I've just figured out how far to get it tucked up under so they don't fog,” she said. 'Trial and error.”

Because masks aren't going away anytime soon, Miller said there is most likely people out there working on a product that will work.

She said some people are tired of the fog, and are deciding to wear contacts instead.

Do you have a way to prevent glasses from fogging up? Send us a letter to the editor and let us know.