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A study finds that wearing glasses can prevent COVID-19. Should start wearing them? What do the experts say?

As scientists and health experts have expedited their vaccine trials across the globe on one side, many studies and surveys are being carried out by the experts to know the potential side effects and other risks caused by COVID-19.

A small study has recently found that wearing glasses can also be deployed as a prevention method to cut down the spread of COVID-19. As the vaccine candidates are still in trials, a vaccine for all cannot be expected at least till mid-2021.

All we can do is to follow all the preventive measures as suggested by the state health agencies till then.

A study was recently conducted in China which suggested that eyeglasses can shield the contraction of COVID-19 to a certain extent.

However, it should be noted that the study can have certain limitations as it was conducted only on a small group of people.

This study has been published in JAMA Ophthalmology and to conduct the research, the experts have observed about 276 participants and looked for the possible link between eyeglasses and protection against COVID-19.

The participants were asked about the details like how long did they wear the glasses and why did they wear them.

While 30 participants wore the glasses, only 16 of them wore the glasses for more than 8 hours as they had myopia.

The researchers have found out that only a small percent of people with myopia have contracted COVID-19 and concluded that wearing glasses may provide some protection against the coronavirus infection.

Their hypothesis is that the people who wear glasses do not frequently touch their eyes which can reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19.

However, as the research was conducted only a small number of people, the findings might not be that significant.

Should you consider wearing glasses?

When considering the people who wear the PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) kits, they are provided not just with face shields and face masks but also the safety goggles.

Eye shields or goggles may help in preventing in any exposure to aerosols in hospital settings, however, a detailed is required for knowing the efficacy of the eyeglasses.

One possibility can be that, people who wear glasses tend to rub their lesser which also menas that they do not touch their faces frequently. A s we know, according to the guidelines, you should not touch your face in order to prevent COVID-19.

You may consider wearing glasses if you think they could prevent you from touching your face thereby eliminating the risk of contracting COVID-19.

- By Gayatri Yellayi