Two years into the pandemic and wearing face masks hasn’t gotten any easier.
Some of us experience more acne breakouts and skin rashes when we wear them…
They make our noses itch…
And maybe our oxygen levels are just fine, but it certainly makes it feel like it’s harder to breathe.
But if you wear glasses you have to deal with another annoying problem… foggy glasses.
Because masks cause glasses and sunglasses to fog up, many of us have turned to anti-fogging sprays and clothes to keep our vision clear.
That may not be such a good idea though. In an effort to avoid exposure from the pandemic threat, using those chemical sprays exposes you to a very real toxic danger…
The toxic secret in anti-fogging sprays and cloths
Duke University researchers tested four top-rated anti-fogging sprays and five top-rated anti-fogging cloths sold on Amazon, they found all nine products contained toxic chemicals that can wreak havoc on your health.
Those toxins included fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs) and fluorotelomer ethoxylates (FTEOs), two types of polyfluorinated alkyl substances or PFAS.
So what’s the issue?
Well, PFAS are known as “cancer-causing forever chemicals”.
They’re chemicals that have leached into our water supply, lurk in our dental floss and hide in our cosmetics. And they are now found in the blood of 99 percent of Americans.
And exposure to some PFAS, particularly perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) is associated with not only cancer but also impaired thyroid and immune function, and other health disorders.
Research suggests that once the FTOHs that the researchers found in all of the anti-fogging products have been inhaled or absorbed through the skin, they could break down in your body to PFOA or other long-lived PFAS substances that are known to be toxic.
“It’s disturbing to think that products people have been using on a daily basis to help keep themselves safe during the COVID pandemic may be exposing them to a different risk,” said Heather Stapleton, professor of environmental chemistry and health at Duke, who initiated the study after reviewing the ingredient label on a bottle of anti-fogging spray she purchased for her 9-year-old daughter.
“Ironically, it was advertised as safe and nontoxic,” Stapleton said. “It said to spray it on your glasses and use your fingers to rub it around.”
Safe and non-toxic?
Not when they are packed with cancer-causing forever chemicals!
What else can you do?
I’ve seen some information online about using a vinegar solution to keep your glasses fog-free. But manufacturers claim vinegar is bad for the material that most lenses are made from. Of course, they are the same ones selling the anti-fog sprays, though.
It may take extra work, but adjusting your mask and glasses can cut down on the fogging:
- Adjust your glasses to sit higher on your nose so they’re farther away from air flow from your nostrils and mouth.
- Pull you mask higher on your nose and use you glasses on top of the mask to hold it in place.
They also suggest washing your glasses at home with warm water and dish soap. The dish soap leaves a film on the glasses that helps prevent them from fogging up. But to find a dish soap that doesn’t contain forever chemicals, access the Environmental Working Group’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning database.
Finally, to learn more about how to lessen your toxic load in general, follow these five steps from longtime health researcher and editor of Easy Health Options, Virginia Tims-Lawson.
Source:
High levels of PFAS found in anti-fogging sprays and cloths, study finds – ScienceDaily
How to keep glasses from fogging up when wearing a mask – Visionworks