Effects of Not Wearing Glasses

Now seen as a fashion statement, glasses are becoming more popular than ever. But even with their new found fame, glasses still aren't being worn by people who need them. Whatever the reason may be, not wearing your glasses can result in serious short term and long term effects.

Anytime someone who needs corrective glasses chooses not to wear them,they aren't functioning with the clearest vision possible. Since almost 90 percent of a person's reaction ability while driving relies on sight, when someone gets behind the wheel without wearing glasses, he puts himself and others at a greater risk for injury. Also, children refusing to wear glasses can result in playground and sporting injuries that could easily have been avoided if their vision were corrected.

More long term effects of not wearing glasses may include incomplete development of the eyes. Getting a clear image to the retina helps the eyes develop, so when vision isn't clear it keeps the eyes from developing normally.

People who have difficulty seeing objects that are far away are nearsighted, meaning their eyes are too strong and can only focus on objects up close. An eyeglass prescription for someone who is nearsighted will contain a minus sign, because power needs to be taken away from the eye to allow it to see at a distance. When a young person who is nearsighted doesn't wear corrective glasses, she runs the risk of her eyes becoming lazy.

If the eyes are too weak and they work harder to focus at near they are considered farsighted. When someone who is farsighted doesn't wear glasses, the eyes have to worker harder to focus, often leading to headaches and fatigue. A common complaint from children who are farsighted is that they don't like to read. They'll be able to accommodate their sight to focus on objects but will have long term effects if their vision goes uncorrected.

Wearing glasses that are too strong for near vision tasks can be just as problematic as not wearing corrective lenses. Reading glasses that are too strong will require the wearer to hold things closer to their face. Also, glasses with too strong of a prescription can cause headaches and fatigue.

Personalization is extremely important when it comes to optimizing performance with modern day corrective lenses. Several factors like position of the eyes, the angle and position of the frame, and the distance between pupils make prescription glasses unique for each wearer. Therefore, prescription glasses should never be shared, even if the prescription value is assumed to be similar.