Does Wearing Glasses Improve Eyesight Permanently?
Written By Radhika Gholap, BS August 21, 2024
Many people who wear glasses often wonder if using glasses will eventually result in permanently better vision. This common misconception originates from the notion that glasses and corrective lenses may help train the eyes to achieve perfect vision. Let’s unpack this subject and explore if glasses improves your eyesight.
In some children, wearing glasses can improve vision permanently. This is the case in kids who have a condition called amblyopia.
What Is Amblyopia?
Amblyopia, commonly known as “lazy eye,” is a visual development disorder. This means one eye fails to achieve normal visual acuity, even with prescription glasses or contact lenses. This condition typically begins in childhood.
This childhood eye disease is often caused by the brain and affected eye not working together properly. Over time, the brain favors the stronger eye, leading to eye issues and reduced vision in the weaker eye.
Causes Of Amblyopia
There are different reasons that patients can develop amblyopia.
Strabismus
Misalignment of the eyes, where one eye may turn in, out, up, or down, leading the brain to ignore the image from the misaligned eye. This can cause double vision.
Refractive Errors
Significant differences in refractive errors between the two eyes (anisometropia), where one eye may be more nearsighted, farsighted, or astigmatic than the other. This often causes blurry vision.
Deprivation
In order for your eye to see clearly, it must be able to let light in properly. Cataracts, droopy eyelids, or other obstructions can block light from entering the eye. This deprivation of in put prevents proper processing of the visual information around us. This can also cause decreased vision.
Importance Of Wearing The Right Glasses In Amblyopia
Wearing the correct prescription glasses is crucial in the treatment and management of amblyopia for several reasons,
Correction Of Refractive Errors
First, having proper glasses with the right prescription lenses will fix refractive errors in the child. This means that your child will see images clearly. This clarity is necessary for the weaker eye, or the amblyopic eye, to start functioning more effectively.
Equalizing Vision
When one eye has significantly different refractive errors, the brain tends to favor the clearer image. This means one eye is not being used as much and this can cause worsening vision. However, corrective lenses help balance the vision between both eyes. This encourages the brain to use both eyes equally.
Preventing Suppression
By providing the right optical correction, glasses help prevent the brain from suppressing the weaker eye’s image, which is crucial for the development of binocular vision. We need both eyes for proper depth perception
Can Wearing Glasses Permanently Improve Vision In Amblyopia?
While wearing glasses is essential for correcting refractive errors and improving vision in amblyopia, glasses alone may not be sufficient for permanent improvement. Comprehensive treatment may involve several strategies.
Patching Or Occlusion Therapy
Covering the stronger eye with a patch for parts of the day forces the brain to rely on the weaker eye. By using the weaker eye more, it strengthens its vision.
Atropine Drops
Atropine is an eye drop medication that makes your vision blurry. By placing it in the stronger eye, we blur the stronger eye. This also encourages the brain to use the weaker eye.
Vision Therapy
Just like we exercise our bodies, we should exercise our eye muscles. Structured eye exercises help to improve the coordination and function of both eyes.
Untreated Amblyopia
The best thing to correct vision problems in amblyopia is early intervention. The earlier amblyopia is diagnosed and treated, the better the chances of significant improvement.
Treatment is most effective in young children, typically before the age of 7-8, when the visual system is still developing.
It is important to get your child’s eyes checked to see if their uncorrected vision is 20/20 or close to that. If it is not they may need a new prescription or if they already wear glasses they may need a stronger prescription.
Children who are in the wrong prescription glasses can experience eye strain and their vision errors from amblyopia may not be properly corrected. The best person to talk to is your child’s eye doctor in a clinical setting.
Potential For Permanent Improvement In Amblyopia
In Children
With early and consistent treatment, many children with amblyopia can achieve significant and sometimes permanent improvements in vision. The goal is to strengthen the weaker eye’s function and achieve as close to normal binocular vision as possible. The earlier the diagnosis and treatment, the more effective the vision correction!
In Adults
While traditional thinking held that amblyopia treatment in adults is less effective, recent studies suggest that some adults can still benefit from amblyopia treatment. While the degree of improvement may vary and might not be as pronounced as in children, it is important to try and fix the poor vision. Always check with your eye doctor to get a comprehensive eye exam and see if you could benefit from treatment.
Does Wearing Glasses Improve Eyesight Permanently In Adults?
Unless an adult has a history of untreated amblyopia, wearing glasses does not improve eyesight permanently in adults. Glasses are designed to correct refractive errors such as myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness), and astigmatism. Glasses help the eye focus light correctly on the retina, which then provides clearer vision while they are being worn.
Untreated Amblyopia In Adults
For a long time, it was believed that amblyopia, or lazy eye, could only be treated effectively in children under the age of 10. However, this is not necessarily the case. Many adults can experience improvement from amblyopia treatment, as each patient responds differently.
The brain’s plasticity allows the visual system, which includes the brain, eyes, and visual pathways, to be retrained. Amblyopia is caused by poor binocular vision. This means the brain cannot combine the two images from the eyes into a single, cohesive picture. Due to the brain’s ability to adapt, this condition does not have to be permanent. It can sometimes be fixed or improved with specific retraining.
While early treatment in childhood is ideal, it is still possible to retrain the visual system. Treating amblyopia in adults may involve vision therapy, glasses, and eye patching. This helps to restore binocular vision and correct amblyopia at any age. It is best to find an eye specialist and eye care team that have experience in treating amblyopia.
Immediate Effects Of Wearing Glasses
When an individual starts to wear glasses for the first time or switches to a new pair of glasses with a different prescription, they might initially experience some discomfort. This discomfort is usually temporary and may include sensations of dizziness, headache, or eye strain. However, after a short adjustment period, the right prescription should provide clearer vision and alleviate any discomfort.
Moreover, daily wear of glasses can help prevent eye strain for people suffering from nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, or presbyopia. This is a result of the lenses correcting the light that enters the eyes, allowing them to focus better on objects at various distances. If you are still uncomfortable with your glasses after a few days, go back to your eye doctor to see if you need a stronger or lower prescription. They can also double check the actual fitting of the glasses.
Solutions To Improve Eyesight For A Longer Duration
While wearing glasses often results in immediate improvements in vision, it is essential to understand that they are not a permanent solution to most vision issues. Glasses provide a temporary correction, allowing a person to see clearly while they wear them. However, they are a short term solution. Here are some other options that can help you have good vision without the need for prescription eyeglasses.
Ortho-Keratology (Ortho-K)
Ortho-K involves wearing specially designed rigid gas-permeable contact lenses overnight. These lenses temporarily reshape the cornea, allowing for clear vision during the day without the need for glasses or contact lenses. It’s primarily used for myopia control in children but can also benefit adults. If considering this option, talk to your eye doctor about the proper maintenance and cleaning for these contacts to use them safely and prevent eye infections.
LASIK (Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis)
LASIK is a popular refractive surgery that reshapes the cornea using a laser, correcting refractive errors such as myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism. This laser surgery has a rapid recovery with a significant improvement in vision. Many people may not qualify for LASIK, especially if they have a family history of conditions like glaucoma. Always talk to your eye doctor to determine if you would qualify for the procedure.
PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy)
PRK is another type of laser eye surgery. The cornea’s surface layer is removed first before reshaping the underlying corneal tissue with a laser. It is an alternative to LASIK for individuals with thinner corneas or those who are not good candidates for LASIK.
SMILE (Small Incision Lenticule Extraction)
SMILE is a minimally invasive laser eye surgery. It involves creating a small incision in the cornea and removing a lenticule (a small piece of corneal tissue). This works to correct refractive errors, primarily myopia and astigmatism. It offers a quicker recovery time and reduced risk of dry eyes compared to LASIK.
Cataract Surgery
Cataract surgery involves removing the eye’s cloudy lens and replacing it with an artificial intraocular lens (IOL). This surgery restores clear vision and can also correct refractive errors, reducing or eliminating the need for glasses or contact lenses. Cataracts are often associated with symptoms of glare, halos, and trouble with night driving. Talk to your eye doctor if you’ve noticed these symptoms.
Myopia Control Lenses
Many children are myopic or nearsighted. That means distant objects look blurry. Myopia control lenses, including multifocal contact lenses, orthokeratology lenses, and specially designed eyeglasses, help slow the progression of myopia in children. They work by altering the way light enters the eye. This reduces the stimulus for eye elongation which causes myopia.
Refractive Lens Exchange (RLE)
RLE involves replacing the eye’s natural lens with an artificial intraocular lens (IOL). It’s similar to cataract surgery but is done primarily to correct refractive errors in patients without cataracts. It is an option for those who may not be suitable candidates for LASIK or PRK.
Phakic Intraocular Lenses (IOLs)
Phakic IOLs are implanted in the eye without removing the natural lens, working like permanent contact lenses. They are used to correct high degrees of myopia, hyperopia, or astigmatism and are an alternative for individuals not suitable for laser eye surgery.
Myths Vs. Facts About Wearing Eyeglasses
It is important to understand that some things you hear about wearing glasses are actually myths. Let’s take a look.
Can Glasses Change Your Eye’s Function?
A common misconception is that wearing glasses or prescription contact lenses can permanently improve or worsen one’s actual eyesight. However, this is not true in adults.
While corrective lenses may help adults see more clearly by correcting refractive errors, glasses and contact lens do not permanently improve vision in otherwise healthy adults with no history of amblyopia.
In fact, the use of corrective lenses is strictly for enhancing one’s visual experience. They do not have a lasting, structural impact on eyes. It’s important to remember that wearing glasses or contact lenses is a temporary solution for improving vision. The best way to maintain one’s overall eye health is to also practice various eye exercises, good habits, and a healthy diet and lifestyle.
Blue Light And UV Protection
Another popular notion is that blue light filtering glasses and UV protection lenses should only be used by individuals with specific eye conditions or those who work on computers for extended periods. In reality, blue light filtering and UV protection eyewear are beneficial for everyone, regardless of their daily screen time or current eye health.
Blue Light Filtering
Exposure to excessive blue light from digital screens, artificial lighting, and the sun can cause digital eye strain and eye fatigue. This can contribute to long-term damage to vision. Glasses and contact lenses with blue light filtering capabilities can help reduce harmful exposure. They are an excellent preventive measure for anyone spending time using computer screens or in artificial lighting environments.
UV Protection
Prolonged exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun can lead to both short-term and long-term eye damage, including cataracts, macular degeneration, and photokeratitis (sunburn of the eye). Wearing sunglasses or contact lenses with UV protection can significantly reduce the risk of these potentially harmful effects. Make sure your eyewear has adequate UV protection, regardless of occupation or geographical location. If you also need glasses or contacts, you can talk to aneye specialist about being fitted for prescription sunglasses. This way, you can see clearly and protect your eyes when outside.
Does Wearing Glasses Improve Eyesight Permanently: Summary
For children with amblyopia or a lazy eye who require eyeglasses as medical treatment, yes, wearing glasses does improve eyesight permanently. However, a child’s eyes are much different from adult eyes that have fully developed. In adults, who do not have a history of amblyopia, new glasses for a new refractive error will only improve the vision when the patient is using eye glasses. In order to improve eyesight permanently, you will need to look into other options. Some of these include LASIK surgery, PRK Surgery, SMILE eye surgery, and cataract surgery.
Understanding the facts behind common misconceptions can help individuals make informed choices about their eyewear and take the necessary measures to maintain and protect their eyesight. Talk to a healthcare provider if you are concerned about your eye health or are experiencing vision changes. Regular eye exams are important for good long term eye health.
