I have a mild short-sightedness (can’t see small writing far away) for which I got a perscription pair of glasses to allow me to read some traffic sign writing (no left turn times)…anyways I really don’t need my glasses most of the time, but lately I’ve taken to wearing them as a fashion accesory as well as to just not have to take them on and off whenever i get into the car. Long story short, will wearing my glasses more than necessary damage my vision? Will it make my eyes lazy or any such thing?
No damage. Wear 'em. I was near-sighted and started wearing glasses at age 10. Was a bit vain as a teenager and only wore them for driving, watching movies, and watching ball games. I’m an old guy now, and still wearing glasses.
Incidentally, my vision gradually improved over the years, but not to the point that I’m willing to part with my specs.
Have you been listening to radio ads for the See Clearly Method? They play them around here and the spokeswoman says pretty much what your question asks, something about how wearing glasses weakens your eyes. Unfortunately, it’s bunk. In fact, the Attorney General of Iowa is suing Vision Improvement Technologies, the Iowa distributor for the See Clearly Method, for consumer fraud.
IANAD, but I did just have some wonderful tofu curry at Pho Grand. Anyway.
I’ve been near-sighted since I was 14, and it has gradually gotten worse over the years. I never wear my glasses when reading, primarily because it gives me a mild headache after a while, not to mention that I don’t need them. The headache gets to be more convincing to me than scientific evidence, but I’m certainly not arguing that that’s what it is. I’ve always lived under the impression that my reliance on glasses does in fact exacerbate the problem; I’m not sure I have any more reason to believe that than I do to believe reading in low light has caused the problem. Or something else entirely. But if I had tg guess, I’d say wearing glasses–especially when I don’t need them–can make matters worse.
I don’t have a hard time believing the See Clearly Method is bunk…but is there evidence one way or another regarding the OP’s question?
I’m slightly myopic (coincidentally, the same problem that hubble had). Since the focal point of my eyes is slightly in front of the retina instead of on it, I end up with basically the same symptoms as the OP. Since there are other things that cause nearsightedness, you might want to talk about it with your eye doc.
For my eyes, the doc told me that wearing glasses wouldn’t change my eyesight, but if I wore them all the time I would get used to having them on all the time and would become a bit dependant on them. About ten years ago I did wear them almost all the time, and I did feel uncomfortable without having them on. Since the past five years or so I only wear them when I drive, and even then usually only when it’s dark. I wore the same glasses for ten years, and only got new ones because the old ones were falling apart. My prescription changed very little in a decade, and wearing glasses almost every day for years didn’t bother my eyes any.
Like I said, more than myopia can cause nearsightedness, so YMMV.
Thanks for the input everyone! I must admit that I’m still not quite sure what the answer to the question is, because most of the info posted here has been anecdotal (but interesting none the less).