Sometimes people’s eyes have a refractive error, a change or flaw in the eyes’ ability to focus light directly into the retina. This is caused by an abnormality in the shape of the eye, and eventually causes blurred vision. Fortunately, blurred vision can be corrected in several ways – most popularly, by wearing a pair of prescription glasses.
As popular as prescription glasses are as a solution for blurred vision, though, prescription eyewear is also hounded by fallacies.
Photo by Rex Pickar on Unsplash.
Here are 10 of the most common misconceptions about prescription glasses.
1. A person becomes dependent on his prescription glasses
Among the many misconceptions about prescription glasses, definitely one of the most common is that wearing a pair makes a person dependent on them. The truth is that the urge to wear the glasses more often simply comes from the person getting accustomed to his improved vision.
2. Putting on the wrong pair of eyeglasses will damage a person’s eyes
Another popular misconception associated with prescription glasses is that wearing a pair other than what has been prescribed will damage a person’s vision. While wearing a pair that has not been prescribed properly, especially for a long time, will likely give a person a headache or make her feel dizzy, it will not actually damage her eyes.
3. Prescription glasses cannot protect your eyes from the sun’s harmful rays
While it is true that sunglasses can improve a person’s vision under the glaring sunlight, their dark shading is not enough to protect the eyes from the sun’s UV rays. In fact, some prescription glasses are better at this than other sunglasses, as their lenses have UV-blocking agents. One good brand of eyeglasses that offers an impressive protection against the sun’s UV rays is Bloobloom. Not only are they chic and affordable, but they offer 100 percent UV protection, too!
4. Eye exercises will eliminate the need for prescription glasses
Many people with eye problems have been tempted to give in to infomercials claiming that certain eye exercises will eventually eliminate their need for prescription glasses. However, such a claim is a pure fallacy and there is no medical evidence for it. The fact is that the quality of a person’s vision is dependent on the shape of their eyes, the health of their tissues, and many other factors.
5. Wearing poor-fitting glasses will damage your eyes
Another misconception about prescription glasses is that they can damage the eyes if they don’t fit properly. While it is true that glasses that are not the perfect fit for the wearer’s face need to be adjusted, the reason is that a better fit means more comfort and clearer vision.
6. Eating a lot of carrots will eliminate the need for prescription glasses
There is no denying that carrots are good for the eyes because they contain Vitamin A. While this vegetable can protect the eyes from cataracts and age-related macular degeneration, it cannot prevent or cure nearsightedness or farsightedness. Additionally, eating lots of carrots may make your skin yellow.
7. Prescription glasses make a person look ugly
Without question, this is a fallacy. While some people look less appealing with prescription glasses that cover part of their face, others actually look better with their eyewear. In fact, some find people – especially women – who wear glasses even more attractive, because they appear more confident.
8. People who wear prescription glasses are smart
While this perception may be flattering for people who wear prescription glasses, unfortunately there is no scientific correlation between wearing glasses and intelligence. In fact, a 2015 study revealed that people who wear glasses are also – again falsely – perceived to have higher social status, presumably because they give an impression of higher intelligence.
9. People with prescription glasses cannot play sports
Another false assumption about people wearing prescription glasses is that they can’t play sports because their eyewear will get broken. People who think that must not realize that there are all types of glasses especially made for playing sports safely.
10. Taking a break from wearing glasses is good for the eyes
As mentioned earlier, the eyes don’t become dependent on prescription glasses. Hence, there is really no need to take a rest from using them. Taking off your glasses supposedly to give your eyes a rest will only end up straining them even more, and faster.
Now that all these misconceptions have been corrected, it’s clear that there is no reason to be hesitant about wearing prescription glasses when they’re needed. Prescription eyewear does a lot more good than harm.
Image Credits: Prescription Glasses from Robert Przybysz/Shutterstock