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Can Wearing the Wrong Glasses Damage Your Eyes?

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A man wearing glasses squints to look at his computer screen because he is wearing the wrong prescription.

Vision care is an ongoing journey that you undertake with your optometrist starting with consistent eye exams to ensure there aren’t any potential issues that could affect your eyes and vision.

Visual aides such as glasses are essential to help maintain clear vision throughout your busy day. 

But can wearing the wrong glasses damage your eyes? Let’s explore the importance of wearing glasses that meet your visual needs and how an updated prescription is crucial.

Getting Your Unique Prescription

Preserving your sight means monitoring your eye health and remaining consistent with trips to your optometrist. A comprehensive eye exam helps determine your prescription and the vision correction levels your new glasses will need.

Refractive errors such as myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness), astigmatism, and presbyopia can be corrected with your new glasses and have you seeing clearly once again.

Different factors are tested during your eye exam to determine your prescription. Your optometrist will perform tests that will measure:

  • Colour vision
  • Visual field
  • Alignment of eyes
  • Sharpness of vision
  • Eye muscle health and performance

Beyond determining your prescription, an eye exam is also crucial for detecting early signs of eye disease such as macular degeneration, glaucoma, and cataracts

Once your exam has been completed, the fun part begins!

You’ll be able to choose from a variety of frames and lenses to match your style, a perfect combination of fashion and function.

Children’s Eye Exams

Eye exams aren’t just for adults! Children also need to maintain consistent eye exams to ensure their visual development is progressing smoothly. Building consistent vision care habits early can help your children carry those habits into adulthood.

Undiagnosed vision issues can lead to other problems such as: 

  • Difficulty learning
  • Negative self-image
  • Behavioural issues
  • Delays in speech and language development

Following the exam, your children can also browse different frames to find their ideal fit!

An optician placing a pair of glasses on a smiling patient to help achieve the right fit and function.

Can the Wrong Glasses Cause Damage?

Your prescription glasses perform a very important function, which is helping you see clearly throughout the day. Your eyes are complex and sensitive, so it’s essential to make sure they’re comfortable and healthy.

However, you may be wondering if wearing the wrong glasses that don’t match your prescription can damage your eyes. The answer is no, but glasses that aren’t the correct prescription can lead to headaches, blurred vision, watery eyes, dizziness, and cause eyestrain.

These symptoms can interfere with your productivity and leave your eyes strained. Getting the proper prescription and wearing glasses that maximize your vision is vital. Your glasses aren’t hurting your eyes, but the wrong glasses are no longer correcting your vision.

This discomfort can be resolved with a trip to your optometrist for a comprehensive eye exam to get an updated prescription along with a new set of frames and lenses.

Children’s Glasses

For children, it’s crucial that they wear glasses with the correct prescription. Wearing the wrong glasses can accelerate the progression of myopia (nearsightedness) and affect other aspects of their lives, such as learning and classroom performance.

Your child’s vision is ever-changing and evolving. Consistent eye exams can help your optometrist monitor your child’s visual development and ensure that their prescription and visual aides keep up with their development and visual needs.

Getting the Right Fit

Your comfort and visual safety are key. That’s why ensuring that you’re wearing glasses with the correct prescription can help save you some stress and discomfort. An eye examination can determine your prescription, help you achieve clear vision, and prioritize your visual comfort. Book an appointment with your optometrist at West Coast Optical today to get your unique prescription and get glasses that fit!

Written by West Coast Optical

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