Scientists have been learning more about COVID-19 with each passing day. It’s well known that coronavirus can be contracted through the eyes, as well as the nose and the mouth, but does that mean wearing glasses can actually protect you from COVID-19? Recent studies in China might suggest so.

Coronavirus and your eyes – what you need to know

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the World Health Organisation (WHO), coronavirus spreads through respiratory droplets when a person coughs, sneezes or even talks. 

The CDC website states: “When people with COVID-19 cough, sneeze, sing, talk, or breathe they produce respiratory droplets. These droplets can range in size from larger droplets (some of which are visible) to smaller droplets. Small droplets can also form particles when they dry very quickly in the airstream.”

These droplets are also known to sit on surfaces such as door handles for a significant amount of time – and they can even be airborne from a few minutes to hours.

This means that coronavirus can be contracted through the eyes from direct contact with a carrier, upon contact with droplets in the air, or when a person touches an infected surface and later goes on to touch their eyes.

How can wearing glasses protect from COVID-19?

Back in March, the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) suggested that wearing eyeglasses could actually help to decrease the possibility of contracting coronavirus. The AAO website states: “Corrective lenses or sunglasses can shield your eyes from infected respiratory droplets. But keep in mind that they don’t provide 100% security.”

They also recommended lenses wearers switch to glasses to reduce irritation and ultimately reduce the number of times they touch their eyes throughout the day.

“There’s no evidence that wearing contact lenses increases your risk of coronavirus infection. But contact lens wearers touch their eyes more than the average person”, Dr. Tuli stated.

Daily glasses wearers may be less likely to be infected with COVID-19

More recently, a study published in JAMA Ophthalmology found that few patients with glasses in Wuhan, China were admitted to hospital with COVID-19. To further investigate this, they collected data from COVID-19 hospital admissions in Wuhan to examine the correlation between coronavirus and glasses. Although just a small-scale study, they found that only 5.8% of the patients wore glasses for more than 8 hours a day.

But what does this mean? Their journal findings suggest that “daily wearers of eyeglasses may be less likely to be infected with COVID-19.”

Your safety is our priority

Throughout the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we are taking extra measures to ensure the safety of our customers. Whether you’re purchasing glasses or sunglasses on our website, rest assured all of our products are thoroughly cleaned with anti-bacterial solutions before being dispatched to your address. All home trial glasses are also being thoroughly cleaned. 

If you have any questions or concerns at all, please do get in touch. Keep an eye on our Instagram and Facebook pages for regular updates.

Sources:

https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus 

https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/coronavirus-covid19-eye-infection-pinkeye

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaophthalmology/fullarticle/2770872