Glasses fogging up from wearing a mask has led to a wave of frustration from all those with sight problems. This translates to an increase in contact lens wear…and eye surgery.
- The realization that the mask will remain in our lives for a long time has prompted many patients to take the leap of surgery or contact lenses.
- The emphasis on hygiene may have held back some who were thinking of switching to lentils.
- An American neurosurgeon has found an effective solution: put a bandage on the top of the mask.
With the health crisis, the mask has become a must in our everyday life. If it manages to limit the spread of the virus, it causes great discomfort to all those who wear glasses because of the fogging it causes on the lenses. While the mask seems to have entered our lives for a long time, many people have chosen to swap glasses for contact lenses or to take the plunge to do eye operations.
Awareness: the mask is here to stay
“With the mask, people became aware of the discomfort of glasses”, sums up Doctor Romain Nicolau, ophthalmologist-surgeon in Paris. In his office, he observed in the front row the fed up of those who wear glasses. As a result, the number of eye operations performed in the last quarter of 2020 jumped 36% compared to the last quarter of the previous year. In the first quarter of 2021, its laser surgery activity even increased by 54%. “Regardless of their age, a very large number of patients who were hesitant to take the plunge and have the surgery realized that the mask was going to stay in our lives for a while longer and chose to have the operation.”, he noted.
In his ophthalmology practice in Vésinet in the Yvelines, Dr. Frank Earith has noticed an increase in requests for contact lenses. “Before the pandemic, some people may have been apprehensive about contact lenseshe says. But with the mask and the fog, they crack. Since the end of the first confinement, requests for lenses have greatly increased.” For Doctor Nicolau, the surge in requests for surgery occurred from last October. “That’s when people really realized that mask-wearing is here to stay.“, he believes.
A bandage on the mask, THE solution
The two specialists also noted a certain fear surrounding the lenses. Although the number of requests has increased, the emphasis on hygiene may have held back some who were thinking of switching to lentils. “We spend our time saying that we must avoid touching our faces and the lenses have a connotation of hygiene which makes patients more disturbednotes Dr. Romain Nicolau. They say to themselves that having nothing left on their eyes, and therefore going through surgery, is a better option..” “Some admitted to having a fear about contact lenses and their fear of touching their eyes, but now they can’t take it anymore and they prefer it to the fogging of glasses”, continues Dr. Frank Earith.
To deal with lens fogging, there are anti-fog sprays but their effectiveness seems limited. “Patients who use them tell me that it doesn’t work for long and they damage the glasses”, says Romain Nicolau. The American neurosurgeon Daniel Heiferman believes he has found THE solution: fix a bandage on the mask, at the top of the nose. A technique that seems to work since he uses it inconveniences during his surgical operations.
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