5 Signs You Might Need Glasses

I have a confession…

I was THAT kid growing up who was too stubborn to wear their glasses. I would always give my parents one excuse after another about why I wasn’t wearing them.

I lost them.

I left them at school.

They don’t fit properly.

I was so convinced that I could see fine without them that I ignored many of the symptoms that suggested otherwise.

But like so many other people, I couldn’t hide from needing glasses forever. Now that I wear them full-time, I wish I had been aware of the signs that I needed glasses all the way back when I was a teenager.

#1: You Squint to See Far Away

Squinting narrows your field of view and helps focus the light that enters your eyes. This makes things temporarily clearer. However, squinting can also cause headaches and eyestrain and is by no means a substitute for actual glasses. If you think you are squinting to see far away, it may be time for an eye exam. You will be much, MUCH happier wearing glasses, rather than having to squint your way through life.

#2: You Get Headaches at the End of the Day

Headaches at the end of the day may be a sign you need glasses. The act of straining your eyes to see can tire out the eye muscles and result in a tension headache. Glasses could help alleviate eye strain so that the headaches don’t develop.

#3: You Have Eye Strain After Using the Computer

The eyes often have difficulty looking up close for long periods of time. The act of looking up close (like at a computer, a phone, or a book) causes the eyes to turn in and the focusing system to engage. This can cause eye strain, blurriness and headaches, especially if you do it for multiple hours a day. Your focusing system also worsens naturally with age. People over the age of 40 will have a natural breakdown in their eye’s focusing system called presbyopia. Glasses may help magnify print and make focusing easier.

#4: You Can’t See While Driving at Night or When It’s Raining

Driving at night can be difficult. Your pupils are dilated when it’s dark and you have to use your nighttime vision, which doesn’t provide as much clarity as your daytime vision. Driving in the rain can also distort how you see, making it harder to read street signs. Glasses might be a tool to sharpen your night vision by providing you with extra clarity while driving. Other tools that may help with night driving are anti-reflective coatings and/or yellow tinted lenses (ex. blue blocking lenses) that can potentially improve your visual contrast and reduce glare.

#5: You’re Avoiding Doing the Things you Used to Love Doing

A lady no longer sews because she can’t thread the needle.

A man gives up on bird watching because he can’t see the birds in the trees.

A teenager stops playing video games because things in the game seem to be moving too quickly.

Sometimes subtle changes in behaviour might indicate that your vision has changed. The brain is very good at convincing us that the way we see is “normal,” even though our vision may be worse than it used to be. If you suddenly find you’re not enjoying doing the things you used to love, consider getting an eye exam to check if something may be impacting how you see, like a change in your prescription.

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#Eyes #Glasses #Headaches #Health