Face mask solutions- take care of our eyes during this fight against COVID-19.
Eye specialists are now helping patients with various eye problems resulting from mask-wearing mistakes.
The following written content by Alex Frost
Masks are an essential ingredient in the fight against Covid-19’s spread, but our eyes are paying a price.
Masks and your eyes
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends masks to help prevent the spread of Covid-19. But it’s easy to make mask-wearing mistakes—like exposing your nose or keeping your face covering too loose—especially if you have breathing issues, skin irritation, or other complicating factors.
Now, eye doctors are helping patients recover from a variety of eye problems resulting from those mask-wearing mistakes.
Early on, some mask wearers complained of foggy glasses while wearing a mask. That’s an annoying problem that can become dangerous in certain situations like while operating machinery or treating patients. But eye experts are seeing a rise in other problems, including:
- Bacterial eyelid infections
- Dry eye
- Corneal damage (abrasions, scratches)
- Allergy-like irritation from detergents on the masks
- Styes from clogged tear ducts
Warm air blowing up from breathing in a mask is the cause of many of these issues, says Jonathan Wolfe, an optometrist in Ardsley, New York. “Increased airflow around the eyes [causes] our natural ocular lubrication to evaporate and dry out faster than usual, leading to damaged corneal and conjunctiva tissue,” Wolfe says. “This is more anecdotal, but many eye care providers are noticing an uptick in eyelid infections after Covid-19. It’s tough to know the exact cause. It may be because of the warm exhaled air coming up underneath the mask to the eyes. Or it may be a widespread increase in general stress and anxiety causing this to happen.”
An article published in September 2020 in Ophthalmology and Therapy looked at the potential health impacts that masks can have on the eyes. The researchers say that eye practitioners report an “increase in ocular irritation and dryness among regular mask users.”
Eye doctors have some tips to solve those irritating, and potentially more serious, eye concerns.
Create a better seal
The reason hot air is bothering your eyes is that your mask isn’t fitting properly on the bridge of your nose. Some people are making intentional gaps by bending the wire to allow air to come in and out, but that hot air has to go somewhere; namely: into your eyes.
“A poorly fitting mask is one of the major causes of mask-related eye issues,” says Margaret Liu, MD, an ophthalmologist and founder of the San Francisco Eye Institute with the Pacific Vision Foundation. “When a mask sits loosely against the face, the exhaled air from one’s mouth blows over the surface of the eye, resulting in an increased risk of foggy lenses and mask-associated dry eyes.”
Dr. Liu recommends taking the following steps to “direct airflow downwards.”
- Use the adjustable mask wire to mold the mask to your face and create a tight seal around the bridge of your nose.
- Seal further with a strip of tape across the mask onto your cheeks and nose to reinforce the seal. (She recommends paper tape to minimize skin irritation.)
- If you wear glasses, use fogginess as a guide of how well you’ve made a seal: You shouldn’t have any fogging with a proper seal.
Ensure a proper fabric and fit
Your mask should never touch your eyes. Even if you’re exercising, the mask should remain in place. (Consider a more exercise-friendly mask option if yours isn’t holding up well during your sweat sessions.)
Mask-related cornea scratches and irritation could be coming from putting on and removing your mask, “especially the hard cloth material,” Yuna Rapoport, MD, an ophthalmologist in New York City. Some patients have a “mini scratch from the fluff from surgical masks.”
It’s important to choose a fabric that can’t scratch your eyes if you hastily put on or remove the mask. Double-layer cotton fabrics are some of the best to use for DIY masks, according to a study from Duke University published in 2020 in Science Advances. If the material is stiff or rough, wash it a few times to help soften it.
Be careful not to touch your eyes with the mask when you take it on and off.
Give your eyes a pick-me-up
Styes, dry eye, and irritation can be treated with some over-the-counter options. Our eye experts recommended: Read more from The Healthy.
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