Buying Cheap Shades and Reading Glasses Can be a Headache. Literally.

Its always nice to write a blog that is related to conversations I have with patients in the clinic. This is a topic I discuss with patients almost every single day and I've been meaning to write about for a while. I finally got around to it thanks to a little kick in the butt which came in the form of a little story on the radio.

Recent research done by the consumer group "Which?" in the UK showed some interesting results when I came to assessing the quality of drug store/dollar store/grocery store sunglasses and reading glasses.

The most recent investigation was regarding sunglasses bought at these types of stores. Some lenses in these sunglasses didn't allow consistent amounts of light through, which can make depth perception difficult. Other lenses induced prism, which means that each eye receives two slightly separated images. This can lead to headaches and double vision. And finally, some of the glasses actually induced astigmatism, which can result in blurry vision, discomfort, and headaches.

All suglasses, expensive or cheap, do provide some amount of UV protection. Considering the fact that some of the more serious eye diseases (such as cataracts and macular degeneration) come as a result of UV exposure, I would prefer that my patients wear something cheap rather than nothing at all. However, if you do experience any discomfort, it's probably better to look into a better quality product.

A few years earlier, "Which?" looked into over-the-counter reading glasses or "cheater readers". These are glasses that many people will pick up when they start to notice problems with seeing clearly at near. This is a condition called presbyopia and it affects almost everyone over the age of 45.

While these glasses may "do the trick" for a lot of people, they can induce problems similar to those noted in the sunglasses convo. Firstly, a lot of people have some amount of uncorrected astigmatism. Also, it common for people to have slightly different prescriptions in each eye. OTC readers do not account for either of these things, which leaves patients with slightly blurry vision and forces the eyes to work harder in an effort to overcome the prescription. Secondly, it is important to remember that these glasses are a "one size fits all" variety. Beacause of this, the center points of the lenses (where the vision is most clear) often do not line up with the center of the patients pupils. This can leave patients with discomfort, fatigue, and double vision after prolonged periods of wear.

The best thing to do is have your glasses prescription and eye health checked by your friendly optometrist and then look into a quality pair of prescription glasses.

http://www.which.co.uk/news/2011/08/high-street-sunglasses-fail-british-standards--------262336/

http://www.which.co.uk/news/2010/10/ready-made-reading-glasses---one-big-headache-234513/

Thanks to Jasmina at The Beat 94.5 for passing on the info.