\u201cDoctor, ever since I started wearing glasses, I feel that I see worse without them.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n This is a statement ophthalmologists hear frequently. Many people believe that glasses make the eyes lazy, weaken their focusing ability or create dependence on them.<\/p>\n But is there any scientific evidence to support this idea?<\/p>\n The answer is no.<\/p>\n Glasses are an optical aid that allows light to focus correctly on the retina. When a person has myopia, hyperopia or astigmatism, glasses compensate for the refractive error and provide clearer vision.<\/p>\n However, wearing properly prescribed glasses does not change the structure of the eye and does not cause the prescription to increase.<\/p>\n Part of the explanation lies in visual perception.<\/p>\n When we have lived with blurred vision for a long time, we can become accustomed to it. Once we experience clearer vision with glasses, the difference becomes much more noticeable when we take them off.<\/p>\n This does not necessarily mean that eyesight has worsened. We have simply become more aware of the difference between corrected and uncorrected vision.<\/strong><\/p>\n Some refractive errors also change naturally over time.<\/p>\n Myopia can progress during childhood and adolescence, while presbyopia usually begins to develop around the age of 40 to 45 and gradually increases thereafter.<\/p>\n These changes are not caused by wearing glasses.<\/p>\n There is no convincing scientific evidence that avoiding glasses when they are needed makes the eyes stronger or stops refractive errors from progressing.<\/p>\n On the contrary, insufficient correction may make everyday activities more difficult and, in some cases, contribute to visual strain and discomfort.<\/p>\n In children, proper optical correction is especially important because the visual system is still developing.<\/p>\n Significant uncorrected refractive errors, particularly when there is a major difference between the two eyes, may contribute to amblyopia if not corrected appropriately.<\/p>\n Research has also failed to demonstrate that deliberately under-correcting myopia slows its progression in children.<\/p>\n Today there are even specialised spectacle lenses designed for myopia control, which use specific optical principles to slow progression in certain children.<\/p>\n The National Eye Institute clearly states that glasses improve vision while they are worn, but they do not weaken the eyes or make eyesight worse.<\/p>\n Cochrane systematic reviews on childhood myopia control likewise do not support under-correction as an effective method of slowing myopia progression.<\/p>\n MYTH:<\/strong> \u201cIf you start wearing glasses, your eyes will become dependent on them and you will need stronger prescriptions over time.\u201d<\/p>\n FACT:<\/strong> Properly prescribed glasses do not weaken the eyes and do not create physical dependence. They simply compensate for a refractive error and allow clearer vision.<\/p>\n Seeing better with glasses does not mean that your eyes have become dependent on them. It means you are using the correction your eyes require.<\/strong><\/p>\n Content prepared and reviewed by Antonio Soler<\/strong>, ophthalmic surgeon and Medical Director of Soleyes Eye Clinic.<\/p>\n This article is intended for informational purposes only and does not replace an individual medical consultation. If you experience visual changes or have concerns regarding your prescription, a comprehensive eye examination is recommended.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ophthalmology Myths: Does Wearing Glasses Make Your Eyes Worse? \u201cDoctor, ever since I started wearing glasses, I feel that I<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10020,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[154],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-eye-doctors-advice"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/soleyes.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/soleyes.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/soleyes.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/soleyes.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/soleyes.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10026"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/soleyes.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10026\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10027,"href":"https:\/\/soleyes.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10026\/revisions\/10027"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/soleyes.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10020"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/soleyes.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/soleyes.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/soleyes.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Do glasses weaken the eyes?<\/h2>\n
Why does vision seem worse when we remove our glasses?<\/h2>\n
Should we avoid glasses to strengthen our eyes?<\/h2>\n
What about children?<\/h2>\n
What does the scientific evidence say?<\/h2>\n
In summary<\/h2>\n
\nMedically Reviewed Information<\/h2>\n