According to a study done in China, daily glasses wearers could be less likely to be infected by Covid-19. 276 of hospitalised individuals in Suizhou Hospital in China took part in the study.
The scientists wanted to find out how glass-wearing impacts Covid-19.
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They found that the number of Covid-19 infected individuals who wore glasses for more than eight hours a day was lower.
From their research, 5,8% of individuals infected with Covid-19 wore glasses out of the 31,5% of the local population who wore glasses.
As a lot of people may argue that the wearing of glasses may worsen the impact of Covid-19 from the air that is blocked by the mask into the glasses.
Some may say that glasses prevent the touching of the eyes as warned.
Dr. Amir Khan argued, in an article in the Al Jazeera, that there is no substantial evidence yet that glasses can protect against Covid-19.
“… it is worth noting that this is just one study, the sample size was very small and it only showed an association – not a direct cause and effect – between wearing glasses and COVID-19 infection rates,” as said in the article.
He explained that theoretically, glasses form an extra barrier in front of the eyes, protecting them from infected respiratory droplets.
He noted that wearing goggles would be much more effective than plain simple glasses.
“But goggles are different – they offer a tight seal around the whole eye area from splashes and droplets, whereas glasses usually just offer protection from the front and leave the sides, tops and bottoms of the eye susceptible.”
He added that people who glasses are, of course, less inclined to touch their face and rub their eyes.
He also revealed that there have been increasing reports of Covid-19 patients having eye symptoms such as conjunctivitis, an infection of the outer eye.
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As also highlighted by Dr Khan, there are no current plans to advise the public to wear glasses.
For now keep washing your hands and wearing your mask to cover your nose and mouth and you could also put on a transparent shield for more protection.
