Face masks are the best defense against the worst habit people have, in relation to the coronavirus. The average human touches his face 23 times per hour, which is bad news in normal times and becomes terrible when anything you touch could potentially make you fatally sick. So, putting a barrier between your face that you can’t stop touching and the hands you use to pick up groceries and hold the gas nozzle can only make sense. It’s baffling that a lot of people are fighting the rules to wear face masks, using the most ridiculous reasons known to man.
But, as good as face masks are to everybody’s health, there’s one thing it’s putting in danger. When you blow air upwards from your mouth, you will dry your eyes. People have been complaining that their eyes have been unusually and often irritated when wearing face masks. Scratching your eyes is irritating, especially when you can’t help it and you’re out buying groceries. But, when left untended, dry eyes could become something worse.
Your Tears Are Needed
Your tears have a much bigger purpose than expressing joy or sorrow. When not flowing down your eyes, your tears are the lubrication that your eyes critically need. Everyone’s been there when the wind is too strong and too cold, which a simple eye drop can fix. But, when you start scratching, there’s redness, it’s too watery or you feel that there’s something stuck in your eyes, wearing a face mask can be a big cause for concern already.
For people who are already wearing glasses, to deal with dry eyes is an extra hassle that they don’t need. Breathing upwards fogs up the glasses, which makes it hard to see. That poses a danger so big already, as impairing your vision can only lead to you hitting things in shelves, and god forbid, on the road. It could actually be so bad that you’ll need a dry eye treatment.
Why is this something you need to address? With the pandemic lasting until the end of the year at the very least, not having to suffer foggy vision and endless irritation is pretty important.
More Than One Way to Solve This Problem
There’s always the medical option to solve dry eyes, but it’s not the only way to prevent eye irritation. When the problem is stemming from a face mask, there are several ways to solve this problem:
Get Engineered Face Masks — Face masks have been around for long enough now that there are other kinds out there for sale. Surgical masks remain to be the most accessible, and one of the most recommended, but there are other less intrusive and face masks engineered for daily use.
Limit Your Trips Outside — The best advice on avoiding coronavirus is to stay away from crowded places. There’s no better way. But limiting your trips outside means you’re wearing face masks less frequently. This combination is probably everyone’s best chance at stopping the infection rate and returning the world back to normal.
Take a Break During Trips — Whether you’re going to the grocery or a mini-vacation, avoid people and when you can’t, go to a less populated area and take a break from your face mask. Pulling your mask down for a few seconds should help cool down your face and stop blowing air to your eyes. Don’t forget to sanitize your hands before wiping your sweat, though!
Wearing face masks aren’t always the most comfortable, but it’s the best compromise everyone can make to avoid contraction. But, if it does do the inevitable and dry your eyes out, there’s more than one way to solve it while still staying safe.
