Once you start wearing eyeglasses, it may seem like you only grow more reliant on them. You might observe that despite wearing prescription lenses, your eyesight only worsens every year. Then you reach an unsettling conclusion: your glasses might actually be making your eyes worse! Many people who wear specs have the same thoughts and have even chosen to forego using their glasses altogether. But just how much fact supports this claim? Here, we’ll talk about whether glasses do, indeed, make your eyes worse and what you should do to ensure your eyesight is protected.
Glasses Worsen Eyesight: Fact vs. Myth
Many people believe that wearing eyeglasses can make vision worse. This is a common misconception that may be due to some misunderstandings about the causes of bad eyesight and the effects of eyeglasses.
People typically assume that their vision has weakened because despite wearing their glasses, their eyes have only worsened after some time. This simply isn’t the case; it is natural for both children and adults to experience changes in vision as they age. Whether you wear your glasses or not, refractive errors will progress. What wearing glasses does is to help you see better despite these refractive errors.
How Eyesight Progresses
Needing glasses at any age means that one’s eyesight is changing. Whether you are nearsighted, farsighted, or have astigmatism, many individuals all over the world need glasses.
It becomes more difficult to see as the refractive error in your eyes progresses over time. Your vision may become blurry or doubled, and this may cause eye strain and headaches. Activities such as reading or driving may become more challenging.
Nearsightedness, also called myopia, is one of the most common refractive errors that develop in people. This usually begins during childhood. Presbyopia (age-related farsightedness) starts to affect middle-aged adults. In fact, most of the population will develop some kind of refractive error at some point in their lives. This will make corrective wear, like glasses, to assist in their vision.
Why It’s Important to Continue Wearing Your Glasses
Wearing your glasses regularly can be beneficial. In some cases, it can actually be damaging to an individual’s eyesight and quality of life by not wearing glasses. Wearing glasses can make all the difference between comfortably working in front of a computer, driving with confidence, or enjoying a book and dealing with eye strain or suffering from headaches.
Regardless of your age, getting your eyes checked and wearing the right prescription lenses can improve your life significantly.
The Bottom Line
Contrary to popular belief, glasses only improve your vision; they do not worsen your eyesight. Working with an ophthalmologist or an optometrist every few years will help keep your visual acuity as your vision needs change gradually.
