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March23,2021

Trouble Seeing the Fine Print? Signs You May Need Eyeglasses

Whether due to age or increased screen time at work and at home, more people are suffering from weakened eyesight. However, not all of us know we need eyeglasses, because some of us might not show visible signs that something is wrong. Yet, that doesn’t mean we don’t need to get our eyes checked regularly.

In this quick read, we’re going to help you better understand what eyeglasses are used for and how to know if you need a pair or not. Let’s dive right into it.

Why Do People Wear Eyeglasses?

There are many vision problems that require you to wear eyeglasses. Most of them stem from what we know as refractive errors. The National Eye Institute (NEI), a pioneering research body in the USA, defines refractive errors as “a type of vision problem that makes it hard to see clearly”.

The six main refractive errors that can be corrected through eyeglasses are:

1. Farsightedness (Hyperopia)

You are great at recognizing small details from afar, seeing things that no one else can see in that distant display window, and sitting in the last row of a classroom with 20/20 vision of what’s written on the board, no matter how small the letters are. Yet, when you grab a book, or try to send a mobile text, things get blurry. That’s farsightedness; when you can see distant objects clearly, but struggle with closer objects, and it can be corrected with the right prescription glasses.

2. Nearsightedness (Myopia)

Nearsightedness is when you can see everything clearly in your close environment, but you have problems seeing faraway objects, as they seem foggy or blurry. This could make you squint more often than usual. This type of refractive error is among the most common in the world. It can be addressed through vision-correcting eyeglasses that enable the person suffering from nearsightedness to see distant objects clearly again.

3. Astigmatism

This condition is more about uneven light distribution coming into the eye than about your decreased ability to distinguish nearby or faraway objects. It causes images to stretch out or to be blurry. Many people are either born with or have astigmatism without necessarily suffering from a distorted vision, which is why a large portion of them don’t wear eyeglasses. However, a person with an extreme case of Astigmatism or with a combined case of Astigmatism and Nearsightedness or Astigmatism and Farsightedness will need to wear eyeglasses to correct their eyesight, stop their condition from deteriorating, and most importantly, avoid other troubling symptoms that could manifest in the long term.

4. Presbyopia

This eyesight condition is directly related to age and is caused by the natural deterioration of the lens inside the eye with time. It manifests through weakened vision which requires the person to wear reading glasses. Presbyopia can happen to anyone and it can also occur along with other refractive error-related eye conditions, such as myopia, hyperopia, or astigmatism.

5. Lazy Eye (Amblyopia)

Amblyopia affects one eye and is generally caused by abnormal visual development in the early childhood. You’d often see the eye of the person affected wandering inward or outward, independently of the other eye’s movement. Lazy Eye is a condition that can develop during childhood and is characterised by head titling and difficulty with depth perception. In this case, children are advised to wear eyeglasses to help them improve their focus or correct underlying refractive errors.

6. Blurred Vision

Blurred vision can result from a variety of medical conditions such as trauma to the brain, an eye injury, an eye inflammation, or diabetes which causes cataracts and blurred vision. However, in most cases, blurred vision is the result of common refractive errors like farsightedness and nearsightedness, and can be treated through prescription glasses.

Signs that You Might Need Eyeglasses

If you’re wondering whether or not you have an underlying eyesight problem that requires you to wear glasses, we have combined for you some of the most common signs of troubled vision:

1. Symptoms involving your eyes and eyesight:

  • Blurred, distorted, or double vision, with shapes and forms appearing hazy or fuzzy, with no clear outline or with halos
  • Frequent squinting
  • Struggling when driving at night because of reduced vision capabilities
  • Dry, red, or itchy eyes with a burning sensation creating a need to rub them frequently
  • Constant eye pressure
  • Eyes that are often tired or get easily irritated
  • Light sensitivity and difficulty in adjusting between darker and brighter spaces
  • Needing more light when doing something specific or reading
  • Troubled vision when sitting at the computer

2. Other Symptoms that might seem unrelated:

  • Migraine or frequent headaches, especially in the frontal side of your head
  • Pain across your shoulders and back, and in your neck.

You might have one symptom or many, or you might have none. Your symptoms might also be the result of other eye conditions that don’t require wearing glasses such as Dry Eye, Computer Vision Syndrome, or Cataracts.

Just remember it’s always best to have an eye check-up at the ophthalmologist once a year. We also encourage you to book an eye test at one of our MAGRABi stores in the UAE and get your eyes examined by our expert optometrists. If you need eyeglasses, you will be able to pick the frame of your choice from our wide collection of branded and designer eyewear, order your customized lenses, and ask for any eye care or frame cleaning and upkeeping advice from our professional team. Even if you have a perfect vision, this could be a great opportunity to refresh your sunglasses collection!

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