Glasses with masks

Specialties Operating Room

Published

Hello OR nurses! I just accepted a position in the OR. Circulator, so non sterile. I have not started yet. I am new to the OR, but everytime I wear a mask with my glasses, they fog up or fall off. Also, I am getting older and really should wear bifocals. My eyes get dry with contacts. Even though I won't in the sterile field, what do people wear in the OR??

There are masks that are designed for use with glasses... some have a tacky/sticky strip that seals along the bridge of your nose, others have an extra strip of film to stop the transfer. In our facility, these are green colored.

Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

Look for masks that may be labeled as "anti-fog". Like PP said, they have a strip or another method intended to reduce the amount of fog that can hamper vision. One thing I've noticed with the ones with plastic strips is to be gentle removing it! I've made my nose a little raw and tender pulling it off too quickly.

A lot of nurses on our service have started wearing the full length face shields. They are the ones with the foam padding and the strap on top. The benefit it that the shield isn't attached to the mask so it won't really fog up and you get far more protection coverage too. If those are not available, I have flipped the shield part of the mask and tied it on my forehead to avoid fogging up during a case - it's similar to the full length shield in that it's tied around the forehead.

Hi there - I agree with many of the comments shared. I am an RN and I do work in the sterile field every day. I had problems with the mask fogging up and in CT, you sorta need to have your 'field of vision' of the field clear at all time. So, one day, I noticed we started stocking these Medline splash shields and that has pretty much been my 'go-to' ever since.

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