How to tell if you need glasses
Gradual vision changes can make it easy to overlook early signs that you need glasses, such as squinting, blurry vision, headaches and trouble seeing at night. Early detection of vision problems may prevent further deterioration of your eyesight, improving your vision health.
Regular eye exams help ensure optimal eye health, often allowing your eye doctor to address issues before they worsen.
Signs you might need glasses
Below are some signs and symptoms that may indicate you need glasses:
Blurry vision
Blurry, fuzzy or unclear vision, or when objects appear out-of-focus up close or at a distance, is one of the most common signs someone might need glasses.
Eye strain or fatigue can also cause temporary blurring, persistent blurriness or blurriness that worsens over time. Any of these symptoms warrants visiting an eye care professional for an eye exam to determine the cause and whether you need glasses or not.
Squinting a lot
Squinting temporarily helps your eyes focus by reducing the amount of light entering them. Frequent squinting may indicate an underlying vision problem, particularly when reading, watching television or viewing computer or phone screens.
These symptoms could improve with corrective lenses such as glasses or contacts.
Tired or sore eyes
Eye strain, characterized by tired or sore eyes, can result from prolonged activities like reading or screen time. This discomfort may indicate that you are exerting extra effort to focus due to an uncorrected refractive error, suggesting the need for glasses.
Headaches
Frequent headaches, particularly after visual concentration tasks, can be linked to uncorrected vision problems. When your eyes struggle to focus, it can cause eye strain, leading to headaches.
If you have frequent headaches, an eye exam may be necessary to test for problems that require corrective lenses. You should also speak to your primary care provider to check for other health problems that might be contributing to the headaches.
Trouble seeing at night
Difficulty seeing in low-light conditions, such as during nighttime driving, may indicate issues like myopia (nearsightedness) or cataracts. If you find it challenging to see clearly at night, it's essential to have your eyes examined to determine the cause and appropriate treatment.
Hard to spot faces
If recognizing faces from a distance becomes challenging, it could indicate a decline in visual acuity, often associated with myopia. Your distance vision may be impaired if you find it hard to spot faces, which warrants an eye exam and possibly corrective lenses.
Seeing double
Eye conditions such as astigmatism or eye muscle imbalances can cause double vision (diplopia), which is when you see two images of a single object.
It's crucial to consult an eye doctor to determine the cause of double vision and the appropriate treatment. This may involve eyeglasses with prisms, eye exercises or other treatments.
Watery eyes
Excessive tearing or watery eyes can be a sign of eye strain or uncorrected vision. This can signal that your eyes are experiencing strain due to uncorrected refractive errors, such as farsightedness, nearsightedness or astigmatism.
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Signs your child may need glasses
If your child has trouble seeing clearly, they may not let you know. However, their behavior can provide clues. Here are some common signs that your child might need glasses:
Squinting
Kids often squint to help their eyes focus better. Squinting could mean they have a vision condition such as myopia or hyperopia (farsightedness), which affects how well they see objects at different distances. This is often a tell-tale sign that a child needs glasses.
Tilting their head or covering one eye
If your child tilts their head or covers one eye while looking at something, they may be trying to see more clearly. Eye covering or head tilting could be a sign of amblyopia ("lazy eye") or eye misalignment. Treatment with corrective lenses is common in kids with lazy eye.
Sitting too close to the TV or holding screens very close
Kids who are nearsighted may move closer to screens to see better. If your child sits right in front of the television or holds digital devices or books very close to their face, it might be because they’re having trouble seeing at a distance.
Rubbing their eyes a lot
Eye rubbing can indicate eye strain or fatigue. If your child rubs their eyes often, especially after reading or during screen time, it could mean their eyes are working harder to focus.
Complaining about headaches or eye soreness
Blurred vision can cause your child to overuse their eyes. This can lead to headaches or eye soreness, especially after school or doing homework.
Trouble focusing on schoolwork
Vision conditions can make it hard for kids to switch focus between the board, books and screens. If your child struggles to pay attention or keep up in class, it might be due to vision problems.
Why you might need glasses
Blurry vision and other signs and symptoms are often caused by refractive errors. These vision conditions occur when the eye's shape prevents light from focusing properly on the retina (the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye).
What are refractive errors?
A refractive error is one of the most common types of vision problems. Studies indicate that over 150 million Americans have a refractive error. However, some may not realize that they could see better if they simply corrected their vision with eyeglasses.
Undetected refractive errors are one reason it’s crucial to have regular eye exams. Refractive errors include:
- Myopia (nearsightedness) – Blurry vision when looking at distant objects, while close objects are seen more clearly
- Hyperopia (farsightedness) – Blurry vision when looking at close objects, while distant objects are typically seen more clearly
- Astigmatism – An imperfection in the curvature of the cornea, causing blurred near and distance vision
- Presbyopia – A gradual loss of the eyes' ability to focus on near objects, associated with aging
What to do if you see these signs
If you're experiencing any of the signs or symptoms mentioned above, schedule a comprehensive eye exam with an optometrist or ophthalmologist to assess your vision and eye health.
During the exam, your eye doctor will perform simple tests for refractive errors and evaluate your vision to determine if you need glasses. These tests may include:
- Visual acuity test – Having you read letters on a chart positioned a specific distance away
- Pupil dilation – Dilating (widening) your pupils to see inside the eye more clearly
- Refraction – Measuring how well your eyes bend light to form a clear image
- Eye movement test – Measuring how well the eye muscles move
Why checkups matter
Regular eye exams are crucial for the early detection of vision problems. These exams allow your eye doctor to identify changes in your eyesight and prescribe glasses, if needed, so you can enjoy clear vision.
Adults should have an eye exam at least once a year or more frequently if their eye doctor recommends it.
It’s recommended that children get eye exams at the following frequencies:
- Between 6 and 12 months old
- Between 3 and 5 years old
- Yearly from ages 6 to 17
Ask a doctor if you’re worried about certain signs or symptoms
If you notice persistent symptoms like blurry vision, headaches or eye strain, it's essential to consult an eye doctor. They can perform tests to assess your vision and tell you if you need glasses or other corrective lenses. Early detection and correction of vision problems can significantly improve your quality of life by helping you see more clearly.
