Sponsored by Shamir Insight Inc.
By Linda Conlin
We all have made sacrifices during the current health crisis, but for the spectacle wearer, clear vision shouldn’t be one of them. Wearing a face mask is inconvenient and uncomfortable, but we do it until our eyeglass lenses fog. Adding hazy vision to the list of difficulties we face trying to work and go about our daily lives increases discomfort and frustration levels as we try to adjust to this new normal. Possibly worse is the increased number of times we touch our glasses and head to remove them for cleaning in an attempt to clear the condensation on the lenses. Now imagine you are a health care worker during a 12 hour shift who cannot touch your glasses from the start of your shift until it ends! How do you safely and effectively perform vital tasks with impaired vision? Unfortunately, wearing a mask and glasses creates ideal conditions for this problem to occur.
Eyeglass lenses fog when warm air from our breath escapes through the top of the mask and comes in contact with the cooler surface of the lens, causing condensation or water vapor to condense and form fog on the lens (Fig. 1). Wearing a mask can cause the warm air from breath escaping through the top of the mask to come into contact with the back of the lenses. When we are active, the body gives off more heat and humidity, which compounds the problem of condensation. And it occurs most likely when we are busiest and when foggy lenses are most inconvenient. Who has time to stop and wipe off foggy glasses and sanitize repeatedly? Without effective anti-fog treatment, this compromise to our vision could be a hazard that leads to mistakes and even injury.
An anti-fog treatment is a solution, but it has to work. It must prevent condensation from forming individual droplets on the lens, which creates multiple refractive surfaces that produce hazy vision. Shamir Glacier Anti-Fog lens coating lowers the contact angle of water droplets, meaning it makes the water attract strongly to the lens surface. Instead of forming droplets that scatter light, the water spreads into a thin film we can see through clearly. Shamir Glacier Anti-Fog with Duplex Technology does just that. The anti-fog coating on the back of the lens absorbs and spreads water into a thin transparent layer. What’s more, it’s permanent and doesn’t require reapplication sprays or special wipes.
Even better, Glacier Anti-Fog with Duplex Technology incorporates two different coatings on lenses. In addition to permanent anti-fog on the back of the lens, there’s Glacier Plus AR on the front, making it the only lens with the benefits of both AR and anti-fog coatings. Glacier plus AR is easy to clean, hydrophobic, anti-static, scratch-resistant and durable. Having both of those coatings on lenses provides comfortable haze-free vision.
Cleaning the lenses is easy and requires no special cleaner or cloth. Shamir recommends cleaning the front and back lens surfaces separately. To remove dirt from the back of the lens, use a wet cloth and then dry. You may also use alcohol, isopropyl alcohol or a lens cleaning solution without acetone. Do not soak or rinse the lenses with water. During extended periods of high humidity, the lens coating may reach its absorption capacity. If this happens, lenses may become covered with a thin layer of water or begin to fog. In such cases, simply wipe the lens with any available soft cloth, and normal fog absorption will be restored. The hydrophobic, anti-smudge and anti-static front surface requires less cleaning than other AR coatings, but when it does, it cleans easily with a lens cloth.
While Glacier Anti-Fog was initially developed for athletes, because of COVID-19, Shamir recognized the urgent need for health care workers, who wear masks for long periods during which they are unable to touch their glasses, to have eyeglass lenses that don’t fog. In addition to health care, workers in every sector such as grocery stores, restaurants, hair salons, ride-shares and other businesses can benefit from lenses that don’t fog. In fact, masks are becoming mainstream attire for nearly everyone, and consumers want the relief of eyeglass lenses that don’t fog. Glacier Anti-Fog with Duplex Technology does just that and more. Offer your patients the relief they want with more information at whenvisionmatters.com.
