We often hear this one when we prescribe glasses to someone for the first time. Patients are worried that if they begin to wear glasses their eyes will become dependent on the glasses and get worse.
It is true that many patients find that after they begin wearing glasses they need them more and more. There are two different causes for this observation. First, since you know how good you can see with glasses, the world looks worse without them. Second, typically a patient’s refractive error gets worse with age making it seem as though it only began to worsen once the patient began wearing glasses.
The truth is glasses have no effect on refractive error. The eye will get worse whether or not the patient wears glasses.
Conclusion: Myth Busted
Do you have an eye question you have always wondered the answer to? Have you ever heard someone say something about eyes and wanted to know if it was true? Then email the Eye Mythbusters, Dr. Patty and Dr. Benfield at eyemythbusters@gmail.com to find out the answer. A new myth will be examined every month.
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