Tips for Adjusting to Life With Glasses – Eye See Ravenswood (2024)

When given the right prescription,eyeglassescan let you see clearly and accurately despite having avision problem. While you can look forward to normal vision and say goodbye to squinting, blurry vision, and eye strain, your initial experience with new glasses may be less than perfect. Your eyes will need time to adjust to artificial lenses as you adapt to a new routine that involves wearing the devices regularly. While the process can be frustrating, knowing how to handle these changes can help you smoothly transition to a life with better vision.

Andrea J. Stein, OD, ofEye See Ravenswoodspecializes in providing professional optometry services. After a comprehensiveeye exam, Dr. Stein will diagnose the source of your eye problems and provide the prescription you need to achieve corrected vision. Read on to learn tips for dealing with some of the most common issues that can arise when you begin wearing glasses.

Be prepared for distorted vision in the short-term

It can be devastating if you put on your new glasses and they don’t deliver the promise of normal vision that you anticipated. In some cases, your vision may feel worse with your new glasses than without them. Rest assured this is completely normal for some patients at first.

You may not enjoy the benefits of improved vision immediately because your eyes haven’t had enough time to adjust to the artificial lenses. If you lived with imperfect vision for a long period before getting glasses, your eyes may be trained to compensate for your vision problem. It can take time for your eyes to learn to relax and let the lenses do the work.

You may have a few headaches in the beginning

With new glasses, your eyes will go through a process to adjust to the lenses. As your eyes go through this process, your eye muscles can get overworked. This can result in headaches and pain in your eyes, forehead, and temples.

Do note, though, that headaches can also indicate that your glasses weren’t made to the requested prescription or that they don’t fit properly. If your headaches continue for more than a few days, contact Eye See Ravenswood so you can have your prescription checked.

Short-term adjustments can prevent dizziness

You might feel dizzy or nauseous as your brain learns to interpret the visual world through your new lenses. This can occur as your brain tries to keep up with your eyes as they move from one object to another. The sensation may make you feel like you’re in constant motion.

Dizziness and nausea are also common with new bifocal lenses, which have prescriptions for close-up work and distance viewing in one lens. The same can happen with progressive lenses, which combine prescriptions for close-up work, distance viewing, and computer work. These types of lenses require your brain to recalculate quickly as you switch between prescriptions.

To help prevent dizziness as you adjust to these lenses, try turning your head toward the object you want to see instead of moving your eyes toward it. Until your eyes adjust to your bifocal or progressive lenses, you should take extra caution when walking down steps.

Don’t give up

It can take up to two weeks for your eyes to adjust to your first pair of glasses. Don’t give up and stop wearing your glasses if you’re frustrated by discomfort or other symptoms. Doing this will extend the period of adjustment.

For the best results, follow Dr. Stein’s recommendation for the length of time you should wear your new glasses during your transition. Always keep your glasses clean to ensure that smudges don’t cause distortion. Avoid bending your frames or scratching your lenses — which can blur images — by storing your glasses safely in a case.

If you don’t notice progress within a week, contact Eye See Ravenswood. And until you’re comfortable wearing your new glasses, avoid driving and other activities in which distorted vision can interfere with your safety.

Dr. Stein and the staff of Eye See Ravenswood want to ensure that your transition to a life with glasses occurs as smoothly as possible. To find out how glasses can help you achieve better vision,book an appointmentonline or over the phone today.

Tips for Adjusting to Life With Glasses – Eye See Ravenswood (2024)

FAQs

How long does it take for eyes to adjust to glasses? ›

Most eye care professionals will tell you it will likely take two to three days to adjust to a normal change in your glasses prescription, but the adjustment period can last up to two weeks in some rare cases. If your eyes have not fully adjusted after two or three days, check in with your eye doctor.

How long does it take to get used to new glasses with astigmatism? ›

Problem with Astigmatism glasses

It takes around three days to a couple of weeks to get acquainted with the new glasses as astigmatism glasses feel weird at the first stage. The user may also experience a little pain in the eyes or headache in the initial few days of using the eyeglasses.

How to do the glasses trick? ›

Fun trick:Hold a nearsighted lens in front of your phone camera, tap the screen to focus, then take the lens away. You'll get an idea what the vision without those glasses is like!#

Why can I suddenly see better without my glasses? ›

Why is that? Answer: Some call this "second sight" which has a simple physiological explanation. As the lens of the eye hardens as we age (the predecessor of frank cataracts) it changes the way light is "bent" as it enters the eye much the way different prescriptions in a pair of glasses do.

Why do I see myself differently with glasses? ›

This phenomenon is known as aniseikonia. Aniseikonia is a perception of different image size when either switching from contact lenses to glasses, or even between a person's two eyes with glasses, if there is a big enough prescription difference between them.

What are the side effects of wearing glasses for the first time? ›

Unfortunately, wearing glasses comes with a slight adjustment period. Most people will experience headaches and sore or tired eyes during the first few days. However, as your eye muscles get used to relaxing instead of working so hard to make sense of what you are seeing, the headaches and soreness will disappear.

What is the fishbowl effect? ›

Eye strain: Your eyes need to work harder to focus when wearing new glasses, making them feel tired or strained. Fishbowl effect: Wearing new glasses can lead to a fishbowl effect where images look bent along their edges, making it feel like you're looking through a fishbowl.

Should I wear my glasses all the time with astigmatism? ›

Usually astigmatism above 1 degree causes much visual disturbance. If your vision is affected a lot, you should wear glasses to help your eyes not have to adjust too much. For people with low or low myopia, if eye fatigue and dry eyes do not appear but can still see clearly, they do not need to wear glasses regularly.

Why do I still have astigmatism after wearing glasses? ›

Wearing glasses can't make astigmatism worse, even if they are the wrong prescription. Astigmatism is caused by the shape of the eye's cornea or lens, and glasses can't change those.

How do you get used to new glasses fast? ›

How to Get Used to Wearing New Glasses Fast
  1. Get a Frame that Fits. Your glasses should fit just right on your face, not too tight or too loose. ...
  2. Gradually Increase the Amount of Time You Wear Your Glasses. ...
  3. Wear Your Glasses Consistently. ...
  4. Stop Wearing Old Glasses. ...
  5. Recheck Your Prescription if Needed.
Dec 9, 2022

Can I train my eyes to not need glasses? ›

Practiced faithfully, eye exercises may actually help delay the need for glasses or contacts in some people. But you don't need to buy a special program of exercises or follow prescribed visual gymnastics to accomplish these things.

How do people with astigmatism see? ›

Blurred vision is the most common astigmatism symptom. It also makes it hard to see details on objects, like the words printed on a menu in front of you, or letters on a road sign in the distance. Other astigmatism symptoms include: Seeing a glare or halos around lights.

Do I look better with or without glasses? ›

A total of 517 participants were included in this study. We found significantly higher ratings for all domains of pictures without glasses compared to the same pictures with glasses. Moreover, participants not wearing glasses provided significantly higher attractiveness scores for most pictures not wearing glasses.

At what age does your eye prescription stop changing? ›

As it continues to grow, the need to adjust the prescription will naturally change with it. Most people's eyes will stop growing between the ages of 18 and 21, which is when you tend to see the needs for most changes in prescription tapering off.

Can you train your eyes to see better? ›

While there are no effective eye exercises for astigmatism, myopia, or hyperopia, otherwise known as refractive errors, eye exercises can help with optimizing visual skills. Vision therapy, a type of physical therapy for the eyes, has been shown to improve certain conditions involving eye alignment and focusing.

Why is my vision always blurry even with glasses? ›

Sometimes, however, glasses cannot fix a person's blurred vision, at least not entirely. Most of the time this may be due to age-related eye changes such as cataracts, glaucoma and macular degeneration, but occasionally it can also happen to younger people.

What happens if you wear glasses that are too strong? ›

When your prescription is too strong, you might experience dizziness or nausea more often. If wearing your glasses results in these symptoms, contact your optometrist to schedule an eye exam and refresh your prescription.

What is the psychology of wearing glasses? ›

Honesty: Glasses can make you look more honest. Trustworthiness: You may look more trustworthy if you're wearing glasses with rims. Intelligence: People with glasses look like they read more; hence, they are more intelligent. Social class: Higher social class is associated with wearing glasses.

What is phantom glasses syndrome? ›

“Phantom Glasses Syndrome” is a condition where you feel as though your glasses are still on your face after taking them off (often abbreviated to PGS).

Can opticians get your prescription wrong? ›

Sometimes, your glasses prescription could be wrong due to inaccurate response during your eye exam (especially if you're experiencing eye fatigue). It could be due to human error from an incorrectly written prescription. It could also be because your prescription has changed over time.

Can the wrong glasses prescription cause anxiety? ›

When your vision is misaligned, it can cause blurred or possibly double vision resulting in dizziness, imbalance with walking, and visual over-stimulation (such as crowds, carpet patterns, busy wallpaper, malls, high ceilings, freeway driving, etc.) resulting in feeling anxious and overwhelmed.

Will my eyes get worse if I wear wrong prescription? ›

Myth 4: Wearing the wrong prescription can damage your eyes. "Who hasn't tried on someone else's glasses and felt dizzy and disoriented? The wrong prescription may feel weird and it can even give you a headache if you wear them very long, but it won't damage your eyes.

Do your eyes get better or worse when you don t wear your glasses? ›

You can stop wearing your glasses or contact lenses for many eye conditions without risking your eye health. You may experience uncomfortable symptoms, but it won't damage your eyes. For example, when patients with hyperopia stop wearing their glasses, they won't see close distances clearly.

What happens if you wear glasses everyday? ›

Wearing reading glasses all the time won't harm your eyes' health, but you may get a headache from wearing them while driving, playing sports, or other activities that involve a wider scope of vision. It's important to get the right glasses for your particular circ*mstances.

Why can't I see after wearing glasses? ›

It's common for people to complain about some degree of blurry vision in their first day or two of wearing new glasses. Most often, your eyes just need a few days, or even weeks, to adjust to the new prescription.

Why are my new glasses worse than my old ones? ›

Answer: Some people may experience a distortion of their peripheral vision after receiving a new glasses prescription. This is a fairly common occurrence that can be a result of the adjustment period as your eyes get used to the new prescription.

Why are new glasses so disorienting? ›

So when you wear your new glasses, your brain may need some time to understand how to interpret the new images it's receiving, causing you to feel disoriented or dizzy.

Why do my new glasses make me dizzy? ›

If you experience nausea or dizziness wearing your new glasses, it's likely that you're dealing with a depth perception issue. In a way, you're experiencing motion sickness as your body adjusts to a new way of seeing. This is normal and can last anywhere from two or three days to a week.

What is the main cause of astigmatism? ›

What causes astigmatism? Astigmatism happens when your cornea or lens has a different shape than normal. The shape makes light bend differently as it enters your eye, causing a refractive error. Doctors don't know what causes astigmatism, and there's no way to prevent it.

What a person with astigmatism sees at night? ›

Astigmatism can distort lights in several ways, and instead of a clear image, you might see: Streaky lights. Haloed lights. Blurry lights.

Can you have 20 20 vision and still need glasses? ›

Many people believe that if their vision is 20/20, then they don't need glasses. But this isn't true! 20/20 vision only means you have normal (or corrected-to-normal) visual acuity. There are other eye conditions that can be helped by wearing glasses, even if your vision is already 20/20.

Can astigmatism go back to normal? ›

Astigmatism will not go away on its own. It will either stay the same or get worse with age. While this reality can seem daunting, the good news is that it can be easily corrected.

What does astigmatism look like when reading? ›

When you have astigmatism, some of the bold lines will look blurrier than others. It may look like some are drawn with a black marker and others are faded. That's because the abnormal curve of your eye makes parts of a picture more or less clear.

How can I fix my astigmatism naturally? ›

Here Are Some Important Eye Vitamins That Help to Control Astigmatism:
  1. Vitamin A. Vitamin A is excellent for good eye health. Natural sources of vitamin A include dark leafy vegetables like spinach and kale, carrots, and winter squash. ...
  2. Vitamin B. Vitamin B will encourage good vision. ...
  3. Vitamin C.
Apr 18, 2019

What type of glasses are best for astigmatism? ›

Do You Need Special Glasses for Astigmatism? You'll need prescription glasses with cylindrical or spherocylindrical lenses, which are different from the lenses found in single-vision glasses that only correct for nearsightedness and farsightedness.

Why do my glasses make me tired? ›

Your eyes are adjusting to the new lenses—and they may feel tired and a bit sore as they work to get used to the new prescription. This should clear up within a week.

Why can I see better close up without my glasses? ›

The one good thing about being nearsighted and reaching middle-age is that if you are not wearing glasses or contacts for your distance vision problem, you can read at near without having to use reading glasses. This is because you are using that abnormal close focus to neutralize your presbyopia.

What is the 6 second eye method? ›

Focus Shift: Change the focus of both of your eyes by looking at a far-away object for 6 seconds, until it becomes clear. Then, shift your gaze to a close object for 6 seconds, until it becomes clear. Do this exercise repeatedly until your eyes feel slightly tired.

Can eyesight be restored naturally? ›

Unfortunately, eyesight cannot be improved naturally and there is no way to change a refractive error, such as myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, or presbyopia. These types of visual conditions can be treated with glasses, contact lenses, or refractive surgery.

What are the three types of astigmatism? ›

Myopic astigmatism is astigmatism in an eye that is nearsighted. Hyperopic astigmatism is astigmatism in an eye that is farsighted. Mixed astigmatism is astigmatism in an eye that is both nearsighted and farsighted, because light is hitting both in front of and behind the retina.

What do people with bad astigmatism see? ›

Either type of astigmatism can cause blurred vision. Blurred vision may occur more in one direction: horizontally, vertically or diagonally. Astigmatism may be present from birth, or it may develop after an eye injury, disease or surgery.

How do people with astigmatism see text? ›

Well, thing is, white text on black backgrounds creates a visual fuzzing effect for people with astigmatism called “halation”. This effect is known to reduce readability of texts and is particularly bad for people with astigmatism because it can cause terrible headaches.

Do you look older with or without glasses? ›

Contrary to the generally accepted beliefs that wearing eyeglasses makes you look older and wearing sunglasses make you look younger, our results suggest that the effect of glasses on age perception is rather small.

What color frames make you look younger? ›

Generally, warm-colored frames can make you appear younger. Warm tones suit most faces, especially browns, burgundies, berry tones, and jewel tones. Of course, you should choose a color that suits your skin tone. It can also be helpful to choose shinier materials to give your eyes an extra sparkle.

Will my eyes become dependent on glasses? ›

Wearing glasses doesn't weaken your eyes in any way. While some people believe wearing glasses can make your eyes reliant on the glasses and cause your eye muscles to atrophy, that myth can't be further from the truth.

How many hours should you wear your glasses? ›

Those who need glasses to see both near and far distances – and whose doctors have recommended to wear them full time – should wear their glasses all day. People who are nearsighted or farsighted and have been prescribed glasses for task-specific purposes may only need to wear them for certain activities.

Can you fix depth perception with glasses? ›

Yes, they will help. Very simply, the larger the refractive error (nearsightedness or farsightedness, for example), the more noticeable the improvement will be with glasses. Also, the larger the difference between the power of the two eyes, the greater the improvement in the depth perception.

Can you improve your eyesight while wearing glasses? ›

Yes, wearing glasses does improve eyesight--but only while you're wearing them. To improve your vision without glasses, you'd need to fix the cause of your vision issues, which could mean altering your physical eye.

What makes eyesight worse? ›

A bad diet, smoking or excessive alcohol consumption may all affect your vision. Having overall good health can prevent your eyesight from getting worse sooner than it might. A healthy, balanced diet is key, as vitamins C and E, as well as omega-3, can all contribute to healthy vision.

Can you train your eyes to not need reading glasses? ›

But a new form of training — brain retraining, really — may delay the inevitable age-related loss of close-range visual focus so that you won't need reading glasses. Various studies say it works, though no treatment of any kind works for everybody.

Will my eyesight get worse if I don't wear glasses? ›

If you're an adult who needs glasses due to blurred vision, not wearing glasses doesn't make your eyes worse, but it makes your eyes work harder. Corrective glasses allow your eyes to work less hard which reduces eye strain and all the other unpleasant effects of not wearing your glasses (when you need them).

At what point should you wear glasses full time? ›

20/200+: This means you have a significant vision issue. You will most likely need to wear glasses all the time. Your eye doctor may also recommend specific lenses to improve your overall sight.

Is it bad to not wear your glasses all day? ›

You can stop wearing your glasses or contact lenses for many eye conditions without risking your eye health. You may experience uncomfortable symptoms, but it won't damage your eyes. For example, when patients with hyperopia stop wearing their glasses, they won't see close distances clearly.

What are symptoms of poor depth perception? ›

Common symptoms of depth perception problems include:
  • Frequent clumsiness or bumping into things.
  • Poor spatial awareness.
  • Avoids certain activities and sports.
  • Trouble catching a ball, judging the out of bounds lines, or bumping into teammates while playing sports.
  • Difficulties with driving.
  • Reduced reading performance.

Why do my glasses mess with my depth perception? ›

Your brain and eyes have been compensating for poor vision and need time to learn how to process images differently. While this happens, objects may appear out of focus, warped, or bent and you may have issues with depth perception. Once again these issues are temporary and should resolve within a few days.

Can anxiety cause depth perception problems? ›

Anxiety can cause blurry vision, tunnel vision, light sensitivity, visual snow, and potentially seeing flashes of light. Each of these has a different cause and may need to be addressed in specific ways to each visual problem. Only a comprehensive, long-term anxiety treatment will prevent future vision problems.

Why are my eyes blurry after wearing glasses? ›

Sometimes your glasses may cause blurry vision because they have not been adequately adjusted for you. Incorrectly adjusted glasses or glasses that don't fit, do not sit properly on your face. They tend to slide out of position, pinch your nose and tend to be too tight or too loose and may appear crooked.

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