Are Your Old Glasses Wearing Out Your Eyes?

Having old glasses might seem like a good way to save a little cash, but it could end up hurting you in the long run. If you have not upgraded your glasses in a long time or seen an eye doctor, you might want to think about changing that in the near future. Here is why.

More Squinting

When you wear old glasses, they usually have a couple of problems that lead to more squinting. The first is that you haven't received an updated vision prescription, so you're not seeing as clearly as you should be. This will lead you to squint because you're not able to see what you're looking at as well as you should.

Secondly, older eyeglasses tend to have a lot of damage, like scratches on the lenses, that can make it harder to see through them clearly.

Eye Strain

Eye strain is a big problem when you wear older glasses. Your eyes are literally straining to see clearly, and as a result, they'll start to feel tired and worn out earlier in the day than other people's eyes. Ideally, you want as little or no eye strain if possible. This can be done if you get new glasses on a regular basis and make sure that your vision prescription is up to date, but if you continue to use old glasses, you're likely to have worse and worse eye strain as time goes on.

Losing Benefits

Another problem is that many glasses come with certain benefits that can wear off over time. This means things like the UV-protectant coating or the anti-glare coating you may have had applied to your current pair of glasses many years ago. These coatings can start to wear off and chip away, which not only makes it even harder to see but means that you lose those protections. UV rays are damaging to the eyes and can even cause macular degeneration later on in life. Glare is extremely stressful to the eyes and can make your squinting problems even worse.

Needless to say, if you haven't gotten a new pair of glasses in a while, it's time to change that. Consider visiting a professional eye care center and getting an examination so you can find out if your prescription has changed. From there, talk to them about getting new glasses or any other kind of vision correction, like contact lenses.

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