Sunglasses protect your eyes against harmhul UV radiation. Most people know that. And because of that fact, some people search the internet to find out if their sunglasses (or spectacles for that matter) protect against the respiratory disease called COVID-19. This is the disease caused by the virus "Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2", which is the scientific name. Or "SARS-CoV-2" for short.
Do sunglasses protect you from the Corona virus?
The answer is that your sunglasses or spectacles will never prevent you from getting infected with the current Corona virus. You can become infected when you inhale small droplets that contain the virus from an infected person. Or when these droplets enter your mouth, nose or eyes via your hands or through coughing.
So, do your sunglasses or spectacles protect you against the Corona virus?
The answer is that your sunglasses or spectacles will never prevent you from getting infected with the current Corona virus. You can become infected when you inhale small droplets from an infected person. Or when these droplets enter your mouth, nose or eyes via your hands.
Is indirect protection against COVID-19 possible?
One could argue that your sunglasses and spectacles do offer some form of indirect protection against the virus. How? Because having a frame with lenses in front of your eyes prevents you from touching your eyes. However, you should know that you also touch your face more often when you wear sunglasses or spectacles. Especially sunglasses, as you need to take them off and put them on more regularly depending on where you are (inside vs outside). And the droplets containing the virus can still infect you through your nose and mouth.
“On average we touch our faces around 20 times per hour.”
Journal of Infection Control Study (2015)
Infection through touching your eyes
The RIVM states that "as the virus is present in the nose, throat or lungs, it can be dispersed into the air through coughing or sneezing. The virus enters the air in the form of small droplets. These droplets don’t remain floating in the air, but descend quickly". So it's the droplets you should be concerned about. You should try to avoid touching your face and eyes. Which is difficult, because on average you touch your face around 20 times per hour, according to the Journal of Infection Control Study (2015).
Spectacles cleaning spray and COVID-19
Another related question is if the cleaning spray you often use to clean your lenses protects against COVID-19. The answer is that it doesn't. Surely it is important to keep your specs and sunnies clean. But the amount of alcohol is insufficient to kill the virus. And some of these cleaners do not contain any alcohol at all. They work with enzymes or other active ingredients. Also these do not pretect you against COVID-19. They just clean your lenses and make you see clearer.
So, this concludes this article about if your sunglasses protect you against COVID-19 or the Corona virus. Are you interested in reading more about high quality sunglasses that protect you against harmful UV radiation but not COVID-19? And more specifically in shades that take a different approach. BEINGBAR shades are the ultimate conscious and sustainable sunglasses, made with natural materials. For people who make their own conscious choices. Click here to read more. Or visit BEINGBAR.com
