These Are the Telltale Signs You Need Glasses

Millions of people need to wear some sort of corrective lenses due to vision problems. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. If you’re noticing signs you need glasses, such as things becoming blurry, or if you’re having trouble seeing, there’s no need to keep suffering. Just pay your eye doctor a visit.

These are just a few of the possible signs you need glasses.

Your Eyes are More Tired Than Normal, or You Have Headaches

One of the most common signs you need glasses is feeling eye strain, or getting a headache after you read or work on your computer. There are a lot of reasons why your eyes may be strained. For one thing, we blink less when we stare at screens, be they computers, phones, or TVs. Other possibilities include allergies, an illness, or simply not getting enough sleep. But if your eyes get tired on a regular basis, that’s an indication something needs to be done about your vision.

Likewise, headaches can be caused by many things, but they are often linked to eye strain. The reason is that your eyes are working harder than normal to focus correctly. See an eye doctor to get things checked out. You might find that addressing your vision problem could help your headaches go away.

Everything Looks Blurry

Blurred vision is another telltale symptom of a vision problem. This is one of the surest signs you need glasses.

Some people can see objects at a distance, but their close-up vision is blurry. This is known as farsightedness, or hyperopia.

Others are just the opposite. They can see up close fine, but distant objects are blurred. This condition is known as nearsightedness, or myopia.

It’s possible that you’ve been dealing with blurriness for a while now, and have gotten so used to it, you haven’t realized it’s a problem. An eye exam will reveal whether you’re nearsighted, farsighted, or possibly even both.

You’re Constantly Rubbing Your Eyes

This is often another indication that your eyes are strained or fatigued. However, there could be another cause of your eye rubbing, such as allergies, or even pink eye (also known as conjunctivitis). See your doctor to determine the exact cause of your eye rubbing.

You Have to Hold a Book at Arm’s Length

If you have trouble reading when in your normal reading position, and have to extend your arms to read more clearly, you might have a condition called presbyopia. This typically affects people as they age (usually beginning in their 40s). Presbyopia occurs when the lens of your eye isn’t as flexible as it used to be, making it difficult to focus on close-up objects.

Another sign you need glasses is you easily lose your place when you’re reading. This is typically due to strabismus, a condition that involves misalignment of the eyes.

Closing One Eye to Watch TV

This is yet another of the surest signs you need glasses. Closing or covering an eye is one of the signs of astigmatism. Astigmatism occurs when the curvature of your eye isn’t what it should be. Either the curves of your cornea (the front portion of the eye) or your lens are mismatched in some way, which leads to blurry vision. Thankfully, this condition can be easily corrected with glasses.

Trouble Seeing at Night

A lot of people have issues when driving at night. If you’re one of them, you need to get to an eye doctor as soon as you can. Otherwise, you’ll not only put yourself in danger, you’ll also be a danger to other people on the road. If you find it hard to drive after sundown due to oncoming headlights, you might want to consider glasses with an anti-glare coating (you’ll learn more about choosing the right types of lenses for your glasses below).

A more severe condition, known as nyctalopia, or night blindness, makes it almost impossible to see in low-light conditions. Cataracts and myopia are two additional factors that often contribute to difficulty seeing at night.

Squinting

If you have to squint in order to read a book, watch TV, or see your computer screen, that’s another one of the easy signs you need glasses. Squinting helps reduce the amount of light entering your eye. This reduces the size of the image you’re trying to see, and helps bring it into better focus. Repeated squinting can mean you’re either farsighted or nearsighted.

Choosing the Right Glasses for You

So, you’ve had an eye exam, and your eye doctor says you need glasses. What’s next? You want to choose the right ones. And once again, your ophthalmologist can help you make the right choice.

First of all, you’ll want to make sure you have the right kinds of lenses for your particular situation. If, for example, you’re having trouble seeing your computer screen, you have a hard time reading, and your distance vision is blurry, you might want to consider progressive lenses. These are also known as no-line bifocals. They help with your distance vision, as well as your intermediate and close-up vision. The lenses look like regular glasses.

If you just have trouble seeing objects at a distance, then you’ll need single-vision lenses. If your problem is seeing close-up, you might only need reading glasses.

Lenses also come with a variety of coatings to choose from. One type is known as a polycarbonate lens. This is a type of lens that is lighter and more durable than a regular plastic lens. It’s a good choice for children and those who wear glasses when they work or play sports. Trivex lenses are even lighter and stronger than polycarbonate.

Polarized lenses are good for people who spend a lot of time outdoors. They not only reduce the amount of glare, they also help reduce the amount of ultraviolet (UV) rays that get into the eye. Polarized coatings are also good for people who look at a computer screen for several hours each day.

You’ll also have a lot of frames from which to choose. Your optician can help you pick the right frame for the shape of your face.

The Last Word

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with needing eyeglasses. Millions of people wear them, and the feeling you’ll get when you first put them on, and you can see clearly, is fantastic. There are many stylish, durable frames to choose from, and many different types of lenses for your particular vision needs. If you suspect your vision is changing, make an eye exam appointment.

Sources:

1. Refractive Errors
2. Myopia (Nearsightedness)
3. Pink Eye: Usually Mild and Easy to Treat
4. Presbyopia: What causes it and how to treat it