Up until March this year, the only people one spotted wearing masks apart from surgeons were transplant patients and monks of a certain sect. Covid-19 has changed all that and masks are now a standard fixture in our wardrobes.
A few weeks ago, my daughter decided to go grocery shopping as soon as the supermarket opened. She made a quick dash armed with gloves, hand sanitiser and a mask. She picked up the stuff, breezed out and drove herself back home. As she stepped out with her bags, her spectacle lenses got fogged. Not wanting to touch anything she quickly hurried up to the front door, missed a step and sprained her ankle.
While some people are complaining that masks make it difficult to breathe, masks fogging spectacles and leading to mishaps is not uncommon.
“The easiest thing in such situations is to remove the spectacles for a couple of minutes and vision should clear up," says Dr Girish Shiva Rao, President, Medical Research Foundation, Sankara Nethralaya.
What many of us may not know is that the N-95 surgical masks used by health care professionals afford a customised fit, eliminating fogging. The surgical three-ply masks have a plastic clip on the nose bridge that can be pressed down.
Fashion-conscious women complain that they are forced to go without lipstick and now focus solely on eyewear, it won’t be long before masks become a style statement. From ikkat masks to brocade ones for weddings and home-made cloth masks with rubber bands to elastic edged ones that go over the ears, the designs are constantly evolving. And to think that initially, people used old vests and inner-wear to make the most basic of masks.
While the debate to mask or not to mask is losing steam, remember there is a lot you can do with masks. You can have identical masks for the family, use them for brand promotion and to send out messages (in the US they are urging people to vote while a Madurai restaurant came up with mask parottas). You can also design fun masks that can spread cheer around, which is just what the doctor ordered!